India, Dec. 11 -- Family is supposed to mean safety and unconditional love. For countless LGBTQA+ youth in India, it all too often means rejection, pain, and loss. Many children are forced to hide who they are, fearing isolation or violence if they reveal themselves.
hiding who I am every day or finally telling my parents and losing them. When my mother cried that she'd lost her 'real' son, I just wanted to disappear. The care home felt cold, but at least I could breathe as myself" (Queerbeat, 2025).
Others recall living with abuse and mistrust: "When I first tried coming out when I was eight, he physically abused me... Later, as an adult, any time my father would reach out, his homophobia would come out... I quickly learnt not to trust a...