“No‐one knows how to care for LGBT community like LGBT do”^{: LGBTQIA+ experiences of COVID‐19 in the UK and Brazil}

Abstract

The coronavirus pandemic and responses have had uneven impacts on different segments of societies. We analysed experiences of LGBTQIA+ people during COVID‐19, based on interviews in the UK and Brazil in 2020. The UK and Brazil are instructive cases, with the same crisis impacting these two different social, cultural, economic, and political contexts. Pre‐existing marginalisation shaped COVID‐19 experiences in both contexts, influencing challenges faced, such as isolation or disruption to transgender healthcare, and coping strategies, including the important role of LGBTQIA+ volunteer and mutual‐aid groups. We argue that despite commonalities, there is no single LGBTQIA+ experience, and that disaster strategies will be ineffective until they recognise intersectionality and support the diversity of LGBTQIA+ populations. We conclude with a call to action for more inclusive disaster research, policy, and practice, which requires scrutinising dominant cisgender‐heteronormative structures that produce and reproduce LGBTQIA+ marginalisation.