Abstract:
As the COVID-19 pandemic persists, millions of people continue to experience its
devastating effects, most especially marginalized communities such as LGBTQIA+
youth who continue to suffer today. This study aimed to learn what are the current
issues and problems being experienced by the LGBTQIA+ youth amidst the pandemic,
and find out if there are current mechanisms in place to alleviate these. Convenience
sampling was used in order to gather respondents and information was collected
through the use of Google Forms. Additionally, key informant interviews were also
conducted in order to supplement the data collected from the survey. The data has
revealed that although there are no new problems that arose within the pandemic, the
issues being experienced by LGBTQIA+ youth were found to be aggravated by the
effects of the current situation. It shows that LGBTQIA+ youth has experienced
isolation, difficulty with living arrangements, discrimination, and underrepresentation in
media, among others. Institutions such as church, government, and universities have
taken steps to address these problems, however, respondents believe that these are
not enough. Systemic change must happen, and this can only be done by tackling the
root causes of the problem. Relevant stakeholders should start doing their part by
prioritizing the opening of schools, providing financial support for those who experience
abuse at home, revamping school curriculums to include sex education, address
stereotypes and discrimination, and put into law the SOGIE bill. It is believed that once
these mechanisms are in place, genuine change can begin and problems may start to
be uprooted. In order for a more improved study in the future, the researcher
recommends obtaining a larger sample size and including a variety of individuals for the
interviews. Additionally, one might also include more factors such as socioeconomic
status and home environment in the analysis of the problem.
