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| Panel and Moderator (Photo credit: Nekete Forde, GYNC) |
On
Monday, November 30, 2015, the Society Against Sexual Orientation
Discrimination (SASOD) and the USAID – Advancing Partners and
Communities (APC) Guyana Project hosted the third in its series of
monthly Lunch Talks at the APC office in Oleander Avenue, Bel Air Park,
Georgetown. The session was held as part of SASOD’s observances of the
16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (GBV), which kicked
off on November 25 – International Day for the Elimination of Violence
Against Women – and runs until December 10 – Human Rights Day. SASOD is
holding daily activities, both on its social media sites and in-person
events.
The
“Lunch Talk” had a special focus on “Barriers Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual
and Transgender (LGBT) People Face in Accessing Services for Intimate
Partner Violence (IPV)”. The event featured a panel which consisted of
Attorney-at-Law Ayana McCalman, who is Assistant Secretary on the Board
of Directors of the Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association (GRPA),
Vanda Radzik, renowned human rights activist and Commissioner on the
Women and Gender Equality Commission (WGEC), and Joel Simpson, SASOD’s
Managing Director. The discussion was moderated by SASOD’s Social Change
Coordinator, Chelauna Providence.
Presenting
first, Radzik stated that Guyana has a number of progressive laws;
however, there is a serious problem with the enforcement of these laws.
She noted that there are still high levels of violence in Guyanese
society generally. “Violence affecting LGBT persons is particularly
horrendous because there is no legislation that specifically protects
LGBT persons from the onslaught of discrimination, verbal abuse and
targeted violence that in some cases leads to death,” Radzik said. She
highlighted that though the Domestic Violence Act is intended to be
gender neutral, she was unsure of how it was being applied in practice
in LGBT settings. Radzik also urged the faith leaders to be progressive
in their teachings. In her recommendations, she noted that the WGEC has
been calling for the establishment of a Special Victims Unit within the
Guyana Police Force with fully trained practitioners to provide services
to survivors of GBV.
McCalman
noted that there are two key pieces of legislation that deal with
issues related to IPV in Guyana: there is the Domestic Violence Act 1996
and the Sexual Offences Act 2010. She highlighted that it is critical
to note that both sets of laws are not about the prevention of violence,
but rather, protection from violence. The legislation comes into effect
after the act of violence has occurred. She stated that the threshold
for the reporting of violence is very low, although there was been
increased awareness and educational campaigns. She noted that there is a
lack of data on IPV in LGBT relationships. She stated that this is also
part of the problem because dealing with the issue begins with being
aware of the extent of the problem. She added that while SASOD and its
partners might be most aware of IPV in LGBT relationships, that the
general public is severely unaware of this issue because it is not being
recorded by government agencies. However, McCalman noted that the
underlying problem for LGBT persons is not the legislation or its
application. When accessing legal, social or health services, the real
challenge for LGBT persons is stigma. “There is the stigma of saying
that your partner abuses you and then there is also the stigma of being
LGBT in Guyana,” she said. “Stigma hinders access to services,
protection from violence and other forms of discrimination,” she added.
McCalman concluded by addressing the issue of healing for the survivors
of violence. “I have been researching the topic of law as a healing
profession. How do we create a society with the relevant laws and rules
that do the least harm or no harm at all? The conversations on healing
are important, in doing so we can address issues of compassion,
tolerance and respect. In turn we will begin to have a conversation
about both ends of the spectrum of violence: prevention and protection,”
McCalman related.
Panel and attendees. (Photo credit: Neketa Forde, GNYC)
Simpson’s
presentation focused on community experiences with using the law to
address IPV. He noted that in his experience one of the main challenges
with regards to this issue is the conflicting laws. “There are laws on
the books that criminalize same-sex intimacy and cross-dressing but
there is a gender-neutral Domestic Violence Act and a Domestic Violence
Policy which clearly says that homophobia is an impediment to service
provision for homosexuals in abusive relations,” Simpson said. Simpson
termed this a “schizophrenic legal framework.” “In terms of protection,
the state recognizes that the laws need to serve persons of all genders,
but at the same time, we have these archaic laws which don’t help to
prevent bias violence. In fact, these laws further propel the stigma and
discrimination which lead to targeted violence and hate crimes.
Joel Simpson, SASOD making a point. (Photo credit: Theresa Campbell, APC)
Abusive
persons in LGBT relationships are emboldened by the fact that there
partners will not go to the police to report the violence because there
are laws which criminalize the very nature of their intimate relations,”
Simpson posited. He then stated that ”on the prevention side, we face a
key challenge: firstly, the laws around same-sex intimacy are
indirectly enforced and the laws on cross-dressing are directly
enforced, and therefore LGBT persons are reluctant to go to the police
to seek any sort of recourse.” He also highlighted the need for
sensitivity training for police officers and healthcare providers and
social workers, in a sustainable way. He posited that the resources are
available to deal with these problems, but our leaders lack the
political will to address them. He highlighted that “the APNU+AFC
administration clearly stated in their 2015 elections manifesto that
they were going to address all forms of discrimination including those
related to people suffering discrimination based on sexual orientation.”
He called on the administration to deliver on this commitment.
The
discussion with the attendees, which included representatives from
civil society, government ministries, international agencies, media and
the police, interrogated the need for more data and research on LGBT
persons’ experiences with IPV, greater collaboration with key government
agencies, the need for the media to play a more pivotal role in
educating the public on mechanisms to prevent and protect themselves
from interpersonal violence, the need for comprehensive sexually
education in schools, working ardently with faith communities to
cultivate a culture of compassion, respect and equality for all, and a
call for the introduction of gender-based budgeting with resources for
planning and sustainability of the response to GBV in Guyana.
A section of the attendees - from the Guyana Police Force, civil society and the media. (Photo credit: Theresa Campbell, APC)
SASOD
and APC recognize that dialogue pertaining to GBV often neglects LGBT
people, particularly transgender persons. These conversations are
however critical, particularly in ensuring that barriers to attaining
the highest standards of physical, sexual and mental health of all
Guyanese are removed. It is also important to note that the likelihood
of contracting HIV or a sexually-transmitted infection is amplified for
persons who are in abusive, violent relationships.
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