Chennai: An LGBTQI+ policewoman has asked for protection after her partner’s parents allegedly sent her death threats.
Ramya (name changed), a police constable in the city, has been in a relationship for several years with Coimbatore student Suma (name changed). Matters aggravated when Suma's roommates found out about her sexuality and began bullying her.
Disturbed, she travelled to Chennai to spend time with her partner for a while. However, Suma’s parents got wind of their relationship, dragged the couple to a police station demanding that Suma go back with them.
On February 18, Ramya and Suma were summoned to the Thirumangalam police station in Chennai and questioned in the presence of Suma's parents. “They even told them this was not ‘Tamil Kalacharam’ and that Suma must go back with her parents and finish her studies," said Dr L.R. Ramakrishnan, from SAATHII, a health and human rights NGO.
Suma’s parents had complained to the Thirumangalam police that their daughter was being brainwashed and must return with them. At this point, Suma told the police that she had left Coimbatore on her own, and wanted to live in Chennai with her partner. She also reminded the police that Section 377 had been decriminalised by the Supreme Court and that there was nothing illegal about her relationship with Ramya.
“The personnel at the police station were playing moral police and trying to convince the daughter to go back to her parents, rather than reaffirming the Supreme Court verdict on Section 377 and explaining the rights of the adult woman to her parents,” said Dr L. Ramakrishnan. “While we understand that changing mindsets is tougher than changing the law, the least we can expect is for the law enforcement to uphold the notion of constitutional morality,” he added.
Suma was then taken to a shelter home in the city, while Ramya applied for police protection after one of Suma’s relatives said they knew where she lived and would make it look like an accident, a source close to the couple said. Meanwhile, Ramya has also been transferred to a different police station in the city.
Resounding Ramakrishnan’s thoughts, Sudha Ramalingam, an advocate in the city, speaking to Deccan Chronicle says that the problem is that the law may have changed but mindsets haven't. “Dowry is still prevalent in the country. There are laws against child marriage. It is still happening. For reality, while laws are prevalent, the mindset is more important for its enforcement,” she says.
While IPC Section 377 was decriminalised last year, most people think it doesn't affect them directly. The problem is not awareness at all," Sudha says. “It's not that the police officials who were present at the station did not know that Section 377 has been decriminalised. They have not internalised it and still empathise with the parents, despite knowing that the couple is doing nothing illegal,” she says, adding that special counselling sessions and awareness programs need to be conducted especially since the police are first-respondents.
