Africa-Press – Mauritius. Starting Saturday, May 6, the Collectif Arc-en-ciel (CAEC) will make a new service available to its members. These are advice and support sessions for parents whose children are part of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Free consultations will be provided by psychologist Amanda Sadien. She explains why such a service is important in Mauritius. “Young people come together and support each other.
In this way, they manage to flourish, ”explains the psychologist. But once outside the circle of friends, the problem thickens. Many teenagers have to hide at home.
However, it is a space which at the base must be secure and comfortable, a place where they must feel free, advances Amanda Sadien. Hence the importance of such a program.
The sessions will take place on Saturdays from 1 p. m. to 4 p. m. in the premises of the CAEC on Avenue Darwin in Quatre-Bornes. According to several studies carried out in society, the rate of depression is three to four times higher among young people in the LGBTQIA+ community.
Drug use and alcohol consumption are also very common among young people who have to repress part of their personality. “It happens because they don’t feel comfortable.
We have also found that this category of young people tends to take more risks sexually as well,” adds the psychologist. All of these problems can be solved, or even avoided, if there is healthy and open discussion within the family.
However, Amanda Sadien is aware that in Mauritius, it is not easy to have LGBTQIA + -friendly professionals. “The teenager and his parents may find themselves facing a refractory and conservative professional who tells him that it is bad.
It will grow with it,” she says. Hence the importance of having the service offered by the CAEC. But that’s not all. “Today, unlike before, success is not measured solely by academic or social achievement.
There is also the quality of life. For the new generation, mental health and peace of mind are paramount. Having such a service goes in this direction,” she explains.
Jean Daniel Wong, director of the CAEC, talks about what prompted the NGO to go ahead with such a project. “Family support is paramount for any LGBTQIA+ person.
Admittedly, access to information is easier today, but for reasons of religious practice or influence and the gaze of others. The famous “ki dimounn pou dir” or parents who wonder why this is happening to them or what they have done wrong to deserve this.
“The CAEC has set up this service because parents also need to express their feelings, often linked to a certain guilt and disappointment. They need to understand in order to be able to support their children.
It is a service rooted in the mission of the CAEC which is to raise the voice and promote the integration of the Mauritian LGBTQIA+ community by mobilizing the necessary resources to aspire to a society free of stigma, discrimination and psychological violence related to sexual orientation and gender identity,” he says.
The project was launched with the support of the Mauritius Commercial Bank Forward Foundation. The goal of the project, wishes to clarify Amanda Sadien, is not to convince the parents, nor to force them to accept.
It is rather a work of accompaniment, which aims to compensate for the lack of information and to help them to reconcile their identity as parents with the social or religious identity. The service is free and only by appointment by calling 5919 22 32.
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