Goa minister says centres to be set up to 'cure' LGBT youths

Goa's Sports and Youth Affairs Minister Ramesh Tawadkar on Monday said the government was planning to set up centres to administer treatment to the LGBT youths to make them normal.

He was speaking to reporters after launching the state government's youth policy. "We will make them (LGBT youth) normal. We will have a centre for them. Like Alcoholic Anonymous centres, we will have centres. We will train them and give them medicines too", he said. The policy lists LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans-gender) community among the stigmatised groups which need focused attention. As in the case of other target groups such as juvenile offenders, drug afflicted youth, marginalised or migrant youth, geographically disadvantaged youth, a detailed survey would be carried out of the LGBT community so that their problems could be specifically addressed, he added.