Qtalk has advice for a raped trans woman seeking safe shelter
LGBTQ+ Nigerians benefit from the support provided by volunteer counsellors via the Qtalk app, which is supported by this site and by the St. Paul’s Foundation for International Reconciliation.
This article is about LGBT mental health, LGBT counseling, Qtalk, transgender mental health, trans mental health, trans counseling, transgender counseling, Nigeria.
This Qtalk user’s name has been changed in the following writeup, which is one of many contributed by the counsellors who provide advice to LGBTQ+ Nigerians via the free Qtalk app:
Trans woman beaten and raped, seeks help and shelter
Edith, a trans woman in Muslim-majority northern Nigeria, was on the run after escaping from a group of three men who beat and raped her.
In her support request, she wrote:
“The world is indeed very wicked. Three men gang-raped me for seven days with my hands tied. I am in pain. I have been living with my sister, but now I just can’t go home because I might be exposed and here [in the North] they treat us like gay men. I need a place to stay.”
In a response to her request, the counselor sympathized with her situation and after reviewing the accompanying images, referred her to a trans group in the North where they have been providing shelter and other support. Edith remains in therapy and seems to be stable.
She’s also had some tests done to rule out STDs or any other infections.
Qtalk is an LGBTQ+ mental health project in which 15 counselors provide advice and mental health services for more than 2,000 LGBTQ+ Nigerians via the specially developed app on Android devices. This article is one of five that comprise Part 17 of the Qtalk series, which sheds light on the challenges and opportunities facing LGBTQ+ Nigerians.
To download the Qtalk mobile app, click HERE.
To support the Qtalk project financially, click HERE.
Categories: LGBT mental health, LGBT counseling, Qtalk, transgender mental health, trans mental health, trans counseling, Nigeria.
