Impact of COVID-19 on the Socioeconomic life and Psychology of Transgenders: Insights from India

Abstract

India's COVID-19 lockdown has left transgender people at heightened risk of hunger and poverty since most of them make their living on streets by begging, street entertainment, and paid sex. They are not socially privileged to operate within the online world as they are predominantly dependent on social interactions and functions such as weddings or baby showers. Ideology is endangering transgender people from coronavirus. Transgender people are a socially marginalized community who is forced into slums where social distancing is challenging, making it a hotbed for Coronavirus. Further, the absence of healthcare backup and lack of awareness increases the looming fear among the transgender community regarding the budding impact of COVID-19. A substantial rate of economic instability, as well as social discrimination, was visible before the pandemic, thereby worsening their situation with a lack of food, fund, insecurity, safety, and mental health concern during COVID-19. This study focuses on the impact of the Coronavirus crisis on the socioeconomic life of Transgender people taking into account the explosion in unemployment, adding to an already disproportionate healthcare support system pushing them further to the margins. The study comes forward with useful suggestions based on content analysis of published and aired information to reduce the existing woes of transgender people during COVID-19.