Video: Jamaican opposition leader backs LGBT rights in 'historic' moment

Portia Simpson-Miller image via Wikipedia

By Paul Canning

In a moment described as 'historic' by activists, the Jamaican opposition leader has come out for LGBT rights during an election debate.

Jamaicans will go to the polls on December 29 and People's National Party leader Portia Simpson-Miller made the positive comments during an election debate yesterday with Prime Minister Andrew Holness.

Simpson Miller also said that no one should be discriminated against because of their sexual orientation and that if elected Prime Minister she would review the anti-gay buggery law.

She said that she would have no problem with appointing gays to her Cabinet.

Former Prime Minister Bruce Golding famously told the BBC in 2008 that he would never appoint a gay person to his cabinet.

Responding to the same question, Holness articulated the need for Jamaica to achieve minimum standards governing human rights and suggested that such steps were being taken through measures such as the passage of the Bill of Rights. He has previously argued that gay rights are civil rights, not human rights, and therefore not covered by international human rights instruments.

He added that any change to the existing legislation should be made on the basis of due consideration to the views of the people.

“We are an open society and the issues that are difficult and uncomfortable to discuss, as the society progresses, these issues are being discussed. People are entitled to their opinions but as leader of the country I have to respect everybody’s opinion (and) make sure that the institutions of freedom are well in place so that the debate can continue,” said Holness.

The People's National Party (which is in Opposition and trailing in the polls) has selected a non-gender conforming candidate who has been the subject of a barely veiled homophobic campaign by the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).

Jamaican LGBT rights group J-FLAG has written to the JLP complaining about this tactic.

The PNP has selected another candidate for the traditionally "safe seat" of the tourist resort city of Montego Bay who is rumored to be gay.

Elsewhere in the English speaking Caribbean there has been slow but positive movement on LGBT rights.

At the beginning of the year Caribbean LGBT activists expressed hope for change in 2011.

This followed almost the whole of the Caribbean changed their vote positively - including Jamaica - in a UN vote on killings of LGBT people.

In a January letter to Jamaica's leading newspaper The Gleaner (as well as other regional newspapers), a group of Caribbean LGBT activists, led by the veteran Jamaican LGBT leader Maurice Tomlinson, said that they were proud that a majority of Caribbean nations voted together, in the words of the Rwanda delegation, to "recognise that ... people (of different sexual orientation) continue to be the target of murder in many of our societies, and they are more at risk than many ... other groups".

Yes votes included Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, the Dominican Republic and Grenada and St Kitts-Nevis. Only St Lucia amongst Caribbean nations voted no.

They said that:

We, in the Caribbean, have lived largely free of the levels of violence experienced by postcolonial nations like Rwanda . But we continue to harbour a colonial mentality that some groups are more worthy than others; and homophobic killings are a reality in several places in the region. We hope that, without the need for atrocity to teach us this lesson, our governments will mature in their understanding that everyone has an essential right to equality and protection because they are human.

The vote is a hopeful sign that in 2011 Caribbean governments may get serious about their commitments to these rights at home.

In June, the oldest political party in the Bahamas came out in support of LGBT rights.

The leader of The Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), who are currently in opposition, Perry Christie, said that his party supports “progressive policies.” 

Verna St Rose-Greaves picture Government of T+T

In Trinidad and Tobago (T&T), Gender, Youth and Child Development Minister Verna St Rose-Greaves has strongly supported LGBT rights saying in August that 'all citizens of T&T must respect people’s sexual preferences'.

According to veteran Trinidadian gay activist Colin Robinson

"[Verna] is unusual, but not unique. A number of Caribbean politicians have said some very commonsense things on SOGI [sexual orientation and gender identity] issues, notably Barbados's Esther Byer-Suckoo who, when she had the gender portfolio two years ago, proposed domestic violence legislation that would include gay and lesbian people. Her PM has said discrimination based on sexual orientation is wrong."

"In Guyana, the health minister in one of my favourite speeches, at a regional HIV conference in 2009, said, "I will again place myself in harm’s way. But I need not be timid. I am the Minister of Health and I must be driven by public health reality, not by moral judgment. We live in a world where personal freedom must be acknowledged within the realm of reasonableness and within our legislative dicta. In this regards, sex between consenting adults, even if it is adults of the same gender, in private, falls into the category of personal freedom. I believe our laws are in contradiction of this expression of personal freedom.""

"Then there's the St. Kitts PM Denzil Douglas since the Toronto AIDS conference, both Bahamas parties after the Human Rights Council resolution, our [T&T] PM days after election at an event by the main Hindu group. And the Jamaica Senate President during the vote on the homophobic Charter, followed by the Police Commissioner's apology [for a homophobic statement]. And that's just part of the list."

HT: Maurice Tomlinson

Related articles

• Jamaican first winner of David Kato award (madikazemi.blogspot.com)
• Report: The state of LGBT human rights in Jamaica (madikazemi.blogspot.com)

Jamaican first winner of David Kato award

Tomlinson at Stand against Homophobia, Emancipation Park, Kingston, 28 July, 2011

The inaugural winner of a new international human rights award named for the murdered Ugandan gay activist David Kato is Jamaican lawyer, Maurice Tomlinson

Jamaica is regarded as one of the most homophobic countries in the world, where at least 35 people have been murdered because of their sexuality since 1997. Despite the very real risks to his own life and safety, Maurice Tomlinson has been one of the most outspoken advocates for LGBT rights in Jamaica, working tirelessly to promote change in laws and policies and challenging misrepresentations about LGBT communities.

The culmination of Maurice’s ongoing work is the unprecedented legal challenge to the Jamaican anti-sodomy law, announced in October, that Maurice initiated at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Maurice is leading the legal team to file the first-ever such challenge at the regional level. If successful, it could be the beginning of the end of legalized homophobia in Jamaica, and undoubtedly will have a multiplier effect throughout the Caribbean.

Accepting the award, Maurice recalled those who have been murdered in Jamaica.

"I dedicate this prestigious honour to the memory of David, Robert Carr, 16 year old Oshane Gordon (who was chopped to death in his home in the early morning of on October 18, 2011 because of "questionable relations" with another man) as well as ALL the other martyrs. "Lift every voice and sing!"" he wrote.

In a letter to the Jamaican Gleaber, Tomlinson noted that Gordon's homophobic murder was the second reported on Jamaican TV in three months. He noted that:

"Despite these vicious attacks and many more like them, there are still those who argue that Jamaica's deadly homophobia is a figment of the global North's gay hysteria and an agenda to smear our country's good name."

Frank Mugisha, chair person of the Steering Committee, and Executive Director for the David Kato Vision and Voice Award and Director of Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), said:

"The spirit of the work that David fought and died for is perfectly captured by the very essence of Maurice's tireless efforts in Jamaica and the region. In a highly competitive process Maurice is a worthy recipient of the very first David Kato Vision and Voice Award."

Kevin Osborne, Senior Adviser on HIV at the International Planned Parenthood Federation, one of the sponsors of the award, said:

"Despite advances in many countries the fight for the sexual rights of LGBTI people is far from over. The overwhelming response to the David Kato Vision and Voice Award has highlighted that across the world - in far flung places and regions-  LGBTI people are using our voices and vision to achieve human rights for all. It’s a battle that must be won."

George Ayala, Executive Officer of The Global Forum on MSM + HIV, another award sponsor, said:

“Maurice’s courage and unapologetic determination to raise awareness and to bring people together in support of gay men and their families in the Caribbean embodies the spirit of the David Kato Vision and Voice Award.  Maurice’s work is absolutely critical to the fight against HIV.”

Kato was a leading LGBT activist in Uganda and his death was mourned worldwide, with vigils in several cities and included a statement by President Obama. The murder led to an exceptional, positive editorial in the independent Monitor newspaper described by blogger GayUganda as “a real big deal.” Last month his murderer was sentenced to thirty years imprisonment.

The aim of the new award is to support David’s legacy in continuing to promote human rights, particularly for LGBTI people, and recognizes the incredible and often dangerous work of individuals like David around the world.

It will be awarded annually, to an individual who demonstrates courage and outstanding leadership in advocating for the sexual rights of LGBTI people, particularly in environments where these individuals face continued rejection, marginalization, isolation and persecution. The award will be accompanied by a grant of US$10,000.

The award will be presented at a ceremony to be held at the end of January in London.

Related articles

• Jamaica's sodomy law gets first legal challenge (madikazemi.blogspot.com)
• Report: The state of LGBT human rights in Jamaica (madikazemi.blogspot.com)
• Video: Why is Coca-Cola sponsoring 'Murder Music'? (madikazemi.blogspot.com)

New development of LGBT human rights in Latin America, Caribbean

Image via Wikipedia

Source: The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR)

During its 143rd regular session, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) decided to create a Unit on the Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex (LGBTI) Persons, in order to strengthen its capacity to protect their rights.

In recent years the IACHR has closely followed the situation of the rights of LGBTI persons, primarily through precautionary measures, hearings, country visits, and promotional activities. The Commission has sought to protect and promote their rights and has witnessed the serious human rights violations that many of these individuals face in their daily lives.

The Commission has confirmed that LGBTI persons face serious discrimination, both in fact and in law, in the countries of the region. Among other violations, the IACHR has received information about murders, rapes, and threats to which LGBTI persons are victims. In addition, LGBTI persons face significant barriers in their access to health, employment, justice, and political participation.

The new Unit is part of the comprehensive approach the IACHR has adopted through its Strategic Plan, which promotes the harmonious development of all its work areas based on the interdependence and indivisibility of all human rights and the need to protect the rights of all individuals and groups historically subjected to discrimination.

Next year the Commission will evaluate the Unit's work and whether sufficient resources exist to make its efforts sustainable, along with the overall functioning of its Strategic Plan, and will decide on whether to create an Office of the Rapporteur on the Rights of LGBTI Persons.

A principal, autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), the IACHR derives its mandate from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has a mandate to promote respect for human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this matter. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

Related articles

• Groundbreaking inter-American support for LGBTI rights (paper-bird.net)
• Jamaica's Anti-Sodomy Law Challenged for First Time (towleroad.com)

In the Caribbean Island of Curaçao, a first: the Health Minister visits the LGBT centre

Constancia Minister (center), manager Dudley Ferdinandus Pink House (left) and Secretary FOKO Frits van der Capellen (right).

Source: COC

The Curaçao Minister for Health, Environment and Nature Jacintha Constancia on Tuesday 13 September 2011 paid an exploratory visit to Pink House, a center for sexual diversity that is run by Fundashon Orguyo Kòrsou (FOKO). The visit of the minister can be called unique because in Curacao and the Caribbean it is the first time that a minister has visited a center like Pink House.

FOKO is particularly committed to representing the needs of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender (LGBT). FOKO and COC Netherlands work together in the Pink Orange Accord .

Minister Constancia heard information about the activities of FOKO relating to its tasks: sex education and training, sexual diversity and the prevention and treatment of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), particularly focusing on those groups which FOKO covers.

"It's very important that she was acquainted with our work and the communities where we stand," said manager Dudley Ferdinandus. "We are very pleased to finally see the political focus on our work."

The minister showed herself impressed by the work of FOKO. She was particularly concerned about FOKO's very specific groups such as youth and HIV-positive people and opportunities for them to create a healthy and positive life.

Constancia was very involved, said Ferdinandus:

"She considers it important that people get the chance to be themselves. She supports us and is pleased with the work we do."

During her visit the minister clearly taken the view that every community in Curacao is equally entitled to a healthy development. The minister also announced that the various aid agencies on the island are to work together more for the good of both the gay and heterosexual people.

Related articles

• Carribean: demonstration for legal reform; gay centre opens on Curaçao; Guyana gay film festival condemned (madikazemi.blogspot.com)

Video: In Caribbean, challenges mount to 'buggery' laws

By H, Editor Gay Jamaica Watch

Human Rights advocates and activists from across the Caribbean say they are in full support of a judicial review of the buggery law that is presently being mounted in Belize.

The case which has created strong public debate in Belize was initiated by United Belize Advocacy Movement (UNIBAM) and its Executive President Caleb Orozco in July 2010. Oral arguments are scheduled to be heard in the Supreme Court in early December this year. UNIBAM is a Belizean NGO established to defend the human rights of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community.

At a regional consultation convened by the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition (CVC) in Montego Bay, Jamaica 28 August under the PANCAP Global Fund Project, leaders from more than 20 Caribbean organizations representing the LGBT community and other human rights entities unanimously voted to support their Belizean counterparts.

Recognized as a “test-case” and an example of litigation in the public interest by many, the Belize case is driven by the human rights principle that states that all people are equal and should have equality before the law. It seeks to challenge the failure of the Belize Government to acknowledge the human dignity of all persons regardless of their sexual orientation in an old colonial law that still exists in Belize and the failure to recognize the rights of all citizens, especially the most vulnerable, as Caribbean constitutions demand.

Implications for the region

In detailing this unprecedented show of support for this historic move, Colin Robinson of the Trinidad-based Coalition for Inclusion of Sexual Orientation (CAISO) stated:

“We want to send a clear message that we will be relentless in helping to change that situation. It shows that not only is there general dissatisfaction with this outdated legal framework throughout the region but that many persons are feeling the negative effects of these laws in their own countries”.

“CVC has a mandate and commitment to preserving the rights and dignity of populations that are marginalized and do not have voice in the national and regional dialogue and whose rights are regularly trampled on. We are therefore driven by a strong human rights framework,” noted Dr. Marcus Day, Co-Chair of CVC. In affirming that CVC will seek to bring to bear its skills and resources to giving voice to these communities he stated that “To have laws that criminalize person in same-sex relations really and truly negates the human rights of this population. This cannot be allowed to continue.”

Tracy Robinson, Senior Lecturer at the Faculty of Law, University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona noted that “The sodomy or buggery laws undoubtedly affect LGBTs disproportionately, but they also criminalize sexual activities between consenting adults who are heterosexual”.

According to Ms. Robinson,

"Some argue that because the law is rarely enforced against consenting adults it poses little harm. But it has been shown that the continued existence of the laws is used by some to sanction their violence against LGBTs, results in LGBT people fearing the police and not reporting serious crimes against them and impedes meaningful access to health care and other services to prevent and treat HIV.”

Read more »

Groundbreaking conference looks at sexuality in English-speaking Caribbean

Image via Wikipedia

By Dr Perry Stanislas

Emerging Sexualities and Race: Responses to Sexuality in Jamaica and the English Speaking Caribbean and Caribbean Diaspora

An Interdisciplinary Conference organised by Department of Community and Criminal Justice, De Montfort University (Leicester) and the Department of Sociology, Warwick University

21-22 October 2011, The Scarman Conference Centre, Warwick University

The desire to have an open and informed debate about sexuality and human rights in the English speaking Caribbean has led to organising the first international conference of its type to address these and related concerns.

In this regard we are blessed to have some of the most influential voices in matters related to human rights, sexuality and equality in the Caribbean who first penned their views on this issue. These include Cecil Gutzmore, Denise Noble and Camille Nelson and in Britain Dr Tony Sewell and his pioneering work on black boys and education. The conference is also very happy to have internationally known human rights activists Peter Tatchell who played a pivotal role in the internationalization of the Jamaican dancehall homophobia issue.

It was very reassuring in the organising of the event that there was no shortage of international participants, especially from the developing world. However, funding to attend such events is a major problem with those from poorer parts of the world. The issue of funding and resources is crucial to how research and other work develop in these parts of the world and something which requires serious discussion which will be explored over the two days event.

Some very important issues that conference participants can look forward to discussing is what can be done by those from the Caribbean diaspora and supporters of change to influence the attitude of governments in the Caribbean.

Read more »

Video: In St Lucia, discussion on homosexuality in schools on agenda

Source: htsstlucia

There is nothing wrong with including discussions on homosexuality as part of sex education in schools, so says St Lucian Education Minister Arsene James.

The Minister was responding to calls for discussions on the topic to be included in the sex education curriculum to help student's grapple with issues of sexuality. Former Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Stephen King and the National Aids Program Secretariat have also supported the call.

However it has been fiercely opposed by some quarters.

In Trinidad and Tobago, first pro-gay legislation enacted

Image via Wikipedia

Source: CAISO

The President 22 June assented to the Data Protection Act, a landmark piece of legislation that establishes an ambitious framework “to ensure that protection is afforded to an individual’s right to privacy and the right to maintain sensitive personal information as private and personal.” The legislation: promulgates rules and standards for all persons who handle, store or process personal information belonging to another person, in either the public or private sector; regulates the authority of public entities to collect personal information, its use, protection, accuracy and access; establishes hefty fines and corporate penalties for breaches; and includes whistleblower protections. It also provides for the development of binding industry-tailored codes of practice in the private sector.

Of great significance to gay, lesbian and bisexual communities in Trinidad & Tobago, the new law provides heightened protections for “sensitive personal information”, which is defined to include one’s “sexual orientation or sexual life”. Ensuring citizens’ autonomy in their consensual sexual affairs requires both protecting their sexual lives from unwarranted intrusion and protecting them from discrimination based on their sexuality.

This is the first piece of legislation recognizing sexual orientation and related rights that we are aware has been enacted in the history of Trinidad & Tobago’s Parliament. Originally drafted and introduced in November 2008 by the People’s National Movement (PNM) Government, the bill was reintroduced by the People’s Partnership in January of 2011, and shepherded to passage with bipartisan support.

 

The sexual orientation provision was never hidden from the public, and was reported on in the media both times the bill was debated. It is an important lesson about the ways in which our Parliament should be legislating on sexual orientation: soberly, fairly, and without appeals to politics, division, manufactured hysteria and controversy – or imaginary verses from Leviticus. It also demonstrates how legislators can integrate questions of sexual orientation into a broad approach to rights and protections for everyone, and frame them in relationship to matters of broad public and political consensus, e.g. privacy for one’s sexual life. What is of further significance for legislating on sexual orientation is that the bill was subject to unusually vigorous debate and amendment by the Senate’s Opposition and Independent benches, which left the sexual orientation provisions intact. Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister MP Collin Partap, who piloted the bill, was saluted by the PNM for his flexibility and that of his staff in building consensus on the legislation.

We have previously congratulated the Government for its leadership in moving this legislation forward. Today, on behalf of the nation’s tens of thousands of gay, lesbian and bisexual citizens, the Coalition Advocating for Inclusion of Sexual Orientation pays tribute to all parties in Parliament and our Senators on the Independent bench for their support and vigorous contributions to strengthening of a forward-thinking piece of legislation that strengthens respect for human rights, and for our inclusion in it. We are proud today of our Parliamentarians, and we thank them.

Will the Bahamas lead on LGBT rights in English-speaking Caribbean?

Image via Wikipedia

By Paul Canning

The oldest political party in the Bahamas has come out in support of LGBT rights.

The leader of The Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), who are currently in opposition, Perry Christie, said last week that his party supports “progressive policies.”

Christie was answering a question about the historic passage June 20 of a LGBT human rights resolution by the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Christie said the resolution is humane and therefore the party is in favor of it.

“I think from our point of view we understand the sensitivity of this matter,” said Christie, adding that the PLP has “always been committed to progressive policies — policies that emphasize our commitment to human rights.”

The Deputy Prime Minister Brent Symonette, from the Free National Movement party, which is described as 'socially liberal and economically conservative', said last week that The Bahamas supports the UN resolution “in principle.”

The support was welcomed by The Rainbow Alliance, the Bahamas' LGBT group, but they said that the 'words will only be taken seriously when The Bahamas actually corrects its unjust laws against LGBT people'.

The Bahamas does not have a seat on the council. Cuba is the only Caribbean nation on the Council and they voted for the resolution.

“The (PLP) is always committed to ensuring that our policies and our commitments are consistent with the obligations of international agencies and most certainly respecting the rule of law,” Christie said.

The resolution was the first of its kind passed by the Council. It was fiercely opposed by Russia, China, Saudi Arabia and Nigeria, among other countries.

The resolution said that the council study discrimination then form a panel to discuss “constructive, informed and transparent dialogue on the issue of discriminatory laws and practices and acts of violence against individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender identity.”

Homosexual sex is not illegal in The Bahamas, it was legalised in 1991, neither are LGBT banned from the armed forces. Recommendations by the Constitutional Reform Commission to include protections against discrimination for LGBT in a new, revised Constitution were blocked by members of a PLP Government in 2006.

In 2007, a pastor who had written many articles against homosexuality in The Nassau Guardian daily newspaper held a “Save the Family Rally” in Freeport. Hundreds of people attended the event including PLP cabinet ministers and signed a petition calling for a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages in The Bahamas. Also in 2007 police raided a gay cruise party in downtown Nassau.

In 2001, an Employment Bill was proposed which included a ban on discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation, but after much debate it was passed with that clause removed.

In 2008 four gay men were reported to have been murdered in suspected hate crimes in Nassau over eight months. Two were prominent Bahamians.

In 2009 a jury acquitted a man charged with murdering a gay, HIV-positive male. The man had used the so-called “gay panic defense”.

Related articles

• UN passes historic LGBT human rights resolution (madikazemi.blogspot.com)
• In the Caribbean, homophobia varies widely (madikazemi.blogspot.com)
• Organisation of American States passes LGBT human rights resolution for fourth time (madikazemi.blogspot.com)
• Editorial: Parties views on gay rights appropriate (thenassauguardian.com)

Organisation of American States passes LGBT human rights resolution for fourth time

By Germán Humberto Rincón Perfetti, Latin American Representative of the International Lesbian and Gay Law Association, Alternate Regional Gay Representative ILGA-LAC

At the Forty-First General Assembly of the Organisation of American States (OAS) that was carried out in San Salvador on June seventh, all of the countries of the Americas and the Caribbean approved the resolution on “Human Rights, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity" [published below], which condemns discrimination, asking the countries to adopt measures that prevent, sancion, and erradicate it for the fourth consecutive year.

They comdemned acts of violence and violations of human rights to intersex, transvestite, transexual, bisexual, lesbian, and gay people.

They invited the States to adopt a public policy against discrimination and to assure adequate protection to human rights defenders.

The Inter-American Commission of Human Rights and the Inter-American Judicial Committee will prepare regional level studies, this being the greatest achievement in this fourth consecutive resolution.

This curious note was in the head of the Vatican State who lobbied against the resolution succeeding in getting Panama to leave a clarifying note on the heterosexual family and the subject of gender to only be understood as man and woman. Once again we are being publicly persecuted by our homosexual colleagues in the Roman Catholic Church heirachy while privately we are invited into their beds. How long will it be?

This work was accompanied by a colalition of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans organizations from more than 20 countries who have been working for more than five years being present and making an impact on the Inter-American System.

Read more »

Video: Satire!: Battyman Forever

HUMOUR


'Battyman Forever' exposes the highly murderous and savage homosexual underbelly of Trinidad and Tobago and illustrates why gay rights should never be given to these people.

A film by Daniella Candice Brown:

"A woman on a mission to STOP THE SLACKNESS and enlighten through wit, farce and satire."

Warning: strong language, NSFW

Part one:



Part two:

Read more »

Video: Bahamian drama on coming out in the Caribbean

Bahamian film maker Kareem Mortimer's 2009 film Children of God has just been screened on the US network Showtime and had theatrical screenings in the US and is now available on DVD.

Frameline review by Michael Fox:

The sun-kissed Bahamian streets and beaches evoke an escapist paradise, but there’s a cloud over the land. In Kareem J. Mortimer’s tender, tough and altogether touching drama, a nasty current of outspoken and religiously endorsed homophobia shadows two young men on their path out of the closet.

Jonny, an awkward and awfully cute painting student, is “banished” by his instructor to the remote island of Eleuthera to focus on his work and find his voice. But first he finds Romeo, a handsome, self-confident guy who shows Jonny the scenic spots… and a bit more. Romeo’s got a girlfriend, however, as well as a blustery mother who willfully ignores any clue or hint he drops to set her straight.

Meanwhile, Leslie, a pastor’s wife has also made her way to this distant spot to contemplate her future in relative calm. Tired of her husband spouting high-and-mighty, anti-gay rhetoric at rallies, while refusing to own up to the cruelty and contradictions in his private life, Leslie has a decision to make.

Children of God boasts glittering scenery and a rock-steady soundtrack, but Jonny, Romeo and Leslie’s high-stakes dilemmas captivate as the human drama takes center stage. Mortimer has crafted an engrossing character study with real social comment and gorgeous cinematography.

In Grenada, arrests for homosexuality - and public denials of homosexuality

By Paul Canning

Police on the Caribbean island of Grenada have arrested a man for gay sex in the same week that a group of men are front-page news denying they're gay.

A 41-year-old man was charged with having sex with an unidentified 17-year-old man, Grenada's director of public prosecution, Christopher Nelson, said 25 May.

21 May three men - Kenny Francis, Finbar Peters and Sherwin Cadore - held a press conference to deny rumours originating on the internet that they were recently caught engaged in "homosexuality activity". They blamed a police officer.

“I just want to take myself out because there is nothing like that,” Peters said. He claimed that the policeman stole some parts from his vehicle and was now out to tarnish his character.

When Peters confronted the police officer and threatened to report him to the Commissioner of Police, the police officer begged him to be compassionate since he did not intend to do it again.

“Although I did not go to the Commissioner, I did tell (a) couple people (about the incident),” he said. The rumour on the internet, Peters says, has started to impact his business negatively, and he is seeking legal advice.

Francis who is a barber shop owner and bus operator from St. Paul’s said he learned of the rumour after someone came to him saying a neighbour said she heard a bawling coming from his house. He was told of the story being circulated that police had found the group of men naked. The driver of one of the buses he owns informed him that whenever he passes through the St. George’s Bus Terminus he is also being heckled by the police about the alleged act of homosexuality.

“When they (the bus drivers) ask certain people if they are going up, they say they’re not going up with no buller man bus,” Francis said. He said the rumour is hurting his business since people are refusing to come to the barbershop.

Bar owner Cadore said:

"It (has) affected me a lot because people are saying they’re not going in no batty man bar."

When asked by a journalist if they had previously engaged "in acts of homosexuality", Francis, Peters and Cadore all "scoffed at the suggestions and indicated that they are known to be “star boys” in their own rights".

In 2007 questions were raised over gay cruises docking at the island. An editorial in The Grenada Informer said that the public displays of affection shown by same-sex tourist couples were "immoral and abnormal"

In 2003 ILGA said that the government of Grenada is among those in the Caribbean region that support "repressive and even violent policies against the local communities of gays and lesbians."

Related articles

• In the Caribbean, homophobia varies widely (madikazemi.blogspot.com)

In the Caribbean, homophobia varies widely

Mariela Castro at Cuba IDAHO rally

Source: IPS

By Dalia Acosta

Note: Trinidad & Tobago's Coalition Advocating for Inclusion of Sexual Orientation (CAISO) comment that this article includes innacuracies:

"the frequency of sentences for buggery in Jamaica; the range of penalties (that extend to life in two territories); the role of CARICOM or its member nations in hosting regional GLBT activity; ILGA's impact in the region. We'd welcome journalism that simply talked to folks in the organizations cited here."

~~~~~

While homosexuality is punishable by law in nine Caribbean island nations, gay activism is increasingly taking root in countries like Cuba.

"The situation in the Caribbean today is one of contrasts," Gloria Careaga, co-secretary general of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), founded in 1978 and with close to 700 member groups in over 110 countries, told IPS.

Differences are greatest between the Spanish-speaking and English-speaking areas of the Caribbean, Careaga, a Mexican psychologist who is also in charge of the Latin American and Caribbean region (ILGA-LAC), said by email on the occasion of International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, Tuesday May 17.

Careaga said "clear" signs of progress were the work of Cuban institutions in favour of the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people and of strengthening their groups, the growing presence of studies on sexual diversity in Puerto Rican universities, and the emergence of lesbian organisations in the Dominican Republic.

However, "the English-speaking Caribbean seems to be unable to shake off the influence of Victorian morality, and not only maintains laws that criminalise gays and lesbians, but also argues the case for homophobia, for instance in Jamaica," she said.

A national survey carried out in Jamaica by the University of the West Indies in 2010 found that 89 percent of respondents were homophobic. The study polled 1,007 adults from 231 communities in the island nation.

Jamaican courts often sentence men who have sex with men (MSM) to prison terms with hard labour.

Read more »

'You don't live here Mr. Man, do you?': Jamaican gay activists vs British academic

Dr Perry Stanislas

By Paul Canning

An upcoming conference at Warwick University in the UK in October 2011 is calling for papers on sexuality in Jamaica and the English speaking Caribbean. The title of the conference is 'Emerging Sexualities and Race: Responses to Sexuality in Jamaica and the English Speaking Caribbean and Caribbean Diaspora'.

Co-organiser Dr Perry Stanislas from De Montfort University in Leicester is quoted by the People With Voices website saying that the conference was a response to "uninformed", widely held views about Caribbean homophobia. The website quotes him claiming that in Jamaica:

"Statistically is safer to be gay than to be a straight male or female or child, who are killed in the hundreds every year."

Stanislas said that through research for his bachelor’s degree he had 'learnt a great deal about British homophobia' and that this 'has historically resulted in more extreme behaviour than has taken place in Jamaica'.

“The British police use to carry out raids on gay men in their private spaces for indecency etc. They even transported the same laws into the colonies but not one black Caribbean police organisation has ever carried out a raid on gay men in their private space,” he said.

Jamaican newspapers reported a raid on a Montego Bay gay bar last month. Gay Jamaican blogs and organisation JFLAG have documented police attacks as well as failures to investigate murders, attacks and rapes.

Read more »

Antiguan dignitary criticises government's LGBT rights stand

Source: Antigua Observer

Human Rights Activist Sir Clare Roberts has told [the Antigua & Barbuda] government it should have taken the lead in the local fight to reduce stigma and discrimination against persons of a different sexual orientation by signing a recent United Nations statement on Gay Rights.

“Government has to set the trend. It can’t just follow the sentiments of the populace; you have to do the right thing and lead people in the right direction. I suspect Antigua did not sign because it would not make for good domestic coverage,” he surmised.

The former president of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights was referring to the agreement which 85 states signed last month, committing them to taking steps to end violence, criminal sanctions and related human rights violations linked to sexual orientation or gender identity.

He is disappointed that Antigua & Barbuda is not a signatory, noting that increasingly the human rights record of countries are being put on the front burner and are guiding bilateral relations.

“It’s being looked at more and more in terms of trade, loans from the World Bank but I’m not sure that in this particular instance not signing the statement will have that great an impact on Antigua’s relationship with other countries,” Sir Clare said.

He lamented the fact that the Antigua & Barbuda public is growing more intolerant of the rights of gays, lesbians and trans-sexuals but dismissed as “melodramatic” suggestions that they are unsafe here.

“I am not aware of violent incidents against gays here. I think it is to be a little melodramatic in Antigua to say gays are in fear of their lives. The intolerance has not reached the level of, say, Jamaica where people have been killed just for their sexual orientation,” the human rights activist said.

The US State Department’s 2010 Human Rights Report on Antigua & Barbuda stated that some gays and lesbians said they feared being open about their lifestyle would result in possible violence.

Sir Clare added that the answer is “education, education, education, in whatever form, because the intolerance is growing. You just have to listen to the talk-shows. People have to be educated as to human rights and the rights of others.”

Related articles

• US State Dept human rights report picks up LGBT asylum issues in UK (madikazemi.blogspot.com)

US State Dept human rights report picks up LGBT asylum issues in UK

Image via Wikipedia

By Paul Canning

The 35th annual human rights report of the US State Department has picked up on "significant disadvantages" experienced by LGBT asylum seekers in the UK.

In launching the report April 8 Secretary of State Hillary Clinton drew particular attention to the report’s identification of abuses against LGBT people internationally:

“Because I believe, and our government believes, that gay rights are human rights, we remain extremely concerned about state-sanctioned homophobia,” Clinton said.

She hoped that the reports which cover every country bar the US itself would "give comfort to the activists, will shine a spotlight on the abuses, and convince those in government that there are other and better ways.” They may also be used to bar aid to certain countries if the US Congress passes recently introduced legislation.

Mark Bromley, chair of the Council for Global Equality, told the Washington Blade that Clinton has made LGBT rights one of the State Department's top priorities. Expanded coverage of LGBT rights was begun last year but the 2010 reports show patchy coverage across Africa and the Middle East.

State Department interest in LGBT asylum

The UK report cited last year's Stonewall report 'No Going Back' and pulled out for mention its identification of the "fast tracking" of LGBT asylum claims, repeating Stonewall's finding that LGBT have complex cases and in "denying them quickly, UKBA staff did not give applicants time to talk openly about their sexual orientation."

Home Office Minister Damien Green told the House of Commons in February that the government did not accept that sexual orientation asylum claims are complex and therefore would not exclude them from 'fast track', as it does other types of cases.

Read more »

Is US asylum for gay Barbadians damaging the country's image?

Source: The Nation

By Tony Best

Barbados is on the list of countries whose nationals are seeking asylum in the United States, claiming they are being persecuted because of their sexual orientation.

And while Barbados’ Ambassador to the United States, John Beale, said the State Department had not raised the issue with him officially, he is concerned about it because of the damage which the claims can cause to the country’s image.

“We certainly haven’t had any discussion on this with the State Department,” Beale told the Saturday Sun. “We haven’t been approached by any Barbadian on this matter.”

Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, Dominica, the Bahamas and St Lucia are among the countries whose nationals consider the atmosphere at home so hostile to lesbians, gays, bisexuals and trans-gender (LGBT) people that they are seeking asylum in the United States.

“The atmosphere in many English-speaking Caribbean nations is absolutely oppressive,” said Victoria Neilson, legal director of Washington-based gay rights organization Immigration Equality.

Read more »

In Trinidad and Tobago LGBT advocate for rights

Source: Trinidad Express

By Aabida Allaham

Gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender (GLBT) people in Trinidad and Tobago are calling on the Government to decriminalise homosexuality.

The community, which is reportedly made up of thousands of people, says they are tired of being treated like second-class citizens, Colin Robinson, spokesman for the Coalition Advocating for the Inclusion of Sexual Orientation (CAISO), says.

In a telephone interview with the Express yesterday, Robinson said while they appreciate the call by Gender Affairs Minister Mary King for a national debate on same-sex marriages, it is not what they need.

"The Government isn't listening, and has its priorities wrong. We've consistently given the Government six national priorities - this was never one," he said.

"We've consistently asked for action to prevent discrimination and violence, for attention to homelessness, to make schools safe for young people, to train police. We've repeatedly asked them to listen and consult, and offered our help with building a nation for everyone but they have not heard us."

Robinson said while being able to get married would be nice, it was really "putting the cart before the horse". He said while the Government does not need to amend the Sexual Offences Act or decriminalise sexual activities to protect GLBT people from discrimination and violence, "it probably would be appropriate to decriminalise some offences of sexuality and homosexual behaviour before looking at the recognition of same-sex relationships".

Read more »

St Lucia: Double standards for acceptance of gays

Image via Wikipedia

Source: Panos Caribbean

Joan Didier is considered a foremost expert on marginalized populations.  She works extensively with groups such as men who have sex with men (MSMs) in St. Lucia, advocating on their behalf and fighting to get what she says is their basic human right to “live and love as they want” without fear of retribution or jail.

Didier is a founding member of the AIDS Action Foundation (AAD) and she continues to be its Director.  AAD is a non-profit organization, formed following a meeting in Barbados in 2000 to discuss the regional fight against HIV/AIDS. A lab technician by profession it was Didier’s desire to stave off a disease she described as a “ticking time bomb”, that first influenced her to investigate and safeguard marginalized groups like MSMs from contracting it.

She wants education to play a leading role in that regard.

“There needs to be an education program that speaks to human rights,” Didier says. “Sometimes we can change attitudes without changing laws or we can change attitudes even before we change the laws.”

Didier agrees that stigma and discrimination are huge factors keeping MSM “in the closet.”  But she also believes that buggery laws and morality, as preached by churches like the predominant Roman Catholic faith, do as much damage if not more.

Read more »