Gay dancer trapped at home with homophobic Christian parents who think he has an ‘evil disease’
The dancer said when he was younger and working in theatre, his dad told him to be “careful” of homosexual people. (Envato)
A young, gay dancer has described how, because of the coronavirus lockdown, he is trapped at home with his homophobic Christian parents who believe he has an “evil disease”.
Sam, 23, told the BBC that the coronavirus pandemic meant the tour he was performing on was suddenly cancelled and he was forced to return to his family home.
The gay dancer from Birmingham said: “I saw the career I love disappear overnight, and now I’m stuck in isolation with homophobes.”
He continued: “My mum says that homosexuality is an evil disease and that the devil is making me gay. She loudly prays every day that I’ll be delivered from sin and find a wife.
“I genuinely have nowhere else to go during this mad time, so I’m just putting up with the abuse.”
When he was younger and working in theatre, his dad told him to be “careful” of homosexual people.
Sam said he came out to his homophobic Christian parents while away at university, because he assumed that he would never be living at home again.
He added that he feels forgotten by the LGBT+ community: “I see on social media that people are so busy filming home workouts, and holding online parties, that they don’t realise there are people like me struggling to stay alive right now.
“Not because of the coronavirus, but because of their sexuality.”
Lucy Bowyer, director of services at the LGBT+ homelessness charity akt, told the BBC that the organisation is currently supporting between 120 and 130 young people, and that the number of 16 to 17-year-olds contacting them had recently been increasing.
She said the charity was providing emergency safe housing with host families for young LGBT+ people, and added: “Over the last few weeks we have been receiving an especially high volume of referrals from young people.
“Our services team is adapting to the current climate by providing e-mentoring services, live chats and online hubs to ensure we are there when young people need us.”
LGBT+ people being stuck with abusive families because of coronavirus is becoming a worldwide problem.
Earlier this month, advocacy groups warned that lockdowns in the Middle East were trapping LGBT+ people with homophobic relatives.
