SASOD - Guyana

SASOD Statement on the 2011 General Elections Polls

2011-12-07T09:10:00.001-08:00

SASOD joins in celebrating the historic shift in the political system after the November 28, 2011 elections. SASOD welcomes the opportunity for Guyana to acknowledge that there is a need for an inclusive system of Governance which recognises all forms of diversity, not only of political affiliation or opinion, but also of race, place of origin, colour, creed, age, disability, marital status, sex , sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, language, birth, social class, religion, conscience, belief or culture.

SASOD also calls on GECOM to investigate and honour all claims related to the conduct of the elections in the interest of transparency. SASOD looks forward to the continued reform of the electoral system which will ensure a future of completely free and fair elections as we work to build a healthy and prosperous society for all Guyanese.

Printed in Guyana Chronicle on 5 December, 2011

SASOD's position against the Criminalization of HIV Transmission

2011-07-13T12:28:00.000-07:00

Listen to the podcast of Korey Chisolm, Anton Rocke and Sherlina Nageer after their presentation to the Parliamentary Select Committee on 13 July, 2011

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The Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination opposes the Criminalisation of HIV Transmission which is under consideration by the Parliament of Guyana. SASOD's presentation to the Special Select Committee considering the Resolution 129 of 2010 has noted several reasons why such a law would reverse the progress being made in Guyana to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

CRIMINALIZATION OF HIV TRANSMISSION IS COUNTER TO THE OFFICIAL UNAIDS POSITION AND INCONSISTENT WITH INTERNATIONAL GUIDANCE ON HUMAN RIGHTS:

According to UNAIDS and other international agencies, there is no evidence to suggest that criminalizing HIV transmission is an effective means to prevent the further spread of the virus or achieve criminal justice.
Several countries that have such laws e.g. Guinea, Togo, Denmark and Senegal, are reviewing and suspending them in the face of increasing awareness of their inefficacy as well as concerns of violating individual human rights.
SASOD supports international consensus that criminal and/or public health legislation should not include specific offences against the deliberate and intentional transmission of HIV but rather should apply general criminal offences to these exceptional cases.
A legal review by the Belizean National AIDS Committee found that the criminalizing of deliberate transmission deterred persons from getting tested for fear of criminal sanctions. The review indicated that there have been no prosecutions under the section because of the evidential difficulty in proving these cases under law and as a result, the recommendation is to repeal the law.

CRIMINALIZATION FURTHER VICTIMIZES WOMEN:

We share Mr. Franklin’s (MP who proposed the legislation) desire to better protect women from dishonest and malicious sexual partners, but the fact is that criminalization does not protect women- it increases the likelihood of them being victimized. The reason for this is that women access healthcare services more often than men (for reproductive services especially), so in many places, women who know their HIV status more often than men. As such, they can be accused of transmitting the virus to their male partners, even if those partners are the ones who infected them in the first place. Therefore, these laws can be described as harmful instead of helpful to women.
More helpful to women would be to address gender-related violence, inequality and sexual coercion, as well as stigma and discrimination.
Some women might be prosecuted for mother-to-child transmission. This occurs where laws criminalizing HIV transmission or exposure are drafted broadly enough to include transmission to a child during pregnancy or breastfeeding.

CRIMINALIZATION INCREASES STIGMA AND DISCRIMINATION AGAINST HIV+ INDIVIDUALS AND DRIVES TRANSMISSION:

HIV is no longer a death sentence; it is now a medically manageable disease. Legislation such as the proposed one continues to spread fear and misinformation about HIV, however. There are other infections that can be transmitted via unprotected sex- some of which are also lifelong conditions- such as Herpes- but the same level of attention is not paid to those.
The focus on criminalization of HIV transmission increases stigma and discrimination against HIV positive people by making potential criminals of all of them and has a deterrent effect on testing. Testing is a critical tool in reducing HIV transmission and anything that interferes with its efficacy- such as legislation like this- is very dangerous and counterproductive in the fight against this disease.

CRIMINALIZATION UNDERMINES PUBLIC HEALTH:

Criminalization of HIV transmission also makes it even more difficult to work with ‘hard to reach’ communities such as men who have sex with men, sex workers, drug users, etc who are already fearful of the authorities and being criminalized for their lifestyle or sexual behaviors.
Confidentiality between people and their healthcare provider is extremely important- especially in cases of HIV+ individuals who require long-term treatment. As such, anything that forces doctors and health care providers to reveal patients’ private health information, or even testify about it, has a negative impact on patient trust of the health care system and willingness to remain engaged in HIV care- which has a negative long term impact on society as a whole. Far more effective HIV prevention programmes exist such as testing, counseling and general awareness campaigns.

THERE ARE ALREADY LAWS IN PLACE TO DEAL WITH THIS:

We already have legislation in place- The Sexual Offences Act- which would deal with cases of non-consensual sex. In cases of such offenses, the accused is compelled to obtain a HIV test, the results shared with the victim, and taken into account when determining the sentence.
Strengthening this existing legislation, educating citizens, law enforcement, and judicial officers about their rights and responsibilities under the Sexual Offences law and putting policies into place that make it really work effectively on the ground is a better use of time and resources, in our opinion, instead of putting yet another misguided, ill-informed, and un-enforceable law on the books.

IN CONCLUSION:

The job of preventing HIV falls to society as a whole, not just those who are HIV positive. Focusing solely on HIV positive persons does us all a disservice. We need to focus instead on proven prevention strategies such as testing and counseling, education, and reducing stigma and discrimination, and protecting peoples’ human rights and dignity.

NINTH PARLIAMENT OF GUYANA
FIRST SESSION (2006-2010)
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
RESOLUTION NO. 129
WHEREAS the fight against HIV and AIDS has been relentless especially during the past 15 years;
AND WHEREAS some success has been recorded throughout the country in reducing the instances of infection and transmission of HIV and AIDS;
AND WHEREAS educating the population is of utmost importance in the arsenal of weapons and/or measures required to combat this dreaded disease;
AND WHEREAS despite the best efforts of health care officials, religious organizations and NGOs in educating the population with respect to AIDS and HIV, infection rates are still disappointingly high;
AND WHEREAS persons, some knowingly, still infect others with the Human Immune Deficiency Virus, causing immense suffering and pain to the infected persons, their families, community at large along with increased cost to the health care system;
AND WHEREAS persons are not held responsible by law for knowingly transmitting this deadly virus to innocent victims;
AND WHEREAS the confidentiality and non-discriminatory laws in place which protect persons affected with HIV and AIDS prevent disclosure of their identity, these persons are free to have unprotected sex with unsuspecting partners, thus further spreading the disease,

NOW THEREFORE, RESOLVED,
That the criminal laws of Guyana under all relevant sections be amended, to make it an indictable offence for any person to transmit the virus to any other person, when they would have had prior knowledge of their infected status;
FURTHER RESOLVED,
That non disclosure laws or guidelines be so amended to allow information to be used by the prosecution if so required;
FURTHER RESOLVED,
That all agencies, clinics, hospitals which have the results of tests and other vital information be bound by law to release such information to any court engaged in a matter; and
FURTHER RESOLVED,
That the manner in which society and law treat with persons who willfully transmit HIV be taken to a Special Select Committee to examine this issue comprehensively, drawing from other countries’ experiences which have criminalized this offence and those which have not, taking into consideration experts’ and the public’s views, as well as examining the present laws of Guyana and return to the National Assembly with considered opinions and recommendations on this issue.
Passed by the National Assembly on Thursday, 29th July, 2010.

PRESS RELEASE: LGBTI Groups Advance Gains with Passage of Fourth Resolution at 41st OAS General Assembly

2011-06-18T18:18:00.000-07:00

June 11, 2011

Jermaine Grant represented Guyana’s Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) at the 41^st Organisation of American States (OAS) General Assembly that was held on June 5-7, 2011, in San Salvador, El Salvador. SASOD’s participation in this year’s OAS General Assembly served as the fifth year of its advocacy in the Inter-American system for human rights protection of persons on the grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.

SASOD’s representative along with other members of the Coalition of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) Organisations of 21 countries in the hemisphere participated in peripheral meetings with Dr. Irene Klinger, Director of the Department of International Relations of the OAS and Vanda Pignato, First Lady of El Salvador and the country's Secretary of Social Inclusion who both expressed support and appreciation of the work of the Coalition in its human rights advocacy. Further, Grant and others also participated in the Informal Dialogue with the OAS Secretary General, Jose Miguel Insulza on June 4, 2011 with other members of civil society in highlighting the human rights situation of LGBTI persons in the Americas in strengthening transparency and inclusion of human rights defenders participating in the decision-making process of the organization.

In the context of the General Assembly’s theme, “Citizen Security in the Americas,” and noting that the concept of security is multi-dimensional, members of the coalition recognised that any threat to the survival and livelihood of all human kind compromises citizens’ security. From this perspective, participants from the Anglophone Caribbean LGBTI civil society articulated that laws criminalizing same-sex intimacy serves to create an unsafe environment and perpetuate discrimination in the forms of harassment, abuse and violence of LGBTI persons.

Mentioned was that most member states of the OAS from Latin and North America have made notable strides in the promotion and protection of human rights on the grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression whilst those in the Anglophone Caribbean are retrogressing by not taking legislative steps in repealing laws criminalizing same-sex intimacy and cross-dressing along with enactment of legislation that willfully exclude rights of LGBTI persons.

SASOD’s representative posited that such actions by member states of the Anglophone Caribbean make them complicit in perpetuating discrimination and intolerance; thus, legitimising human rights abuses and violence that oppress LGBTI persons, compounded by an unsafe environment, which creates social vulnerabilities. These laws embody state-sanctioned homophobia which devalues human life and undermines citizens’ security.

In advocacy to effect human rights on the grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, Grant, along with other human rights defenders from the Anglophone Caribbean drafted a statement that was distributed to government delegations from the sub-region, on the human rights situation of LGBTI persons and which called for “leaders of CARICOM to guarantee the rights of all citizens… and aggressively address the scourge of homophobia that undermines our collective security.” (Please see statement attached.)

SASOD’s participation in the 41^st OAS General Assembly serves to reinforce and strengthen advocacy of previous years for human rights protection on the grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. Further, its participation highlights the realities and challenges of LGBTI persons in Guyana to the attention of the OAS and member states whilst urging definitive action in legal and policy changes. This year’s General Assembly approved a fourth resolution on “Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity” that encouraged member states to consider “adopting public policies against discrimination by reason of sexual orientation and gender identity,” inter alia.

---END---

Attachments:

1. San Salvador Communiqué of the Coalition of LGBTI Organisations of Latin America and the Caribbean

THE COALITION OF LGBTTTI ORGANIZATIONS FROM 21 LATIN
AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN COUNTRIES WITNESSING THE APPROVAL
OF THE FOURTH RESOLUTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS, SEXUAL
ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITY
The Coalition of LGBTTTI Latin American and Caribbean organizations, formed by groups belonging to more than 20 countries expresses in this communiqué its assessment of the activities of the 41st General Assembly of the Organization of American States, which took place in San Salvador on June 5th-7th, 2011.
This Assembly adopted the fourth resolution AG/RES. 2653 (XLI-O/11) “Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity”, showing the increasing attention to our situation and the need of encouraging member states to commit to taking action to fight human rights violations against our communities. The mentioned resolution, which is the result of the advocacy of the coalition, makes progress towards the realization of an hemispheric thematic study. It also highlights the need for member states to implement public policies against discrimination of LGBTTTI people, calling on the States to investigate, record, and punish hate crimes against our population.
We are pleased for the possible reinvigoration of the negotiation process of the draft Inter American Convention against Racism and all Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance.
However, we are concerned that, on the very occasion of the Assembly, whose theme was “Citizen Security in the Americas,” the opportunity to advance in the construction of an instrument that would contribute to challenging the structural causes of violence has been lost by opening the door to the possibility of dividing the draft Convention in one main text, and one or more additional protocols (which would strengthen the idea of the existence of a hierarchy among forms of discrimination). We recognize, in any event, that advancing the discussion on racism would be in itself a fundamental achievement that would improve the quality of life for all.
With reference to the Declaration of San Salvador, we are concerned that it focuses on issues related to organized crimes and not on day-to-day security. The majority of killings, serious assaults, sexual abuses, and other crimes against the individual are the result of bias and vulnerability associated with gender violence; discrimination against afro-descendant and indigenous people; sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression; xenophobia; disability; migrants, displaced people and other vulnerable groups.
Additionally, we express our concern for the lack of visibility we suffer by the omission of any reference to specific security needs of LGBTTTI people, despite being especially affected by the consequences of violence and crimes caused by homophobia, lesbophobia and, most of all, transphobia. These concerns were raised in our intervention during the dialogue between the civil society and the heads of delegations of member states.
We report the election to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of Felipe
González, Rose-Marie Belle Antoine, Tracy Robinson and Rosa Maria Ortiz. The election of Rosa Maria Ortiz and Tracy Robinson is an honor for the Coalition; women of great value for their well-known commitment and expertise in human rights, and whose candidatures the Coalition have supported vigorously through our ministries of foreign affairs.
Finally, we want to highlight a fundamental concern for civil society, related to the
attempt by some member states and OAS organs to weaken the scope of work of the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

About the Coalition’s activities
Beyond the resolution that has been formally adopted, the Coalition celebrates the
consolidation of its space as civil society component after four years of advocacy work within the OAS and in the region, before, during and after the General Assemblies.
In the days that preceded the 41st General Assembly, the Coalition organized a two-day parallel event in preparation for the advocacy and participation within the OAS. Our main discussion topics were:

(a) implementation of the resolution “Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity”;

(b) Interaction with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (with specific focus on thematic hearings); (c) Interaction with the Commission on Juridical and Political Affairs; (d) Advocacy in the negotiation process of the
draft Convention against Racism and All Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance; (e) Advocacy with member states.
During the two days, invited participants included Irene Klinger, director of the
Department of International Relations of the OAS, who highlighted the importance of the commitment of the LGBTTTI civil society in all processes of the OAS and the increasing visibility of the issue within the OAS, particularly with reference to the Hemispheric Forum.
The Coalition met the First Lady of El Salvador and Secretary for Social Inclusion
Vanda Guiomar Pignato, who spoke about the need that societies make progress in regard to the inclusion and the respect for all forms of diversity and greeted the Coalition for its presence within the OAS.
Finally, Edgar Carrasco and Herbert Betancourt from UNAIDS, and Maria Tallarico from UNDP also attended the workshop.
During the informal dialogue with the Secretary General of the OAS and the civil society in San Salvador, four delegates of the LGBTTTI coalition addressed to Secretary General José Miguel Insulza their concerns regarding the undue influence of religion on states and the weakening of the principle of secularity, violence and discrimination that LGBTTTI individuals suffers within their own families, hate crimes and the need of recognition of self-perceived identity for travesti, transgender, transsexual and intersex people.
Mr. Insulza confirmed the OAS commitment to fight for recognition of the rights of LGBTTTI individuals and expressed his concern for the lack of progress of the draft Inter American Convention against Racism and all Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance, partially due to the criminalization of same-sex intimacy in several Caribbean countries. He also indicated that some countries still have official religions, statement that would suggest that official religions are an obstacle to the introduction of protective policies, as religions would be prioritized over human rights protection.
The Coalition also met Arturo Valenzuela, Assistant Secretary of State of the
Government of the United States, and Paula Uribe, Senior Advisor of the Department of State of the United States, who were accompanied by a delegation from the U.S. Embassy to El Salvador; the first secretary of the Mission of Canada before the OAS
Douglas Janoff and Danilo Gonzalez Ramirez, Minister Counselor of the Mission of
Costa Rica before the OAS and Chair of the Working Group in charge of drafting the draft Inter American Convention against Racism and all Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance were also present at the meeting. The discussion focused on the commitment of the U.S. Department of State to support LGBTTTI human rights in the region and the progress in the discussion on the Convention.
Later on, the Coalition met Víctor Madrigal Principal Specialist of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, who explained the working plan to draft a hemispheric report on the situation of human rights of LGBTTTI people, the success of which will depend on the participation of the organizations of the region that will provide continuous information to the Commission.
The Coalition also met Lionel Veer, Ambassador for Human Rights of the Netherlands, who expressed his support and availability to strengthen civil society organizations and highlighted the need of establishing a dialogue between the ministries of foreign affairs and the IACHR.
We welcome the increasing interest for the work of the coalition that constitutes an
acknowledgment of the work carried out in these years.
We thank Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, UNAIDS, UNDP, and
Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights for their support to
make our participation to this General Assembly possible.
The participants of the Coalition of LGBTTTI Organizations of Latin America and the Caribbean within the OAS were:
AIREANA - Camila Zabala – Paraguay, ASOCIACIÓN LIDERES EN ACCION -Germán Rincón Perfetti - Colombia, ASPIDH ARCO IRIS – Mónica Hernández – El Salvador, COALITION ADVOCATING FOR INCLUSION OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION – Kareem Griffith – Trinidad and Tobago, COLECTIVA MUJER y SALUD, Julie Betances – Dominican Republic, COLECTIVO OVEJAS NEGRAS – Valeria Rubino – Uruguay, COLECTIVO UNIDAD COLOR ROSA – Roxana Almendarez – Honduras, COLOMBIA DIVERSA – Marcela Sánchez – Colombia, CORPORACIÓN PROMOCIÓN DE LA MUJER, Tania Correa - Ecuador, DIVERLEX – Tamara Adrián – Venezuela, DOMINICA CHAP – Daryl Phillip – Dominica, FRONTE TRANS – Mario Sánchez Pérez – Mexico, INSTITUTO RUNA – Belissa Andia – Perú, INTERNATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION LAC – Marcelo Ferreyra – Argentina, J-FLAG – Jaevion Nelson – Jamaica, AIDS FREE WORLD - Maurice Tomlinson – Jamaica, MULABI-ARGENTINA – Fernando D’Elio – Argentina, MULABI-COSTA RICA – Natasha Jiménez – Costa Rica, ORGANIZACIÓN DE TRANSEXUALES POR LA DIGNIDAD DE LA DIVERSIDAD – Andrés Rivera Duarte – Chile, ORGANIZACIÓN TRANS REINAS DE LA NOCHE – Johana Ramírez – Guatemala, RED AFRO LGBTI - Edmilson Medeiros - Brazil, RED LATINOAMERICANA Y DEL CARIBE DE PERSONAS TRANS - Marcela Romero- Argentina, RED NICARAGUENSE DE ACTIVISTAS TRANS – Silvia Martínez – Nicaragua, SOCIETY AGAINST SEXUAL ORIENTATION DISCRIMINATION- Jermaine Grant - Guyana, UNIBAM – Caleb Orozco – Belize, BARBADOS HIV/AIDS ALLIANCE - Emerson Emmanuel – Barbados.
As Coalition partner: Stefano Fabeni – Heartland Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights DECLARATION OF THE COALICION OF LESBIANS, GAYS, BISEXUALS, TRAVESTI, TRANSEXUALS, TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX OF THE AMERICAS BEFORE THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE OAS.
SAN SALVADOR, EL SALVADOR, JUNE 5TH, 2011
Mister Secretary General, Ministers, Members of the Official Delegations, Civil Society Representatives,
We, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Travesti, Transsexual, Transgender and Intersex organizations, convened in San Salvador, El Salvador on June 2 and 3, 2011, in accordance with the directives established by the General Assembly of the OAS in its resolutions AG/RES.2092(XXXV- O/05); CP/RES.759(1217/99); AG/RES.840(1361/03); AG/RES.1707(XXX-O/00) and AG/RES.1915(XXXIII-O/03), which determine a regulatory framework to enhance and strengthen civil society participation in OAS activities and in the Summit of the Americas process
We fully share the concern for ensuring that citizen security must concretely constitute the basis for full and sustainable development of human rights for every individual.
However, we express our concern as the draft Declaration “Citizen Security in the
Americas” focuses on issues related to organized crime rather than crimes experienced in daily life. The majority of killings, serious assaults, sexual abuses, and other crimes against the individual are the result of bias and vulnerability associated with gender violence; discrimination against afro-descendant and indigenous people; sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression; xenophobia; disability; migrants, displaced people and other vulnerable groups.
Additionally, we express our concern for the lack of visibility we suffer by the omission of any reference to specific security needs of LGBTTTI people, despite being especially affected by the consequences of violence and crimes caused by homophobia, lesbophobia and, most of all, transphobia; contravening the content of the Resolutions “Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity” adopted in 2008 (AG/RES. 2435 (XXXVIII-O/08), 2009 (AG/RES. 2435 (XXXVIII-O/08) and 2010 (AG/RES. 2600 (XL-O/10).
Every year thousands of children and adolescents in the region are expelled from their homes because of their sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. They are victims of attacks by State security organs as well as by non-state actors. They are excluded from education, access to dignifying work, health, social security, and the most elementary rights as citizens, particularly sexual and reproductive rights. The most serious concern relating to citizen security is the situation of transsexual, travesti, transgender men and women. Being particularly affected by stigma, deprived of the right to personal identity based on their social name and identity, without which the exercise of most rights are simply impossible; excluded from any public policy; carrying the huge risk of suffering the worst forms of social, economic and labour segregation. Located at the margin of any real opportunity, many of them find in prostitution the only means of survival, which aggravates the circle of marginalization and poverty, as well as a risk to personal security.
Crimes committed against LGBTTTI people are made invisible in official data on criminality. Investigation authorities rarely complete their investigations. Courts of law are often carried away by bias that does not allow access to a just and inclusive
judgment, that occasionally is favorable to the perpetrator. The majority of victims
prefer not to report crimes committed against them because of fear of suffering
harassment, maltreatment or institutional victimization.
We applaud the significant progress in equality legislation, case law and regulations in several countries of the region in the last year. However, we are concerned that the same progress is not occurring in all countries simultaneously. At this point in almost all English speaking Caribbean countries same sex intimacy is still criminal. We denounce religious beliefs constantly interfering with human rights, which contributes to worsening issues of citizen security for LGBTTTI people.
We denounce that the process of negotiation of the Draft Inter-American Convention
against Racism and all Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance is basically dormant, if not close to failure, which would mean losing the opportunity to address the issues mentioned above.
We are concerned that the implementation of policies that are aimed at repressing
criminality in society often have the effect of worsening the vulnerability situation of
LGBTTTI people.
Therefore we demand:

To the Member States:
1. To introduce in their laws clear norms to effectively criminalize hate crimes; to
repeal laws that criminalize same sex intimacy; to fight against discrimination in
every area.
2. To establish effective and speedy mechanisms for the integral recognition of legal
identity of transexual, trangender, travesti and intersex individuals, based on their
names and perceived gender identity, without need for genital surgery nor of
pathological protocols.
3. To implement adequate, integral and transversal public policies to fight stigma,
exclusion and segregation of individuals on grounds of their sexual orientation,
gender identity and gender expression; as well as ensure their effective protection
from violence.
4. To consider the proposal for an Inter-American Convention on Sexual Rights and
Reproductive Rights.

To the General Assembly:
5. To approve the draft resolution CP/CJP-2951/11, Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity presented by the Brazilian delegation, whose initiative we fully endorse.
We are not dangerous. We are in danger!
AG/RES. 2653 (XLI-O/11) HUMAN RIGHTS, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, AND
GENDER IDENTITY (Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 7, 2011)
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, TAKING INTO ACCOUNT resolutions AG/RES. 2435 (XXXVIII-O/08), AG/RES. 2504 (XXXIX-O/09), and AG/RES. 2600 (XL-O/10), “Human Rights, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity”;
REITERATING:
That the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in that instrument, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status; and

That the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man establishes that every human being has the right to life, liberty, and the security of his person without distinction as to race, sex, language, creed, or any other factor;
CONSIDERING that the Charter of the Organization of American States proclaims that the historic mission of the Americas is to offer to man a land of liberty and a favorable environment for the development of his personality and the realization of his just aspirations;
REAFFIRMING the principles of universality, indivisibility, and interdependence of
human rights;
TAKING NOTE of the Declaration on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity,
presented to the United Nations General Assembly on December 18, 2008; and
NOTING WITH CONCERN the acts of violence and related human rights violations as well as discrimination practiced against persons because of their sexual orientation and gender identity;
RESOLVES:
1. To condemn discrimination against persons by reason of their sexual orientation
and gender identity, and to urge states, within the parameters of the legal institutions of their domestic systems, to adopt the necessary measures to prevent, punish, and eradicate such discrimination.

To condemn acts of violence and human rights violations committed against
persons because of their sexual orientation and gender identity; and to urge states to prevent and investigate these acts and violations and to ensure due judicial protection for victims on an equal
footing and that the perpetrators are brought to justice.
3.
To encourage the member states to consider, within the parameters of the legal
institutions of their domestic systems, adopting public policies against discrimination by reason
of sexual orientation and gender identity.
4.
To urge states to ensure adequate protection for human rights defenders who
work on the issue of acts of violence, discrimination, and human rights violations committed
against individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity.
5.
To request the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to pay
particular attention to its work plan titled “Rights of LGTBI People” and, in keeping with its
established practice, to prepare a hemispheric study on the subject; and to urge member states to
participate in the report.
6.
To ask the IACHR and the Inter-American Juridical Committee each to prepare
a study on the legal implications and conceptual and terminological developments as regards
sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression, and to instruct the Committee on
Juridical and Political Affairs to include on its agenda the examination of the results of the
requested studies, with the participation of interested civil society organizations, before the
forty-second regular session of the General Assembly.
7.
To request the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at its forty-
second regular session on the implementation of this resolution. Execution of the activities
herein shall be subject to the availability of financial resources in the program-budget of the
Organization and other resources.
6

2. Statement by a Coalition of Caribbean LGBTI and AIDS Organisations at the 41^st OAS General Assembly

Laws criminalising all forms of same-sex intimacy, whether private or public, threatens progress towards ‘peace, security, democracy, human rights, development and cooperation^¹’ in the Anglophone Caribbean.

Over the years, we have recognized that:

Homophobic statements made by political and religious leaders as well as entertainers reinforce prejudice and discrimination against LGBTI persons;
These statements drive the social exclusion of LGBTI persons, thereby preventing them from being active in civil, political and social life; and
Impede LGBTI persons’ access to healthcare and justice, increase their vulnerability to poverty, homelessness, denial of employment, etc.

As a result, we have documented in the Anglophone Caribbean:

HIV and AIDS prevalence of up to 30% among men who have sex with men (MSM), second only to sub-Saharan Africa;
Physical and mental torture, including bullying in schools, harassment, employment discrimination, corrective rapes, murders, home invasions; and
Denial of access to justice because of poor response by police to LGBTI complaints of abuses and the absence of legislation to protect them.

Laws criminalizing consenting adult same-sex intimacy contradict the Organisation of American States’ commitment ‘to promote … a set of values, attitudes and modes of behaviour based on respect for life, human beings and their dignity’².

We therefore call on the leaders of CARICOM to guarantee the rights of all citizens by repealing all these laws and aggressively address the scourge of homophobia that undermines our collective security.

1 ^{& 2} Draft Declaration of San Salvador on Citizen Security in the America (2011)

Painting the Spectrum 2011 : SASOD's Seventh Lesbian and Gay Film Festival

2011-05-29T15:33:00.000-07:00

Painting the Spectrum 7 : Schedule of Films

Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays from Monday 6 June, 2011 to Wednesday 29 June, 2011

Venue : Sidewalk Cafe, Middle Street, Georgetown Guyana
Programme starts at 7pm each Night

Monday 6 June, 2011
First public screening of My Wardrobe , My Right

SASOD/Neil Marks, Guyana, 2011, 20 minutes, colour, documentary, English

“My Wardrobe, My Right” explores the issues related to the criminalization of cross-dressing in Guyana. It captures the stories of Peaches and Gulliver, two of the cross-dressers who were victims of the February 2009 crackdowns and the views of SASOD and one of the human rights attorneys, Gino Persaud, representing the litigants in the constitutional suit against Guyana’s laws which penalise cross-dressing. The film's producer is Neil Marks. Support for the film was received from the Caribbean Treatment Action Group (CTAG)

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Stephen Elliot, Australia, 1994, 104 minutes, colour, drama/comedy, English
A bus named Priscilla, and three drag queens who are travelling across the Australia Outback in search of work. This the story of their adventures as they meet different people and individuals. The Adventures of Priscilla stars Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce, and Terence Stamp and is a cult classic in Australia and
Winner of Oscar for Best Costume Design
This film was recommended by an Australian supporter of SASOD, Dr David Plummer and other members.

Tuesday 7 June, 2011

L-word Season 1 - Episodes 1 to 4

Ilene Chaiken and others, USA, 2004, colour, TV series, English

L-Word was a television series that ran on Showtime from 2004 to 2009. The series follows the lives of a group of lesbian, bisexual and transgender people
These opening episodes were nominated by Natasha Yhapp and other members of SASOD who have enjoyed different seasons.

More information..

Wednesday 8 June, 2011
Rag Tag
Adaora Nwandu, (Nigeria/UK ), 2006 , colour, drama, 110 minutes, English

The film was donated by Director Adaora Nwandu for the 2007 film festival but the DVD was damaged. This DVD donated by Dion Pelham

Raymond (aka Ray) and Tagbo (aka Tag) have a friendship forged in childhood. Ray is from a single-parent West Indian home and Tag is the pride of middle-class Nigerian parents. The two are inseparable until Social Services discovers Rag's mother isn't around and he's taken far from his London home to Birmingham. A decade passes. Tag is finishing law school and, despite incredible grades, can't find a firm willing to hire him. Meanwhile, Rag returns to London and finds his old friend. Their lives and circumstances have changed, but their rekindled friendship is more intense than ever. Once based on bonds of an innocent camaraderie, now their feelings have grown into something far more complex and confusing. As tensions build, the two realize they both must decide how far they're willing to go to satisfy the newfound urges they can't explain. The film stars Daniel Parsons, Adedamola Adelaja and Tamsin Clarke

Monday 13 June, 2011

Saving Face
Alice Wu, USA, 2004, colour, romance/drama, 91 minutes, English/Mandarin with subtitles
Wilhelmina Pang, a lesbian Chinese-American surgeon, is shocked when her single mother shows up on her doorstep pregnant. To help her mom save face and avoid the taboo in the Chinese community of an unmarried woman pregnant, the doctor helps her mom find Mr. Right while at the same time dealing with her own relationship. The film stars Michelle Krusiec, Joan Chen and Lynn Chen

Tuesday 14 June, 2011

Shelter
Jonah Markowitz, USA, 2007, colour, romance/drama, 88 minutes, English

Forced to give up his dreams of art school, Zach spends his days working a dead-end job and helping his needy sister care for her son. In his free time he surfs, draws and hangs out with his best friend, Gabe, who lives on the wealthy side of town. When Gabe's older brother, Shaun, returns home, he is drawn to Zach's selflessness and talent. Zach falls in love with Shaun while struggling to reconcile his own desires with the needs of his family
The filme was the winner of "Outstanding Film – Limited Release" at the 2009 GLAAD Media Awards, Best New Director and Favorite Narrative Feature at the Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, and the People's Choice Award for Best Feature at the Vancouver Queer Film Festival. Shelter represents the feature directorial debut of Markowitz. The main actors are Trevor Wright, Brad Rowe and Tina Holmes

This film was recommended by a donor to the festival who wanted to remain anonymous. In his words, he said that "it is good to see a nice film with gay characters which does not end with someone dying.."

Wednesday 15 June, 2011
Antartica
Yair Hochner, Israel, 2008, colour, drama/comedy, 110 minutes, Hebrew with English subtitles
Antarctica follows the lives of a group of young people living in Tel Aviv . Omer is almost thirty and still hasn’t found himself — or the man of his dreams. A series of disastrous blind dates hasn’t helped. Shirley is a little younger and has already nabbed her dream woman, Michal. As the siblings sort through their feelings and prepare for adulthood, friends and relatives chime in with their advice and problems of their own.

Watch the trailer..

Monday 20 June, 2011
Boy Culture
Q Allan Brocka, USA, 2006, colour, drama, 88 minutes, English
'X' is a successful male escort who describes in a series of confessions his tangled romantic relationships with his two roommates and an older, enigmatic client. This film is based on the 1995 novel of the same name by Matthew Rettenmund. The film stars Derek Magyar as 'X', Patrick Bachau and Darryl Stephens. Boy Culture received several awards at various film festivals and has been screened at major LGBT festivals around the world

Tuesday 21 June, 2011
Viola di mare (Sea Purple)

Donatella Maiorca, 2009, Italy, colour, drama/history/romance, 105 minutes, Italian with english subtitles

Viola di mare is a sensous film based on a little known European tradition of women who dressed and lived as men.. for various reasons. The film is set in 19th century Sicily and revolves around Angela (Valeria Solarino) and her attraction to her best friend Sara (Isabella Ragonese). Angela becomes Angelo as a way to deal with the scorn of her family , church and society. The film is based on a true story, adapted from the novel Minchia di Re by Giacomo Pilati.

Wednesday 22 June, 2011
Desert Hearts Donna Deitch, 1985, USA, colour. romance, 96 minutes,
It is 1950's Nevada and Vivian Bell (played by Helena Shaver), an English professor at Columbia University, travels to Nevada to establish six-week residency to obtain a divorce. She stays at a guest house for women waiting for their divorces to be finalized, and then establishes a friendship with the free-spirited ranch owner Cay Rivvers (Patricia Charbonneau). The film was praised for its photography of the Nevada scenery. The film received a few nominations, and was commended for the way in which portrayed a happy relationship between two women.

Watch the trailer

Monday 27 June, 2011
Difficult Love,
Zanele Muholi and Peter Goldsmid, 2010, South Africa, documentary, 57 minutes
Difficult Love’ is a highly personal take on the challenges facing Black lesbians in South Africa today emerges through the life, work, friends and associates of ‘visual activist’ and internationally celebrated photographer, Zanele Muholi.
Video available at IMDB

Voices of Witness Africa
Cynthia Black & Katie Sherrod, U.S.A./Uganda/Kenya/Rwanda, 2009, 30 min., colour, documentary, in English with no subtitles.
Anglican women and men from across Africa tell their stories of intolerance and community, of secrecy and hope, of facing challenges and seeking dignity as LGBT people of faith. This film was donated by the Voice of Witness producers to the 2010 Film Festival. Read more..

Tuesday 28 June, 2011
Spectrum Celebration
Our annual evening of poetry, praise, song, dance and whatever form people want to celebrate the struggles and survival of LGBT people from around the world.

Wednesday 29 June, 2011
Flawless
Joel Schumacher, 1999 , USA, colour, comedy/drama, 112 minutes

Walt Koontz (Robert De Niro) is a homophobic "local hero" officer of the New York police department who lives in a downtown apartment complex. He suffers a stroke and is advised to take singing lessons. His neighbour, Rusty(Phillip Seymour-Hoffman) is a pre-op transgenderist who needs money for the operation. The two dislike each other but need each other...

Thank You to ....
For Film nominations, donation and selection :-

Sherlina Nageer
Natasha Yhapp
Mark Ross
Stacey Gomes
Paula Fraser
Dion Pelham
Korey Chisholm
Keimo Benjamin

Text of British High Commissioner, His Excellency Simon Bond's Remarks at IDAHO Event Tuesday, May 17, 2011

2011-05-17T14:34:00.000-07:00

Good morning Ladies and Gentlemen.

I’m very pleased to be here on the occasion of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO) and for the launch of the video “My Wardrobe, My Right” by SASOD and partners.

The first question some of you might be asking yourselves is what is a diplomat doing at an event like this?

The short answer is “why not?”.

There is a school of thought – with perhaps some adherents in Guyana – which seems to liken diplomats to children in the Victorian era, that is, that they “should be seen and not heard”.

A more realistic view is that the role of diplomats is to represent their country’s interests and to promote their country’s values.

And that is why I am here today.

The UK opposes all forms of violence and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people as a matter of principle.

We believe that human rights are universal and that LGBT people should be free to enjoy the rights and freedoms to which people of all nations are entitled.

Discrimination is never acceptable. The UK is committed to combating violence and discrimination against LGBT

people as an integral part of the UK’s international human rights work.

So British embassies and High Commissions overseas are encouraged to support the efforts of civil society organisations to change attitudes by supporting anti-discrimination events, such as the marking today of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.

Of course the UK has not always held these positions. Britain, like almost every other country, used to have discriminatory legislation and practices against LGBT people until relatively recently.

And those laws and attitudes, of course, were reflected in the way Britain administered its former colonies. So, we clearly have some historical responsibility for the legislation that countries like Guyana inherited at independence.

But the UK has been moving in the right direction for some time:

- It was fully 44 years ago, in 1967, that the British parliament passed the Sexual Offences Act which decriminalized homosexual acts in private by consenting men.

- In 1972 there was the first Gay Pride March in London

- In 2000 the UK equalised the age of consent between LGBT and non-LGBT people at age 16;

- In 2004 we passed the Civil Partnership Act which provided significant legal rights for same sex couples

This is not now a party political issue in the UK. All UK political parties have senior members who are openly lesbian and gay and all parties strongly support the promotion of LGBT rights.

The current Conservative/Liberal coalition Government in the UK took a further major step forward in 2010 when Prime Minister David Cameron launched “Working for Lesbian, Gay , Bisexual and Transgender Equality” to ensure a more coordinated approach to the UK’s work in breaking down barriers that exist for LGBT people both at home and abroad. This has been followed this year with an Action Plan with specific commitments covering areas like education, employment, sport and culture.

Of course I am not suggesting that the UK is perfect. London is one of the most cosmopolitan and liberal cities in the world but there are still problems with anti-gay propaganda.

But we are getting there.

Internationally the picture remains mixed and very challenging.

Homosexuality remains illegal in around 80 countries. Shockingly it is punishable by death in seven countries: Iran, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates, Yemen and Nigeria.

As I mentioned we are well aware of the legacy of British colonial laws prohibiting homosexual acts. Sadly those laws have not been changed in many countries and again, shockingly to me, some 43 Commonwealth countries still criminalise homosexual behaviour.

It’s fair to say that the international community continues to struggle to fully recognise the rights of LGBT people and many countries, including many in the Organisation of Islamic Conference, in Africa and the Caribbean continue to actively block promotion of LGBT rights in international fora.

The arguments for this approach tend to be based on religion, morality and culture and that LGBT issues are somehow a “Western thing”.

Customs and traditions are constantly changing. This happens everywhere. There was a time of course when women were treated as inferior to men in every culture and tradition.

Culture and tradition cannot justify denying people their rights. Homosexuality exists among all people and has done so since the start of recorded history. It was not something invented, or practised only in the West.

The UK recognises of course that these are sensitive issues.

It is important to strike a balance between religious freedoms and the rights of LGBT people not to be discriminated against.

But human rights are universal. They cannot be subject to different interpretations of morality. States have an obligation to ensure that laws guarantee the same rights to everyone regardless of sexuality.

And sometimes that means Governments need to lead their people, not simply to follow public opinion.

Although the picture in the Caribbean on LGBT issues may not always seem bright, among Guyana’s neighbours to the South it is often different. Brazil’s Supreme Court recently recognized the legal rights of same sex unions. Argentina and Uruguay also recognise such rights. So, not just decriminalising sexual acts which they did many years ago but recognising legal and financial rights.

The Government of Guyana committed at the Universal Periodic Review at the UN in Geneva in May last year to “hold consultations on this issue over the next two years”. We encourage progress on that and an open and constructive debate.

I want to wish you well in your activities to mark this important day and for the success of the documentary.

Thank you very much.

International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia (IDAHO) 2011

2011-05-16T21:01:00.000-07:00

SASOD launches cross-dressing documentary and ‘soft’ launches quarterly newsletter for International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia (IDAHO)

WHO: SASOD with support from the Caribbean Treatment Action Group (CTAG)

WHAT: Launch of “My Wardrobe, My Right” video documentary and ‘soft’ launch of the inaugural edition of quarterly newsletter, “Spectrum Vibes,” with feature remarks by His Excellency Simon Bond, British High Commissioner to Guyana

WHERE: Sidewalk Café & Jazz Club, 176 Middle Street, Georgetown

WHEN: International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia (IDAHO), Tuesday, May 17 at 10:00 hrs

WHY: SASOD with support from CTAG, the regional funding and advocacy mechanism of the Collaborative Fund for HIV Treatment Preparedness - A Project of the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition (ITPC) and TIDES Network – is producing a series of video documentaries. On the occasion of IDAHO 2011, SASOD launches the first in the series, “My Wardrobe, My Right” which examines the criminalization of cross-dressing in Guyana. SASOD also takes the opportunity of IDAHO to ‘soft’ launch the inaugural issue of its quarterly newsletter, “Spectrum Vibes,” which is dedicated to the life and work of the late Dr. Robert Carr, who passed away last week. Dr. Carr was the director of advocacy and policy of the International Council of AIDS Service Organisations (ICASO), co-chair of the Global Forum on MSM and HIV (MSMGF), founder, co-chair and first executive director of the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition (CVC), former executive director of Jamaica AIDS Support and former coordinator of the Graduate Studies Unit at the Caribbean Institute of Media and Communication (CARIMAC) University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, among many other affiliations.

Information Note on IDAHO Launch of “My Wardrobe, My Right” Video Documentary

What is IDAHO?

On May 17, over 50 countries around the world celebrate the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO), marking the anniversary of one of the most powerful steps in advancing human rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people globally – the declassification of homosexuality as a mental illness by the World Health Organization 21 years ago. IDAHO is recognized by the State in a number of countries, including Brazil and Cuba, which includes a month of government-sponsored activities, and is observed in Jamaica and in Guyana, this year for the sixth year. IDAHO is a global collaboration to take local action to engage violence, stigma, unequal treatment and state oppression, including criminal laws, that target people on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity. It is an occasion to call for and demonstrate political action, to build public awareness, and to mobilize alliances within and across borders. The international celebration of a day against homophobia was spearheaded by a Caribbean man, Martiniquan Georges-Louis Tin.

What is this SASOD/CTAG video-documentary about?

The goal is to create a more supportive socio-cultural environment for sexual and gender minorities through public education efforts which aim to mitigate stigma faced by these marginalized groups. It aims to create a supportive infrastructure by building a more enabling socio-cultural environment which encourages ordinary people to embrace these groups who are stigmatized because of sexual taboos and gender non-conformity. It is envisaged that this locally-made film, which can have a wide reach and mass appeal, will buttress other ongoing efforts to build supportive infrastructure through policy and law reform, training and skills-building by various stakeholders. Film technology provides an invaluable tool to humanize these taboo issues in mainstream television media and address sensitive areas where lack of knowledge is pervasive among Guyanese and Caribbean people.

Guyana’s laws criminalise cross-dressing. Section 153 (1) (xlvii) of the Summary Jurisdiction (Offences) Act Chapter 8:02 which makes an offence of “being a man, in any public way or public place, for any improper purpose, appears in female attire, or being a woman, in any public way or public place, for any improper purpose, appears in male attire… ” This antiquated piece of legislation dates back to the 19^thcentury, colonial period, but is still being selectively enforced today – in the 21^st century. In 2006, Ronell Trotman, better known as ‘Pertonella,’ a cross-dressing sex worker, was fined for vagrancy and wearing female attire; $5000 for each offence (Stabroek News, Tuesday 16 May 2006). And then between February 6 and 10, 2009, police detained at least eight people, some of them twice, charging seven of them under section 153 (1) (xlvii) of the Summary Jurisdiction (Offences) Act Chapter 8:02. The first arrests took place on February 6, when plainclothes policemen detained three persons in downtown Georgetown, near Stabroek Market. On February 7, the police detained five more. In both occasions, the then acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson fined the detainees GY$7,500 each. On February 10, the police detained four people; three of whom had been among those arrested on February 6 and 7. In court, when handing down the sentence, the then acting Chief Magistrate Robertson told the detainees they were not women but men and exhorted them to “go to church and give their lives to Christ.”

Laws which penalize cross-dressing effectively criminalize persons whose ways of expressing themselves, in their manner of dressing, goes against certain stereotypical expectations for gender roles. In this regard, dressing, as a form of gender expression, is a question of freedom of expression. Laws against cross-dressing therefore violate the right to freedom of expression, as all persons have the right to express their gender freely through the way in which they dress. These insidious provisions should therefore be urgently expunged from the law books given their contravention of basic, democratic freedoms.

On February 19, 2010, the eve of World Day of Social Justice, four cross-dressers and SASOD filed a notice of motion before the Supreme Court of Judicature for redress claiming, among other relief, to have section 153(1)(xlvii) of the Summary Jurisdiction (Offences) Act, Chapter 8:02, invalidated as irrational, discriminatory, undemocratic, contrary to the rule of law and unconstitutional. The matter is sub judice, presently before the High Court.

“My Wardrobe, My Right” explores these issues related to the criminalization of cross-dressing in Guyana. It captures the stories of two of the cross-dressers who were victims of the February 2009 crackdowns and the views of SASOD and one of the human rights attorneys representing the litigants in the constitutional suit against Guyana’s laws which penalise cross-dressing.

2011-03-29T14:51:00.000-07:00

Submission to the Global Commission on HIV and the Law

Contact Details

Name of Authors: Anton Rocke and Joel Simpson

Name of Organisation: Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination

Are you submitting as an Individual or on behalf of an organisation?

Answer: Organisation

Please note that you can only make 1 submission per person and per organisation.

Phone Numbers: (Office) +592-226-5155; (Cellular)+592-623-5155.

Email addresses: sasod.officer@gmail.com and sasod.manager@gmail.com

Website: www.sasod.org.gy

Date of submission: March 14, 2011

Address: CIDA PSU Building – 56 Main and New Market Streets, North Cummingsburg

City: Georgetown

Country: Guyana

Laws and practices that effectively criminalise people vulnerable to HIV

In Guyana, sex workers suffer violence and discrimination on a constant basis. This is supported by the UNAIDS report - “Whoring,’ ‘Boopsing,’ and Other Business: A Situational Analysis of Sex Work and the Sex Industry in the CARICOM” which categorises the physical violence and harassment that sex workers experience, because of the type of work they do, into two main groups of perpetrators: police and non-state actors.[1] Guyana’s laws criminalize cross-dressing, consensual sex between men and aspects of sex work, thereby making vulnerable, these groups, transgenders, gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men and sex workers, to discrimination which causes disempowerment, barriers to effective prevention, treatment, care and support services, thereby exacerbating their vulnerability to HIV.

Under Section 166 of the Summary Jurisdiction (Offences) Act 1894, of the Laws of Guyana, every person who:

a) being a male person, knowingly lives wholly or in part on the earnings of prostitution; or

b) being a male person, in any public place persistently solicits or importunes for immoral purposes; or

c) loiters about, or importunes any person in, any street or other public place for the purpose of prostitution.

Transgender persons are criminalised for expressing their identity by ‘cross-dressing’ under section 153 of the Summary Jurisdiction (Offences) Act, Laws of Guyana, which establishes as an offence:

“being a man, in any public way or public place, for any improper purpose, appears in female attire or being a woman, in any public way or public place, for any improper purpose, appears in male attire… ”[2]

This denial violates the right to freedom of expression, the right to privacy and personal dignity and gives tacit approval to the frequent attacks cross-dressers face in the streets, especially at nights.

(1) Police Assault and Abuse:

In Guyana, police have been accused by cross-dressers of harassment and physical violence. Transgender sex workers reported to SASOD that police often extort sexual favours from them, and even rape and brutalize them. Most of the cases are not reported to the police, due to the lack of confidence in their response. “Petronella,” (alias) a cross-dressing sex worker, that some police further participate in the harassment of gay men on the streets, adding that there is no recourse to complain since the existing laws criminalize consensual sex between men and cross-dressing.

In February, 2009, seven persons were charged for cross-dressing. The charges were not dropped and the seven were each fined for the offence. The detainees reported to SASOD, that police refused to allow them to make a phone call or to contact a lawyer. They were photographed by police and then told to take off all of their “woman clothes” in front of several police officers. One defendant stated that “after stripping [us] the police told us to bend down and they search us as if to make fun of us and our sexuality.”

The cross-dressers also reported that they were ordered to put on “man clothes.” Police kept five of the seven in solitary confinement until the day of the trial, contending that it was for their safety. In court, when handing down the sentences, the then acting Chief Magistrate Robertson told the detainees they were not women but men, and exhorted them to “go to church and give their lives to Christ.”[3]

Some police have reportedly used the existence of the laws for extortion. Males who are found in compromising positions are made to pay bribes rather than face charges and the possibility of prosecution. Although consensual same-sex activity between adult men is difficult to prove, the damage is really in the accusation itself because of the stigma attached to homosexuality.

(2) Abuses by Non-Sate Actors

Sex workers in Guyana, and other parts of the world, face disproportionate levels of violence which is often unreported. The assault, battery, rape and even murder of sex workers, which is all too common in the industry, goes unnoticed because of the existing legal framework around the profession which prevents sex workers from reporting violence. The stigma and discrimination perpetuated by sex-work related offences has made violence against sex workers acceptable.

SASOD is a founding partner in the Guyana Sex Work Coalition and recalls the violence faced by a female sex worker at the hands of a male client:

“Soon as the sex was over, this man started slapping and cuffing me up and he empty my purse and take away all my money, not just what he pay me,” recounted a female sex worker based in New Amsterdam, who had been assaulted and robbed by a client, to an advocate at United Bricklayers, a local AIDS-prevention, community-based organization. “Now how could I go to the police and make a report when sex work is not really legal,” she added.

The Terborg (2006) report, which details interviews with female, gay male and cross-dressing sex workers, concluded that the majority felt rejected by society.[4] An interviewee stated:

“Society doesn’t try in any way to understand the position of gays. I have experienced stigma and discrimination when looking for a job. When I went to a store for a job and the proprietor told me to find my own work, then, chased me’!

Some people want to appear to be non-judgmental and still want to find out why you are like that.”

Social stigma and discrimination based on gender identity is common in many parts of the Caribbean, including Guyana, and in some cases resulting in violent attacks, some of them fatal, against people perceived to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender.[5] In 2003, during a debate to revise Article 149 of the Constitution to include a ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation, SASOD and other civic organizations supported the move to prohibit such discrimination but some sections of the religious community and the bill was never voted on, as the government presented but did not support it.

Men who have Sex with Men (MSM)

In Guyana, the Criminal Law Offences Act (8:01) under section 351 criminalizes consensual sexual activity between men while Sections 352 and 353 criminalizes 'buggery'. The laws do not distinguish consensual and non-consensual acts.

The existence of these laws reduces access to treatment, care and prevention services by men who have sex with men. These so-called ‘sodomy laws’ facilitate discrimination within the health and social services sectors. Moreover, these laws therefore place an added burden on the health sector and this is an additional reason to repeal them.

According to Amnesty International, “discrimination against people based on their sexual orientation or gender identity, including men who have sex with men, manifests itself in a number of ways including the criminalization of same-sex relationships. Men who have sex with men often face additional stigma because of the incidence of HIV/AIDS in gay men and the history of the pandemic that was initially associated mainly with gay men in the global North.”[6]

The latest surveillance study finds a HIV prevalence of 19.4% among MSM,[7] which is ten times the national average, according to UNAIDS estimates. The Government of Guyana has also acknowledged that MSM are also a vulnerable group. The problem is that there is an inconsistent response to sexual and gender minorities who are in need of healthcare and related social services since there is an accepted norm of discrimination. There are some healthcare professionals who would exercise their own discretion in terms of how they treat sexual and gender minorities. Persons who are discriminated against do not have recourse to any remedies within the health system.

[1] Kempadoo, Kamala, et al. ‘Whoring,’ ‘boopsing,’ and other business: A Situation Analysis of Sex Work and the Sex Industry in the CARICOM - Final Report, page 88. UNAIDS, Caribbean.

[2] Laws of Guyana, Chapter 8:02, Summary Jurisdiction (Offences) Act; Section 153, (1)(xlvii), In: http://www.gina.gov.gy/gina_pub/laws/Laws/cap802.pdf

[3]http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2009/03/07/halt-abuse-of-transgenders-%E2%80%94-human-rights-group/

[4] Terborg, J. Report on HIV Prevention and Care among FSW and MSM in Georgetown, Guyana, 2006, pg. 75.

[5] Human Rights Watch, Hated to Death: Homophobia, Violence and Jamaica’s HIV/AIDS Epidemic. New York 2004. Available at: http://hrw.org/reports/2004/jamaica1104

[6] Amnesty International, Report on HIV/AIDS in Guyana and the Dominican Republic. AI Index: AMR 01/002/2006

[7]Ministry of Health, Guyana Behavioural Surveillance Survey 2008/2009 Report, page 60.

Vintage Mash' Costume Party - Feb 18, 2011

2011-02-14T13:00:00.000-08:00

CARIBBEAN GROUPS JOIN INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY IN SALUTING MURDERED AFRICAN HUMAN RIGHTS WORKER

2011-02-01T15:30:00.000-08:00

Caribbean associations working on reproductive, sexuality and HIV issues have issued a brief joint statement of condolence and tribute to the life of slain Sexual Minorities Uganda human rights defender David Kato. The statement, signed by over 25 groups in 16 territories, calls attention, in the United Nations Year of People of African Descent, to Kato’s international inspiration as an African defender of sexual rights. It notes the continuing danger that sexuality, and the human rights defenders who work in this area, face in the Caribbean and elsewhere; and Governments’ failure to champion people’s freedom over their own bodies when it comes to sexuality.

In the face of a proposal in the Uganda parliament to execute citizens for consensual homosexual acts and a clergy-led campaign to whip up animosity against gay sexuality, several Ugandan human rights groups have fought back. Kato’s picture, captioned “Hang Them” was featured on the cover of tabloid Rolling Stone in November, one of a number of instances of media attempts to “out” gay and lesbian people, several of whom, like him, received death threats and other harassment. He and others successfully sued for damages, and the courts blocked the paper from further outing three weeks ago. On January 26, he reportedly suffered blows to his head with a hammer in his residence, and died. The European Union, United States President Barack Obama and others have condemned the killing and paid tribute to Kato’s work.

Across the Caribbean, those of us who knew Sexual Minorities Uganda advocacy officer David Kato Kisule as a friend, as well as those who only read of his work, are deeply moved by his powerful and courageous life. As fellow sexual rights advocates, we convey deepest condolences to all his loved ones and fellow activists on his awful murder. We have been horrified by the inhumanity and hysteria of Uganda’s parliamentary, media and clergy campaigns to deny gay people like David the simple right to liberty, privacy, dignity and joy. We join others throughout the African diaspora in our pride in David’s conviction and passion as an outspoken African champion of sexual autonomy – even when it put his liberty and life in great danger – and his record as an internationally recognized human rights defender. His inspiration stretches around the globe to those who also struggle against ignorance, indifference and violence to create countries and a world where everyone can enjoy our sexuality as something good and wholesome and worthwhile, free from shame and coercion.

Were it not for advocacy late last year, 13 Caribbean countries would have allowed “sexual orientation” to be removed from an international statement of commitment to protect persons from unlawful killing because of who they are. David’s death, following threats against his life, is a gripping reminder of the importance of those protections, and a sobering one of how much more work needs to be done to give people the right to freedom over their bodies in places like Africa and the Caribbean, where battles against slavery, colonialism, racism, apartheid, genocide, gender inequality and religious persecution ought to have taught us better lessons. David’s life and death are reason to renew international commitment to sexual rights, to increase our vigilance for our colleagues in danger in Uganda. We respectfully urge Uganda’s politicians, media and clergy and international Christian advocates who have become entangled in this hostility to seize the opportunity to bring an end to yet another painful chapter of intergroup violence in Africa.

AIDS Action Foundation – St. Lucia • AIDS Free World • ALFA: Alternative Life Foundation Aruba • Alianza GTH – República Dominicana • Amigos Siempre Amigos – República Dominicana • ASPIRE: Advocates for Safe Parenthood-Improving Reproductive Equity – Trinidad & Tobago • Barbados Family Planning Association • Belize Family Life Association • Belize National AIDS Commission • CAISO: Coalition Advocating for Inclusion of Sexual Orientation – Trinidad & Tobago • Caribbean Family Planning Affiliation • Caribbean Harm Reduction Coalition • Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition • CariFLAGS: Caribbean Forum for Liberation & Acceptance of Genders & Sexualities • DiBo: Diversity Bonaire • DominicaChaps • Family Planning Association of Trinidad & Tobago • Foko Curaçao Pride • Fondation SEROvie – Haiti • GrenCHAP – Grenada • J-FLAG: Jamaica Forum for Lesbians All-Sexuals and Gays • MOVADAC: Movement Against Discrimination Action Committee – Barbados • Pink Orange Dutch Caribbean LGBTI Alliance • Pride In Action – Jamaica • RevASA: Red de Voluntarios de ASA – República Dominicana • SASOD: Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination – Guyana • SASH Bahamas: Society Against STIs & HIV • Tjenbé Rèd: Fédération de lutte contre les racismes, les homophobies & le sida issue des communautés afrocaribéennes • UniBAM: United Belize Advocacy Movement • United and Strong – St. Lucia • Women Against Rape, Inc – Antigua • Women’s Institute for Alternative Development – Trinidad & Tobago • Women Way – Suriname

Call on Guyana to vote at the UN to condemn extra judicial killings of LGBT people

2010-12-15T04:30:00.000-08:00

This coming Monday, December 20, the United Nations General Assembly will vote on whether to include protection for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in a crucial resolution on extra-judicial executions and other unlawful killings.

For the past 10 years, this resolution has urged states “to investigate promptly and thoroughly all killings, including… all killings committed for any discriminatory reason, including sexual orientation.” It is the only UN resolution to ever include an explicit reference to sexual orientation. Just last month, Guyana voted with a number of states to remove the reference to sexual orientation from this important resolution.

States will have the opportunity to restore the reference to sexual orientation – and hopefully extend it to also include gender identity – when the resolution comes up before the UN General Assembly on Monday, December 20.

We call on the Government of Guyana to change its vote and to reverse the removal of sexual orientation from the resolution. This resolution seeks to bring attention to the most serious human rights violation, the loss of the right to life. The Special Rapporteur on extra-judicial executions has constantly underlined that people are subject to extra-judicial executions because of their actual or presumed sexual orientation or gender identity.

On International Human Rights Day, 2010, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon addressed a UN side event:
‘Ending Violence and Criminal Sanctions on the Basis of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity.’ This panel was convened by, among other countries, Norway with whom the Government of Guyana is keen to benefit from the LCDS funding; and Brazil, whose President recently received our Order of Excellence.

The Secretary General in his remarks noted that “When individuals are attacked [or] abused … because of their sexual orientation, we must speak out… It is not called the ‘Partial’ Declaration of Human Rights. It is not the ‘Sometimes’ Declaration of Human Rights.

It is the Universal Declaration, guaranteeing all human beings their basic human rights, without exception.”
We call on the Government of Guyana to do as it has done in the past, and to ensure that regardless of what the perceptions of gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender persons are, that the government will not endorse the torture or killing of people because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

To fail to do so is to reverse the progress Guyana has made locally and internationally in advancing human rights.

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights Heightens Commitment to LGBT Rights at Hearing on Punitive Measures and Discrimination in the Caribbean

2010-11-09T11:15:00.000-08:00

Georgetown, Guyana, November 9, 2010 - On Tuesday, October 26, 2010, four representatives of the Lesbian, Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) communities in the English-speaking Caribbean participated in a thematic hearing before five of the seven Commissioners of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in Washington, DC. The Commissioners who sat for the hearing were Paulo Sérgio Pinheiro (First Vice Chair); Dinah Shelton (Second Vice Chair); Rodrigo Escobar Gil; Luz Patricia Mejía Guerrero and María Silvia Guillén.

The IACHR is the body of the Organization of American States (OAS) responsible for the promotion and protection of human rights in the Inter-American system and the hearing was facilitated in accordance with OAS resolution 2600 ‘Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity’ which mandated the IACHR to report on the status of human rights of LGBT at the next General Assembly of the OAS in June 2011.

The petitioners, representing organizations from Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago, presented a 72-page report detailing the situation of LGBT people in the region and requested the assistance of the IACHR in helping to repeal the laws that criminalize same-sex sexual behaviors, expression and identities in the Anglophone Caribbean.

One of the key points made in the hearing, was that the existence of the laws that criminalize same-sex sexual behaviors, expression and identities result in widespread societal stigma and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, significantly restricting LGBT people’s ability to live safe, happy and fulfilling lives.

Maurice Tomlinson, of AIDS-Free World (Jamaica), reviewed the various laws and their penalties, and gave examples of how they affected gay men in the region; Patsy Grannum of MOVADAC- Movement Against Discrimination Action Committee (Barbados), spoke about how the laws impacted lesbian women; Ashily Dior of CAISO- Coalition Advocating Inclusion of Sexual Orientation (Trinidad and Tobago) advocated for the rights of transgender individuals and Sherlina Nageer of SASOD- the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (Guyana) discussed the deleterious effect of the laws on the response to HIV in the region.

The petitioners urged the Commissioners to consider that the Caribbean countries which retain these colonial-era laws against homosexuality foster an environment in which real and perceived homosexuals are regularly threatened, harassed, raped, murdered, and otherwise ill-treated. Because their sexual identity has been criminalized, LGBT people in these countries often feel unable to seek legal remedies when their human rights are violated.

Finally, the petitioners called for the repeal of these discriminatory laws as an essential step in winning the Caribbean’s response to HIV, since stigma and discrimination often prevents LGBT people from seeking vital HIV prevention, treatment, care and support services.

The Commissioners acknowledged the seriousness of this issue and pledged their full support to LGBT individuals and organizations in the Anglophone Caribbean that are working on these issues. The Commissioners also urged affected individuals and organizations to continue to inform and involve them about the status of LGBT human rights in accordance with the OAS resolution, and to utilize all the tools and mechanisms available through the Inter-American human rights system in their efforts. In its release reporting at the conclusion of the 140^th period on November 5, the Commission affirmed its commitment to intensify its efforts to defend the rights of LGBT persons and prepare a hemispheric report on this issue.

The participation of the petitioners at the hearing and the preparation of the report was made possible through support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV and AIDS (UNAIDS), the Open Society Institute (OSI), AIDS-Free World, Global Rights and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC).

ENDS

Related Information:

IACHR Press Release on the 140^th Period of Sessions:

http://www.cidh.org/Comunicados/English/2010/109-10eng.htm

Audio File of the Thematic Hearing on the Punitive Measures and Discrimination on the Basis of Sexual Identity in Caribbean Countries at the 140^th Period of Sessions of the IACHR:

http://www.cidh.oas.org/prensa/publichearings/Hearings.aspx?Lang=EN&Session=120&page=2

Photo Caption:

LGBT Panelists at the IACHR Thematic Hearing on October 26, 2010, during the 140^th Period of Sessions (from left to right): Patsy Grannum (MOVADOC – Barbados), Stefano Fabeni (Global Rights), Maurice Tomlinson (AIDS-Free World – Jamaica), Sherlina Nageer (SASOD – Guyana), Marcelo Ferreyra (IGLHRC) and Ashily Dior (CAISO – Trinidad and Tobago).

Contact Persons:

In Georgetown, for SASOD, Sherlina Nageer (English): +592 653-3734; or +592 672-3483

In Buenos Aires, for IGLHRC, Marcelo Ferreyra (Spanish, English): +54 11 4665 7527

Response to Inter Religious Organisation on condemnation of the film festival

2010-07-02T17:11:00.000-07:00

Dear Editor

Thanks for publishing this open letter to the Inter-Religious Organisation, since we do not think it is appropriate to write to them in care of the Ethnic Relations Commission’s Secretariat - which we believe is a publicly-funded, state body and not a faith institution.

To The Members of the Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO):

We were surprised to read reports in sections of the press that comments made by the Chair of the Ethnic Relations Commission, and Public Relations Officer of the IRO, Mr. Edghill, about the SASOD Film Festival. We are very concerned about the allegations made against SASOD - and by extension Sidewalk Café – about breaking the law and we regret that the IRO did not seek to raise any issues with us to clarify their misconceptions instead of making these baseless allegations in the public domain, which we view as damaging to our good name and reputation and that of our associates and partners.

In a society which is marred by conflict and the abuses of power, it is not easy to try alternative ways of engagement which are not meant to destroy or humiliate. But, try we must and in the spirit of the Film Festival's mission to promote discussion and education about the diversity of sexual orientations and gender identities in this country, we therefore make ourselves available to dialogue with the IRO and with any other interested parties about their concerns.

The SASOD Film Festival engages every year with faith and spirituality, and we affirmed this year at our “Spectrum Celebration” concert the importance of faith and spirituality in the face of all oppressions. We hope that the dialogue with IRO could begin with those common values. We can be contacted via email at sasod_guyana@yahoo.com or by telephone at 698-1174, 686-0835 or 617-6107.

Yours respectfully,

Joel Simpson and

Namela Baynes-Henry

Co-Chairpersons

on behalf of SASOD

Painting the Spectrum 2010 : SASOD's Sixth Lesbian and Gay Film Festival

2010-06-11T18:20:00.000-07:00

Painting the Spectrum 6 : Schedule of Films

Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Mondays from Tuesday 1 June to Wednesday 30 June, 2010

Venue : Sidewalk Cafe, Middle Street, Georgetown Guyana

Guest Programmer : Paul Lee
The films organised by Paul Lee are organised in Programmes with titles and are indicated as such. There are other films which have been added to expand the range of films and to take advantage of the screening time available.

Programme starts at 7pm each night

Admission is FREE. All films are intended for mature audiences unless otherwise indicated

Tuesday 1 June

Blueprint

Kirk Shannon Butts, USA, 2007, 75 minutes, English

Blueprint features the music of Nhojj, a Guyanese born musician who made history this year by becoming the first black musician to win an Out! Music Award - this for his song "Love".

Blueprint is the story of Keith and Nathan, two college freshmen in New York City who meander into a very new relationship together. Blueprint has screened in over 30 international film festivals and been nominated for awards at all of the major gay film festivals in New York (NewFest), San Francisco (Frameline), Los Angeles (Outfest) and London (Gay & Lesbian) as well as the film market at the Cannes Film Festival.

Film donated by Kirk Shannon Butts

Wednesday 2 June
Programme : From Bollywood with Love 2

Bombay/Mumbai is India's première cosmopolitan city, main commercial centre, and home to the largest and most prolific film industry in the world. Behind the veneer of glittering skyscrapers and glamorous Bollywood studios there exists an active, albeit covert, gay scene. Happy Hookers profiles the lives and the work of several male sex workers that ply their trade in the shadows of India’s dream factory.

Happy Hookers
Ashish Sawhny, India, 2006, 53 minutes, colour, documentary, in English & Hindi with English subtitles.
20% of MSM (men having sex with men) in India admit to engaging in commercial sex despite living amidst antiquated laws on sexuality and a morally conservative climate. Male sex workers Shakeel, Imran, and Vicky share their stories, sexualities, and their ease of living double lives in Bombay/Mumbai.
**SAATHII Rainbow Award (Best Documentary), 2007 Kolkata Siddhartha Gautam Film Festival

Programme : From Bollywood with Love 3

With each flirtatious smile and with every sly sidewards glance, an abundant bosom of pathos and eros permeate the transgender lives of the spirited dancers in Gulabi Aaina - The Pink Mirror. Behind their campy humour and their high drama dance the quiet yearnings for life and love, in an entrancing choreography of gender identities. The men in Bomgay offer a glimpse of the lively sexual underground and furtive encounters that are such an integral part of gay life in this vibrant metropolis.

Gulabi Aaina - The Pink Mirror
Sridhar Rangayan, India, 2002, 40 minutes, colour, drama, in Hindi with English subtitles.

Sridhar Rangayan is one of India’s pioneering gay filmmakers. His film is India's first film on hijra . It is a campy and colourful look into the Indian gay closet. With two older hijra and a gay teenager contending for the prize catch of a handsome hunk, what else can one expect but a riotous mix of Bollywood dance, drama and desire?

**Best Film, 2003 Lille Question de Genre Queer Film Festival
**Jury Award (Best Feature Film), 2004 Fire Island Film Festival
arrived)**

Read more..

Monday 7 June
Programme : Coming out Stories

From animated first-person stories to unraveling family secrets to dealing with a homophobic best friend, the young women and men in these three films present three very different approaches to the tentative and treacherous process of confronting one’s own sexuality, and coming out to friends and family.

Sisters without Misters
Cynthia Cheeseman, Trinidad & Tobago, 2009, 12 minutes, colour & b/w, documentary, in English with no subtitles.
Two lesbians living in Trinidad talk about their lives and coming out.

Beyond the Closet
Christine Engel, Canada, 2009, 23 min., colour & b/w, animation/documentary, in English with no subtitles.
Using a variety of animation techniques to tell the coming out experiences of several young women and men, filmmaker Christine Engel approaches the familiar terrain of coming out stories with unusual and innovative creative storytelling.
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A Jihad for Love
Parvez Sharma, 12 countries , 2008, 81 minutes, documentary, various languages

Filmed over 5 1/2 years, in 12 countries and 9 languages, "A Jihad for Love" comes from the heart of Islam. Looking beyond a hostile and war-torn present, this film seeks to reclaim the Islamic concept of a greater Jihad, which can mean 'an inner struggle' or 'to strive in the path of God'. In doing so the film and its remarkable subjects move beyond the narrow concept of 'Jihad' as holy war.

Film donated by Parvez Sharma

Tuesday 8 June
Programme 5: Streets of San Francisco - The Films of Jenni Olson
A pioneer in the queer film movement, Jenni Olson has been programming, researching, collecting, creating, and writing about GLBT film since 1986, and is one of the world's leading experts on GLBT cinema. She is the former director of entertainment and e-commerce for PlanetOut.com and Gay.com, where she founded PopcornQ.com, a massive GLBT film website (http://www.planetout.com/popcornq/) that is based on her book, The Ultimate Guide to Lesbian & Gay Film and Video (Serpent's Tail, 1996).

Jenni's debut feature film, The Joy of Life, premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. Her latest archival research project, The Queer Movie Poster Book (Chronicle Books), is a 2005 Lambda Literary Award nominee. Her vintage queer movie trailer program, Homo Promo, is now available on DVD from Strand Releasing.

As a film collector and archivist, Jenni has compiled the historical movie trailer programs Homo Promo (1991), Neo Homo Promo (1993), Jodie Promo (1995), Trailer Camp (1995), Afro Promo (1997), Trailers Schmailers (1997), and Bride of Trailer Camp (2001), all of which have been shown at film festivals around the world.

As a video artist, Jenni has made Levi's 501s Commercial (1991), Sometimes (1994), Blow-up (1997, co-directed with Kadet Kuhne), Meep Meep! (2000), and Matzo Maidels (2003, co-directed with Julie Dorf and Monica Nolan). Blue Diary (1997), Jenni's first 16mm short as writer/director, has screened at more than 100 film festivals internationally since premiering at the 1998 Berlin International Film Festival. Her films have screened at festivals from Antalya to Zurich (including such notable venues as: The Sundance Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, the Pacific Film Archive, and the American Cinematheque).

As a film producer, Jenni was the consulting producer on By Hook or By Crook, a queer DV feature by Harriet "Harry" Dodge and Silas Howard, which premiered at Sundance in 2002. Her latest effort as producer is the playful 35mm short, Sing Along San Francisco (directed by Georgina Corzine), which premiered at the 2002 San Francisco International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. Credits as associate producer include the 1996 British Channel 4 documentary, Jodie: An Icon (directed by Pratibha Parmar, the film is about Jodie Foster as an icon for lesbians); Canadian filmmaker Paul Lee's cinemascope 35mm short, The Offering; and Jill Burnett's This Way Out, a documentary about gay asylum seekers and their journeys to escape persecution in their homelands.

Jenni was the Co-Director of the San Francisco International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival (working with queer film pioneer Mark Finch) from 1992-1994; she continues to be a consulting programmer to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Lesbian, Gay, Bi & Transgender Film Festival. She has done extensive work as a film programmer and public speaker, as well as served on numerous film festival juries and screening committees. She continues to write about GLBT film for The Advocate, indieWIRE.com and the Bay Area Reporter, as well as for a variety of other publications. She lives in San Francisco with her partner, Julie, and their two daughters, Hazel and Sylvie.

Sensual and beautiful, evocative and poetic, moving and heartbreaking, the experimental films of Jenni Olson weave together history, women's desires and sexuality, the ebbs and flows of life, and the urban landscapes of San Francisco, into a magical journey of revelations. The formally rigorous and deftly executed choreography of static shots and voiceovers provide an engaging viewing experience that is both contemplative and entrancing. These understated award-winning films offer a glimpse of an intensely personal vision in independent filmmaking, and show what compelling stories a talented filmmaker could tell, with an economy of means.

Sometimes
Jenni Olson, U.S.A., 1994, 1 minute, colour, experimental, in English with no subtitles.
Jenni Olson shows us just what "butch" means in 30 seconds.

Blue Diary
Jenni Olson, U.S.A., 1997, 7 minutes, colour, experimental, in English with no subtitles.
Through voiceover and static San Francisco landscapes, Blue Diary tells the melancholy story of a young lesbian pining over a one-night-stand with a straight girl.
**Director's Choice Award, 17th Black Maria Film & Video Festival
**Second Prize (Experimental), 25th Athens International Film Festival
**Trophy Winner, 1998 Rochester International Film Festival
**Prize Winner, 1998 Charlotte Film & Video Festival
**Honorable Mention, 22nd Atlanta Film & Video Festival

Meep Meep!
Jenni Olson, U.S.A., 2000, 1 minute, colour, experimental, in English with no subtitles.
A one-minute tale of lesbian drama, set against a backdrop of gorgeous urban landscapes.

The Joy of Life
Jenni Olson, U.S.A., 2005, 65 minutes, colour, experimental, in English with no subtitles.
The Joy of Life is an unconventional appreciation of the streets and stories of San Francisco, combining stunning landscape cinematography with a lyrical, well-crafted voiceover, to offer a poetic reflection on the City By the Bay. Grappling with gender identity issues and the occasional episode of depression, the film's lone protagonist pinballs from sexual conquest to neurotic despair, manic romance to pathetic solitude. The voiceover balances melancholy angst and wry humor in its Casanova account of various urban, romantic, and sexual adventures - from the frisson of flirting to the heartache of rejection. This narrative of self-discovery resonates with her discovery of the city, and leads into an in-depth documentary reflection on the history of suicide and the Golden Gate Bridge (after a capsule production history of Frank Capra's 1941 melodrama, Meet John Doe), exploring the original bridge design - once described as "suicide-proof", and the decades-long debate over construction of a suicide barrier on the number-one suicide landmark in the world.
**Marlon Riggs Award, 2005 San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards
**Best U.S. Screenplay, 17th New York Lesbian & Gay Film Festival
**OUTstanding Artistic Achievement, 23rd Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Film Festival

Read more ..

575 Castro St.
Jenni Olson, U.S.A., 2008, 7 min,, colour, experimental, in English with no subtitles.
575 Castro St. reveals the play of light and shadow upon the walls of the Castro Camera Store set for Gus Van Sant’s film Milk. These mundane shots are almost bereft of movement and sound. So quiet, so still. All the better to showcase the range of emotions evoked by Harvey Milk’s words on the soundtrack. The audio track is an edited down version of the 13-minute audio cassette that Harvey Milk recorded in his camera shop on the evening of Friday, November 18, 1977 (a few weeks after his election to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors which made him one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States). Labeled simply: In-Case the tape was to be played, in the event of my death by assassination. The sensibility of 575 Castro St. hearkens back to the style of the dozens of Super 8 gay short films of the 70s that passed through Harvey Milk’s hands to be processed and developed at the Castro Camera Store.

More information about this film..

Read more about Jenni Olson..

Wednesday 9 June
Programme 8: Sabores de Mujeres – Claudia Morgado Escanilla
Born in Santiago de Chile, Claudia Morgado Escanilla graduated from Montreal’s Concordia University in 1991 with an award for outstanding achievement in the film program. Since then she has produced, written and directed more than ten short films that have garnished international recognition and awards, including the Berlin Teddy in 1996 for her film Unbound. Her films have been screened at major film festivals such us Berlin, Sundance, and Toronto. In 2000 she completed the Director’s in Residency program at the Canadian Film Centre where she directed the short film Martirio (Sufferance). Claudia resides in Vancouver, where she has worked in the local film industry for the past sixteen years, in post production and script supervision. She is currently in development of her first feature film entitled Patagonia, originally funded by Téléfim Canada’s screenwriting program. She is also currently completing her master’s degree in Resource Management and Environmental Studies.

Angustia
Claudia Morgado Escanilla, Canada, 1996, 5 minutes, colour, drama, no dialogue.
A sensual portrait of a woman seducing herself with poetry and music.
**Jury’s Award, 1997 Yorkton Film Festival
**Special Mention, 1997 Festival der Nationen

Unbound
Claudia Morgado Escanilla, Canada, 1995, 19 minutes, colour, documentary, in English, Spanish, and Arabic with English subtitles.
Unbound is a docudrama in which sixteen women of different nationalities, races, and ideologies free themselves from societal definitions, stereotypes, and the prison of the bra. In the act of unbinding, they speak directly to the camera with humor and insight, about the significance of their breasts in their lives and diverse cultures. Presented as a series of brilliantly coloured, vibrant tableaux, which are take-offs on well-known works by DaVinci, Caravaggio, Velázquez and Kahlo, the film breaks through the constraints of traditional filmmaking and the censorship of women's bodies.
**Teddy Award (Best Documentary), 1996 Berlin International Film Festival
**Best Foreign Short Film, 1997 Créteil International Women's Film Festival
**Isabella Liddell Award for Best Women’s Issues Film, 1996 Ann Arbor Film Festival
**Jury’s Award, 1995 Northwest Film & Video Festival
**Certificate of Merit, 1995 Chicago International Film Festival

No Bikini
Claudia Morgado Escanilla, Canada, 2007, 9 minutes, colour, drama, in English with no subtitles.
At seven years old, defiant Robin decides to go without her bikini top at a summer camp…with surprising results!
**Grand Jury Prize, 2008 PlanetOut Short Movie Award
**Best Short Film, 2008 Zürich Pink Apple Film Festival
**Best Short Film Award, 2008 Calgary Fairy Tales Film Festival
**Best Short Film Award, 2008 New York Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
**Audience Award (Best Short Film), 2007 Northwest Film & Video Festival
**Audience Award (Short Film), 2008 San Francisco International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival
**Audience Award (Best Women’s Short), 2008 Pittsburgh Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
**Audience Award, 2008 Bern Queersicht Film Festival
**Audience Award, 2008 Fire Island Film and Video Festival
**Audience Award, 2008 Hamburg Lesbian & Gay Film Festival
**Audience Award, 2008 Rochester ImageOut Lesbian & Gay Film Festival
**Honorable Mention, 2008 La Matatena Children’s Film Festival
**Honorable Mention (Best Short Film), 2008 Toronto Lesbian & Gay Film & Video Festival
**Honorable Mention (Best Screenplay), 2008 Tofifest
**Honorable Mention, 2008 Reel2Reel Youth Film Festival
**BAFTA/LA Certificate of Excellence, 2008 Mill Valley Children’s Film Festival

Sabor a Mí
Claudia Morgado Escanilla, Canada, 1998, 22 minutes, colour, drama, in Spanish with English subtitles.
Sabor a Mí is an erotic meditation about sensual yearnings, the guilty pleasures of watching, and the secret complicity of desire. Two women secretly watch the most intimate moments of each other's lives. Chance meetings between the two soon become deliberate encounters, and the women discover their mutual longing for each other.
**Jury’s Award, 1998 Northwest Film & Video Festival
**Audience Award (Best Short Film), 1998 Créteil International Women's Film Festival
**Best Cinematography Award, 1998 Toronto Images Festival of Independent Film & Video
**Honorable Mention, 1998 Torino Lesbian & Gay Film Festival
**Honorable Mention, 1998 Toronto Lesbian & Gay Film & Video Festival
**Honorable Mention, 1998 Vancouver Out on Screen Lesbian & Gay Film Festival

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transparent
Jules Rosskam, USA, Documentary, 61 minutes

Pink or blue. Male or Female. Mommy or Daddy. Categories that we all take for granted are blown wide open in “transparent,” a new documentary film about 19 female-to-male transsexuals living in the United States who have given birth and, in all but a few stories, gone on to raise their biological children.
“transparent” focuses on its subjects’ lives as parents – revealing the diverse ways in which each person reconciles this part of their history - giving birth and being biological mothers - now that they identify as male and are perceived by the world, but only sometimes by their children, as men. The first-person stories in "transparent" explain how changing genders is dealt with and impacts the relationships, if at all, within these families.

Read more..

Monday 14 June
Programme : Queer Bodies, Queer Spectacles
Three very different documentary films that challenge the mainstream notions of desirability, by putting a queer spin on body image, performance and spectacle, and female sexuality.

Chubb Rubb: A Fat Cabaret
Alexis Mitchell, Canada, 2006, 10 minutes, colour, documentary, in English with no subtitles.
Large and in charge, larger than life, the women in Toronto’s Fat Femme Mafia have been whipping the world with the strong words of the politics of size. Chubb Rubb: A Fat Cabaret follows the Fat Femme Mafia, their fat co-conspirators and allies, in the days leading up their first and highly anticipated performance. Through interviews, asides, and performances, Rubb My Chubb lays the groundwork for these fierce fatties to continue to make their politics known to the rest of the world, as the appetite for these luscious ladies continues to grow and grow.

Circus Geeks and Sideshow Freaks
Tori Foster & Alexis Mitchell, Canada, 2008, 12 minutes, colour, documentary, in English with no subtitles.
Circus Geeks and Sideshow Freaks follows the queer clown duo the Hobo Homos as they transform an art space into a spectacular circus performance. Scandalous, sexy, and fun, Circus Geeks explores the need for cutting-edge, contemporary political expression by reclaiming the notion of “freak” for the queer community.

Read more ..

Bahar
Hüseyin Karagöz, Turkey, 2005, 53 minutes, colour, documentary, in Turkish with English subtitles.
A touching portrait of a feisty Turkish transsexual, who has lived through many periods of tumultuous times, each of these chapters a fragment of her life marked by a different name she has chosen to call herself after abandoning her original name of Mustafa: Ayla (Aura), Ülkü (Ideal) and Bahar (Spring). The film was shot in Istanbul, with interviews conducted around the time of Bahar's much-desired facial surgery.

Tuesday 15 June

1. Jagadamba : Mother of the Universe
Amber Field, USA, 2008, English, 10 minutes

Amber Field was born in Korea in 1975 and adopted by a white American woman. She grew up in Korea, Nepal, Liberia and the US. This is a film about her healing journey through music to find her home in the world.

Official Selection
* Austin Gay & Lesbian Film Festival 2008
* San Francisco Women's Film Festival 2009
* LA Mixed Roots Film Festival 2009

Read more about Amber...

2. Programme : Faith Will Tear Us Apart

The increasingly vociferous struggle by gay and lesbian Christians for acceptance in the Episcopal Church in the U.S. has brought about a schism in worldwide Anglicanism that could potentially split the Anglican Communion apart. While queer Anglicans are making significant achievements in their fight to transform an oppressive Christian tradition into a modern force of liberation, prejudices and abuses of organized religion are still prevalent around the world - particularly in an era when the word “faith” is merely code for nationalistic, homophobic, and other forms of violence. With its emphasis on the ironies of sexual politics, Not That Kind of Christian!! uses entrenched homophobia as a grand example of how long-standing prejudice can be overcome through equally long-standing resistance. As its devoutly Christian (and male) interviewees offer an internal critique of Christian patriarchy, the film implies that our best cure for homophobia should come from within the Church, the very organization responsible for propagating homophobia; and that our defiant activism could profoundly shape our personal liberties at the highest institutional levels.

Not That Kind of Christian!!
Andrew Grossman, U.S.A., 2007, 80 min., colour, documentary, in English with no subtitles.
In his thought provoking first film, Andrew Grossman brought together a number of major players in the Anglican sexuality debate, each of them representing a different place on the spectrum of sexuality and religion: Louie Crew, the creator of Integrity, the Episcopal Church’s first LGBT rights organization, founded in 1974; Bishop Gene Robinson, the world’s first openly homosexual bishop and an icon of gay civil liberties; Bishop John S. Spong, a pro-gay bishop with a uniquely agnostic, heretical approach to Christian dogma; Douglas LeBlanc, a conservative Anglican journalist who attempts to understand gay rights issues despite his fundamentalist beliefs; and David Virtue, the Anglican Communion’s most influential conservative layperson, who believes any gay Christian activism will sabotage the Church’s evangelism in Africa, where a majority of Anglican bishops still adhere to 19th century, colonial-era definitions of homosexuality. Interspersed amidst their interviews are the diverse voices of Episcopalians across America that Louie Crew has anonymously telephoned, giving us a spontaneous, uncensored picture of where the “average” parishioner stands on the film’s issues of sexual inclusiveness and political progressiveness. Also speaking in the film is Ernest Clay, Louie Crew’s African-American husband of thirty-two years, who, like Louie Crew, emerged from the conservatism of the Deep South into the more liberal Episcopalian tradition. But the film is not limited to the current Episcopal crisis; analyzing the crossroads of Biblical sexuality, conservative ideology, and African and African-American gay rights, the film offers a far-reaching critique of how homophobia continues to operate in multiple contexts.
**Silver Remi Award, 40th WorldFest Houston

Read more..

Wednesday 16 June

Programme From Bollywood with Love
Sridhar Rangayan's most recent feature film, 68 Pages, was India’s first feature film to address HIV/AIDS in the LGBT community. Produced by The Humsafar Trust in Mumbai/Bombay - the main NGO in India that disseminates HIV/AIDS education and preventative measures, 68 Pages packs a lot of information with even more warmth and affections.

68 Pages
Sridhar Rangayan, India, 2007, 92 min., colour, drama, in Hindi with English subtitles.
In the 68 pages of her diary, an HIV/AIDS counsellor records the pain and joy of her work, and her clients’ despair and hope, their tears and laughter. The lives of her five clients, from high-risk groups such as heterosexual sex worker, drug user, gay and transgender, change dramatically when they are confronted with their seroconversion. Their life-affirming stories of courage and resilience are a tribute to the human spirit.
**Silver Remi Award, 41st WorldFest Houston

Read more..

Bomgay
Riyad Vinci Wadia, India, 1996, 12 minutes, colour, drama, in English with no subtitles.
India's first gay short film from India's pioneering gay filmmaker, and based on a collection of poems by Indian writer R. Raj Rao, the six vignettes in this multi-layered portrait of gay life in Bombay/Mumbai are poignant, sexy, and political.

Monday 21 June
Programme : Family Secrets for Fathers Day
One of life's thorny hurdles faced by many in the GLBT communities is to have to find ways to navigate the difficult terrains of their families. Through dealing with family expectations, disapprovals, and upheavals, the young people in these three films come of age, and find strength and spirit, to embrace the journeys that lie ahead.

Cadillac Blues
Mazen Khaled, Lebanon, 2003, 26 minutes, colour, drama, in Arabic with English subtitles.
Three days in the life of two Lebanese brothers, Omar and Ryan. They are close. They go out together. They have common friends. They share the same living space, the same mobile phone, and a huge old Cadillac. But despite their closeness and all that they share, Omar has a secret nocturnal life which has its share of drug content. Ryan has an even bigger secret. Each one of them uses the Cadillac to live out his secret life.

The Marionettes
Matthew Mishory, U.S.A., 2009, 5 minutes, colour, experimental, in English with no subtitles.
In November 2008, California narrowly voted to end equal marriage for same-sex couples. Throughout the campaign, Proposition 8 advocates repeatedly claimed that marriage equality harmed children. The Marionettes is a creative response to that contention. The film uses striking marionettes, ornate miniatures, and stylized chiaroscuro lighting to tell the story of a little girl’s puppet show and a fantasy world where parental disapproval casts an unseemly pall.

Read more..

Innocent
Simon Chung, Canada/Hong Kong, 2005, 80 minutes, colour, drama, in Chinese and English with English subtitles.
A Hong Kong teenager newly immigrated to Canada stands at the brink of adulthood, against the backdrop of conflicting cultures, familial discord and the exploration of his own emerging sexuality. The men he encounters - his handsome cousin, a classmate, an older man, and finally a kitchen help in his mother's restaurant, represent different stages in his emotional and sexual awakening, from infatuation, sex, love, to a sense of responsibility.
**National Film Board of Canada Award (Best Canadian Independent Film), 9th Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival

Tuesday 22 June

Programme : Home Away From Home
The affecting and sometimes affectionate stories told by the lesbians and gay men in these three films are testaments to their strength and courage, and ruminate on the effects that religion, colonialism, migration, and homophobia have on the lives of lesbians and gay men in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.

Voices of Witness Africa
Cynthia Black & Katie Sherrod, U.S.A./Uganda/Kenya/Rwanda, 2009, 30 min., colour, documentary, in English with no subtitles.
Anglican women and men from across Africa tell their stories of intolerance and community, of secrecy and hope, of facing challenges and seeking dignity as LGBT people of faith.

Read more..

The Shoes Weren't Made For Walking
Paul Lee, Canada/Hong Kong, 1995, 27 minutes, B/W & colour, experimental documentary, in Chinese and English with English subtitles.
The lives, loves, and social roles of four generations of Chinese women in the filmmaker's family, including the filmmaker's butch cross-dressing lesbian aunt and her girlfriend, are explored through the stories of their shoes.
**Silver Award (Women's Issues Film), 28th Houston International Film Festival
**Silver Award (Documentary), 2nd Hong Kong Independent Short Film Awards
**Runner Up Award, 27th National Council on Family Relations Media Awards
**Two Stars Award, 26th Canadian International Film Festival
**Certificate of Merit, 31st Chicago International Film Festival
**Honorable Mention (Documentary), 1996 Bettina Russell Women's Film Festival

This Way Out
Jill Burnett, Canada, 2004, 32 minutes, colour, documentary, in English with no subtitles.
Two gay men, one from Kenya and the other from Pakistan, and a lesbian from Brazil, recount their journeys to seek political asylum in the United States, for a new and safer life in San Francisco, away from the constant threat of homophobic violence and persecution in their respective homelands.
**Best Woman Director, 16th Toronto Lesbian & Gay Film & Video Festival
**Audience Award (Best Documentary), 14th Sacramento International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival

Wednesday 23 June
The Gymnast
Ned Farr, (USA), 2006, Drama, 96 minutes

The stunning Dreya Weber stars as a former top gymnast who discovers love and a new life path when she teams up with a dancer (played by former L.A. Lakers cheerleader Addie Yungmee) for an ambitious Las Vegas aerial act show. A visually compelling film that challenges notions of both ability and identity, THE GYMNAST is foremost a story about hope and taking the necessary risks to fully become yourself

Film donated by Lunar Fish Productions . Read more...

Monday 28 June
Programme 9: Men in Shorts
The relationships between men can be so fraught with preoccupations of power, dominance, and machismo. The portraits of men and male relationships in these six short films offer some alternative takes on the traditional notions and the tired clichés of male bonding, disrupting the mainstream norms with some unconventional but sometimes nurturing tenderness, affections, and inner strength.

The Goddess Method
Punam Sawhney, Canada, 2000, 6 minutes, colour, experimental drama, in English with no subtitles.
A young man is confronted by his South Asian family's expectations...what he should do, how he should be...as he reveals the true spirit within him.

My Queer Samsara
Mazen Khaled, Canada/Lebanon, 2010, 10 minutes, colour & b/w, drama, in English with no subtitles.
My Queer Samsara is a critical look at a constructed social identity that hides underneath it a gnawing want; a need to 'go back home' and be fully accepted into the bosom of our very first loves, the ones who were supposed to take care of us, our families.'

Summer
Hong Khaou, U.K., 2006, 9 minutes, colour, drama, in English with no subtitles.
It is said that if one succeeds in catching a falling leaf in mid-flight, then a wish will be granted. Two best friends, Leung and Will, both 16 years old, go to the woods to catch themselves a wish.
**Best Short Film, 2006 Ibiza Lesbian & Gay Film Festival
**Audience Award (Best Short Film), 22nd Torino Lesbian & Gay Film Festival

Thick Lips Thin Lips
Paul Lee, Canada, 1994, 6 minutes, B/W & colour, experimental, in English with no subtitles.
The meeting of lips is the setting for this musical short film about racist and homophobic violence.
**Best Short Film Student Jury Award, 5th Czech Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
**Best Artistic Direction, 3rd Cincinnati College Independent Film & Video
Festival
**Silver Award (Experimental), 1st Hong Kong Independent Short Film Awards
**Third Prize, 3rd Cabbagetown Film Festival Short Film Competition
**Director's Citation, 14th Black Maria Film & Video Festival
**Special Commendation, 25th Canadian International Film Festival
**Honorable Mention, 4th University of Oregon Queer Film Festival
**Honorable Mention, 27th Humboldt International Film Festival
**Honorable Mention (Experimental), 15th Utah Short Film & Video Festival

Delphinium: A Childhood Portrait of Derek Jarman
Matthew Mishory, U.S.A., 2009, 13 minutes, colour, experimental, in English with no subtitles.
Delphinium is a stylized and lyrical coming-of-age portrait of Derek Jarman's artistic, sexual, and political awakening in post-war England. Part biographical narrative, part experimental collage, part personal meditation on the most controversial and important modern British artist and activist, the film finds in Jarman's childhood the stirrings of creative and individual epiphany that inspired a remarkable life. Features a special appearance by Keith Collins, Jarman's surviving muse, and a score by Arban and Steven Severin of Siouxsie and the Banshees.

Read more ..

The Offering
Paul Lee, Canada, 1999, 10 minutes, colour, drama, no dialogue.
A wordless elegiac meditation on the passing of life, told through the story of love and friendship between a Japanese monk and the novice who entered his life, from their initial encounter to their final parting.
**winner of 71 awards to date

Makbul - The Favoured One
Hüseyin Karagoz, Turkey, 1999, 7 minutes, colour, drama, in Turkish with English subtitles.
Set in 16th century Ottoman Turkey, a silent foot-washing ceremony between Suleiman the Magnificent and his slave Ibrahim, who serves to prove that passion can turn the simplest task into an erotic experience.
**Silver Award (Short Historical Drama), 32nd Houston International Film Festival
**Honorable Mention, 2nd InterFilmFestival Nurnberg

The Milkman
Ken Takahashi, Canada, 2001, 8 minutes, colour, drama, no dialogue.

Two unlikely men come together to share love at its most basic level: a love that both nourishes and sustains life.
**Best of Fest, 2002 Bearded Child Film Festival
**Jury's Choice, 12th University of Oregon Queer Film Festival
**Festival Citation, 4th Manila eKsperim[e]nto Film & Video Festival
**Audience Award (Best GLBT Film), 4th Manila eKsperim[e]nto Film & Video Festival
**Audience Award (Best Short Film), 1st Buenos Aires Gay, Lesbian & Transgender International Film Festival
Read more..

Tuesday 29 June
Spectrum Celebration – poetry, dance, song

Wednesday 30 June
Kinky Boots
Julian Jarrold, (USA/UK) Comedy, 2005, 101 minutes
Inspired by true events, Kinky Boots is a comedy which challenges prejudice and intolerance. After the death of his father, Charlie Price must find a way to save his family's failing shoe factory , or his entire town would be left out in the cold. Charlie finds help in an unlikely ally - female impersonator "Lola", and together they would hatch a plot to save the factory.

Thank YOU to :

Paul Lee, and the directors who contributed their films through him

Kirk Shannon Butts

Parvez Sharma

Amber Field

Lunar Fish Productions

Nhojj

Sherlina Nageer

Greg Jagroo

Dr Nastassia Rambarran

Sidewalk Cafe

Oasis Cafe

OAS approves third resolution on "Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity"

2010-06-11T12:07:00.000-07:00

THE COALITION OF LGBTTTI ORGANIZATIONS FROM 17 LATIN AMERICAN AND CARIBBEAN COUNTRIES WORKING WITHIN THE OAS SUPPORTS THE APPROVAL OF THE THIRD RESOLUTION ON HUMAN RIGHTS, SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND GENDER IDENTITY

The Organization of American States (OAS), convened in its 40th General Assembly in Lima, Peru, approved on June 8, 2010, a resolution on human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity in the countries of the Americas.

This resolution is the result of the advocacy and coordination activities realized in the past four years by more than 20 LGBTTTI groups from 17 countries forming a Coalition of Latin America and the Caribbean, which meets every year before the General Assembly to coordinate its advocacy work within the OAS.

As usual, the Coalition held its parallel event in preparation for the General Assembly to discuss strategies of involvement and advocacy within the OAS and more specifically during the 40th General Assembly. Guest participants at the event included Ambassador Santiago Canton, Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights who expressed the commitment of the body in monitoring human rights violations on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity and offered an overview of the remedies available for the LGBTTTI communities in the region; Dante Negro, director of the Department of International Law of the OAS, who offered a detailed legal analysis of the draft resolution “Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity” and highlighted the achievements attained within the OAS on the issue; Irene Klinger, director of the Department of International Relations of the OAS, who highlighted the importance of the involvement of LGBTTTI civil society in all processes of the Organization, and particularly in its 40th General Assembly. A delegation from UNAIDS in Peru also attended the meeting.

During the informal dialogue between the Secretary General of the OAS and the civil society in Lima, three delegates from the LGBTTTI coalition questioned Secretary General José Miguel Insulza on some of the most relevant human rights violations occurring in the hemisphere, such as: the existence of legislation criminalizing same sex conducts in the English-speaking Caribbean and the related human rights abuses; human rights violations committed against the travesti, transsexual and transgender communities, as well as the lack of legal recognition of gender identity, by most of the member states; the restrictive trend that Peru is taking on the issue, specifically by having repealed reference to sexual orientation and gender identity from antidiscrimination clauses of several pieces of legislation. Mr. Insulza, recently re-elected for a second mandate to lead the OAS, reiterated his commitment and the commitment of the OAS to keep engaging with the aim of combating discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity.

The day after, in the context of the dialogue between the heads of delegations of member states and the civil society, Sherlina Nageer, Guyanese activist and representative of the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD), read a statement (attached) as spokesperson of the Coalition in which activists from Chile, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Dominican Republic, Paraguay, Brazil, Ecuador, Haiti, Guyana, Jamaica, and Belize reiterating to the ministers of foreign affairs the concerns already discussed on the previous day, additionally requesting member states to amend their domestic violence legislation to include the issue of violence experienced by lesbian and trans women within their families.

The Ambassador of Brazil to the OAS focused his intervention on the fight against homophobia reminding the meeting of the initiative that President Lula of Brazil recently undertook by officially establishing May 17 as National Day Against Homophobia in Brazil.

During the Assembly, the delegates from the LGBTTTI Coalition had a chance to have a formal meeting with Felipe Gonzalez, current Chairperson of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to discuss human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the hemisphere.

On June 8, during the last plenary session, the Annual Report of the Permanent Council (2009-2010), which contains the resolutions approved by the Permanent Council itself were presented. Among those, the resolution AG/RES. 2600 (XL-O/10) “Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity” (also attached) was adopted. Its text ratifies what was established in the previous years by the resolutions AG/RES.2435 (XXXVIII-O/08) and AG/RES. 2504 (XXXIX-O/09) entitled “Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity”.

The new resolution, presented by Brazil and co-sponsored by Bolivia, not only condemns acts of violence and human rights violations perpetrated against individuals because of their sexual orientation and gender identity, and expresses its concern for violence against human rights defenders that work on related violations, but calls on member states to take all necessary measures to combat violations on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, ensuring full access to justice for the victims, and request the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to consider the possibility of conducting a thematic study.

For the first time, the resolution includes the notion of discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity, inviting the states to adopt measures against it.

As a Coalition, we celebrate the approval of this third resolution that we consider one of the tangible results of the advocacy work started in 2006 by Global Rights, Mulabi - Espacio Latinoamericano de Sexualidades y Derechos and the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) – Latin America and the Caribbean, by coordinating the creation of this Coalition that initially focused its work on the advocacy for the inclusion of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression in the draft Inter-American Convention against Racism and all Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance.

We thank Astraea Lesbian Foundation for Justice, IGLHRC, and Global Rights for their support, making our participation in this year’s General Assembly possible.

The participants of the Coalition of LGBTTTI Organizations of Latin America and the Caribbean within the OAS were:

AIREANA - Camila Zabala – Paraguay, COLECTIVA MUJER y SALUD - Julie Betances – Dominican Republic, COLECTIVO “ANGEL AZUL”- RED LACTRANS - Jana Villaizán – Peru, COLECTIVO CONTRANATURAS – Paúl Flores Arroyo – Peru, CORPORACIÓN PROMOCIÓN DE LA MUJER - Tatiana Cordero - Ecuador, IGLHRC-LAC – Fernando D’Elio – Argentina, ASOCIACIÓN LIDERES EN ACCION - Germán Rincón Perfetti - Colombia, MOVIMENTO HOMOSEXUAL DE LIMA - Giovanny Romero Infante – Peru, MOVIMIENTO MANUELA RAMOS – Eduardo Jesus Juarez Villafuerte – Peru, ORGANIZACIÓN DE TRANSEXUALES POR LA DIGNIDAD DE LA DIVERSIDAD - Franco Fuica – Chile, PROMSEX - George Liendo – Peru, RED AFRO LGBTI - Edmilson Medeiros - Brazil, J-FLAG - Maurice Tomlinson – Jamaica, RED LACTRANS - Marcela Romero - Argentina, SENTIMOS DIVERSO – Zulma Quintero – Colombia, SEROvie – Steeve Laguerre – Haiti, SOCIETY AGAINST SEXUAL ORIENTATION DISCRIMINATION- Sherlina Nageer - Guyana, UNIBAM - Devon Gabourel – Belize.

As Coalition partner: Stefano Fabeni – Global Rights

Lima, Peru

June 8, 2010

Attachments:

(1) Photograph: SASOD’s Sherlina Nageer presenting the Lima declaration on behalf of the Coalition of LGBTTTI Organisations from Latin America and the Caribbean at the dialogue between heads of delegations of member states and civil society

(2) The Lima Declaration of the LGBTTTI Coalition and the OAS’ 2010 Resolution on “Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity”
LIMA DECLARATION OF THE COALITION OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRAVESTI, TRANSSEXUAL, TRANSGENDER & INTERSEX ORGANISATIONS OF THE AMERICAS

Mister Secretary General, Ministers, Members of the Official Delegations, Civil Society Representatives,

We, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Travesti, Transsexual, Transgender and Intersex organizations, convened in Lima, Peru on June 3 and 4, 2010, in accordance with the directives established by the General Assembly of the OAS in its resolutions AG/RES.2092(XXXV-O/05); CP/RES.759(1217/99); 840(1361/03); AG/RES.1707(XXX-O/00) and AG/RES.1915(XXXIII-O/03), which determine a regulatory framework to enhance and strengthen civil society participation in activities of the Organisation of American States (OAS) and in the Summit of the Americas process, highlighting the importance of the resolution AG/RES. 2504 (XXXIX-O/09):

Express our concern that the draft Declaration of Lima does not substantively link the notions of peace and security to the promotion of human rights and non-discriminatory policies, based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, nor for people of African descent, the indigenous, women, youth, migrants, the elderly, persons living with disabilities or in poverty.

Policies for economic and social development must be related to wellbeing and affirmation of human rights. We are therefore alarmed about the introduction of legislation that removes protection for individuals based on sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, as well as the breach of the principle of State secularism, particularly concerning institutional policies and practices.

We emphasize that neither peace nor security are possible if everyone does not have a right to develop a plan for their life, and enjoy fundamental rights and freedoms protected by states.

This is the case of lesbian women, blackmailed by their families and forcibly confined in “rehabilitation” clinics, threatened and raped as corrective practice, denied the right to education and economic independence, deprived of custody of their children, whom are also affected by prejudice and discrimination.

Similarly, colonial laws still in force in eleven English-speaking Caribbean countries criminalizing cross-dressing, buggery, gross indecency, acts against the order of nature allow for violence, harassment, intimidation, brutality and other human rights violations by state and non-state actors. Examples include home invasions, expulsions from homes, communities, and school.

Also, transsexual, transgender, travesti and intersex persons are deprived of legal recognition of their gender identity, obliged to “normalize” their bodies, even through forced sterilization and mutilations, which may occur in early childhood. Their rights to health, housing, work, and education are thus jeopardized, as is their full enjoyment of citizenship.

Therefore, we demand:

That member states of the English-speaking Caribbean repeal all legislation criminalizing relationships between same-sex consenting adults which limit the free development of their personalities;
That all member states introduce legislation to protect, guarantee and promote equality of individuals regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity and expression;
That all member states revise their domestic violence legislation to include violence experienced by lesbian, transgender and transsexual women within their own families;
That member states reform educational policies starting from primary school, in an effort to combat violence caused by gender stereotypes, which particularly affect transsexual, transgender, travesti and intersex individuals;
That the General Assembly approves the draft Resolution AG/doc. 5091/10 “Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity” presented by the Brazilian Delegation, whose initiative we fully endorse;
That the General Assembly approves the draft Resolution AG/doc. 5097/10 “Draft Inter-American Convention against Racism and all Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance” and that Member States finalize the negotiation of the draft accepting the progress achieved during the past years.

We call attention to the omission and inaction of states in guaranteeing our physical, psychological, sexual and reproductive integrity, our legal security and access to justice. States owe a debt to our communities: end impunity now!

Lima, Peru
June 6, 2010

AG/RES. 2600 (XL-O/10)

HUMAN RIGHTS, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, AND GENDER IDENTITY

(Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 8, 2010)

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,

TAKING INTO ACCOUNT resolutions AG/RES. 2435 (XXXVIII-O/08) and AG/RES. 2504 (XXXIX-O/09), “Human Rights, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity”;

REAFFIRMING:

That the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in that instrument, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status; and

That the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man establishes that every human being has the right to life, liberty, and the security of the person;

CONSIDERING that the Charter of the Organization of American States proclaims that the historic mission of America is to offer to man a land of liberty and a favorable environment for the development of his personality and the realization of his just aspirations;

REAFFIRMING the principles of universality, indivisibility, and interdependence of human rights;

TAKING NOTE of the Declaration on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, presented to the United Nations General Assembly on December 18, 2008; and

NOTING WITH CONCERN the acts of violence and related human rights violations as well as discrimination practiced against persons because of their sexual orientation and gender identity,

RESOLVES:

1. To condemn acts of violence and human rights violations committed against persons because of their sexual orientation and gender identity; and to urge states to investigate these acts and violations and to ensure that their perpetrators are brought to justice.

2. To encourage states to take all necessary measures to ensure that acts of violence and related human rights violations are not committed against persons because of their sexual orientation, gender identity, and to ensure that the victims are given access to justice on an equal footing with other persons.

3.To encourage member states to consider ways to combat discrimination against persons because of their sexual orientation and gender identity.

4.To urge states to ensure adequate protection for human rights defenders who work on issues related to acts of violence, discrimination, and human rights violations committed against persons because of their sexual orientation and gender identity.

5.To request the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights to continue to pay due attention to this issue and to consider the possibility of conducting a thematic study of it at the hemispheric level.

6.To instruct the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs to include on its agenda, before the forty-first regular session of the General Assembly, the topic of “Human rights, sexual orientation, and gender identity.”

7.To request the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at its forty-first regular session on the implementation of this resolution. Execution of its activities shall be subject to the financial resources available in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources.

Remembering DUSILLEY CANNINGS - G+

2010-06-09T06:21:00.001-07:00

Tributes shared on the SASOD yahoo group..
Photo shared by Nazim Hussain

"We cant take her place but we can continue her work...

May her work and her life be an example to us all.
RIP Dusilley...
You and your work have made a mark

Mark"

"Dusilley was very supportive of SASOD and our work, even serving as referee for our projects before she became seriously ill. In those days, Dusilley took the lead as the focal point for CVC member organisations in Guyana and served well. On behalf of SASOD, I extend condolencses to Dusilley's family and friends. May her soul rest in peace.

Yours,

Joel"

"I met her a few times at regional meetings. She was full of spirit when we talked.

May she rest in peace.

Caleb Orozco'

"I really liked Dusilley, we always connected when we met
I have missed seeing her these past few years
Well I for one believe she is a much better place
warm regards
Marcus"

From the Intl Candlelight Memorial

2010-05-17T18:13:00.000-07:00

From STabroek News, 17 May, 2010

Many Lights for Human Rights: This is the theme under which the Society Against Sexual Orient-ation Discrimination (SASOD) hosted the 2010 International AIDS Candlelight Memorial at the St. George’s Cathedral yesterday. SASOD members lit candles in remembrance of those who died from HIV/AIDS as others look on and spoke out against stigma and discrimination.

Marking World Day of Social Justice, Transgender citizens, supported by SASOD, move to the courts to challenge Guyana’s law against ‘cross-dressing’

2010-02-22T12:06:00.000-08:00

Long misunderstood and seen as legitimate targets for discrimination and abuse, transgender citizens used the occasion of the international commemoration of World Day of Social Justice to file a motion against Guyana’s law criminalizing ‘cross-dressing.’ On Friday, February 19, 2010, the notice of motion was filed before the Supreme Court of Judicature for redress claiming, among other relief, to have section 153(1)(xlvii) of the Summary Jurisdiction (Offences) Act, Chapter 8:02, invalidated as irrational, discriminatory, undemocratic, contrary to the rule of law and unconstitutional. The law makes an offence of “being a man, in any public way or public place, for any improper purpose, appears in female attire, or being a woman, in any public way or public place, for any improper purpose, appears in male attire.”

February 20, 2010, marks the second annual commemoration of World Day of Social Justice, which recognizes, in the words of United Nations General Assembly Resolution (A/RES/62/10), that “social development and social justice cannot be attained… in the absence of respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms.” In his message to mark the day, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon explained that “social justice is based on the values of fairness, equality, respect for diversity, access to social protection, and the application of human rights in all spheres of life.”

The day was chosen to address an act of social injustice against one of Guyana’s most marginalised social groups which took place last year. Transgender persons refer to people whose gender identity and/or expression differs from the sex they were assigned at birth, including cross-dressers, female or male impersonators, pre-operative, post-operative or non-operative transsexuals. Trans people may define themselves as female-to-male (FtM, assigned a female biological sex at birth but who have a predominantly male gender identity) or male-to-female (MtF, assigned a male biological sex at birth but who have a predominantly female gender identity); others consider themselves as falling outside binary concepts of gender or sex.

In a series of crackdowns last year between February 6 and 7, the Guyana police arrested a number of male-to-female transgender persons (MtF Trans) and charged them for ‘cross-dressing’ under the archaic Colonial section 153(1)(xlvii) statute. Unrepresented and completely unaware of their rights, the defendants were detained in police custody over the week-end and then hustled through the legal system. When they appeared before Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson on February 9, 2009, they were further ridiculed and told that they are men not women, before being fined by the learned Chief Magistrate. Seon Clarke, also known as Falatama, one of the persons arrested, said: “It was one of the most humiliating experiences of my life. I felt like I was less than human.” The motion also pleads that the Chief Magistrate was improperly influenced by irrelevant considerations, discriminated against the MtF Trans on the basis of religion, and violated a fundamental norm of Guyana as a secular state. Vigorous and wide-ranging calls within and out of Guyana for the repeal of these discriminatory laws which facilitate such injustices have been ignored by the government.

Since then, SASOD has forged partnerships with human rights interests in the local and regional arenas who have been working collectively and consistently on a voluntary basis over the past year to assist this marginalized group to obtain access to justice for the atrocities endured at the instance of the law enforcement authorities. The 2009 ‘cross-dressing’ crackdowns and prosecutions provided clear illustrations of how discriminatory laws are facilitating grave human rights’ abuses, in spite of the existence of an entrenched regime of human rights protection in the Guyana constitution. Leading the research initiatives to support strategic-impact, human-rights litigation in the region, Tracy Robinson of the University of the West Indies Rights Advocacy Project (U-RAP) based at the Cave Hill campus’ law faculty in Barbados described the arrests and prosecutions as “an unfortunate embodiment of the patriarchal use of coercive state power for no clear or rational purpose,” highlighting the need for law reform to ensure social justice and gender equity in Guyana and across the region.

SASOD has mobilized support from local and regional human rights attorneys to provide representation in what amounts to a ground-breaking constitutional case. According to Dr. Arif Bulkan, also of U-RAP and one of Guyanese attorneys involved in the litigation, “unless the wide-ranging constitutional reforms conducted in 2001 and 2003 are to be dismissed as pure window-dressing, then the emphasis placed on non-discrimination during that process should guide the High Court to interpret the expanded equality rights generously in order to protect one of our society’s most marginalised groups.”

Veronica Cenac, a St. Lucian attorney who serves as the human rights focal point on the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition board of governors, lauded SASOD for spearheading the case. “For way too long, we have allowed abuses against the most affected populations to go unchallenged,” she said, quoting the closing words of the UN Secretary-General’s message: “Lack of social justice anywhere is an affront to us all.”

2009 No. DEMERARA

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE SUPREME COURT OF JUDCIATURE

CIVIL JURISDICTION

In the matter of the Constitution of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana.

-and-

In the matter of an application by QUINCY McEWAN, SEON CLARKE, JOSEPH FRASER, SEYON PERSAUD and SOCIETY AGAINST SEXUAL ORIENTATION DISCRIMINATION (SASOD) for redress under Article 153 of the Constitution for contravention of the applicants’ fundamental rights guaranteed by Articles 1, 40, 139, 144, 145, 146, 149 and 149D of the Constitution of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana.

BETWEEN:

QUINCY McEWAN
SEON CLARKE
JOSEPH FRASER
SEYON PERSAUD
SOCIETY AGAINST SEXUAL ORIENTATION DISCRIMINATION – a duly constituted and registered Trust in Guyana by Trust Deed No. 1032 of 2006.

Applicants

-and-

THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Respondents

ORIGINATING NOTICE OF MOTION

TAKE NOTICE that this Honourable Court will be moved on Monday the 21st day of February, 2010, at 9:00 o’clock in the forenoon or so soon thereafter as Counsel can be heard by MESSRS MILES FITZPATRICK S.C., C.A. NIGEL HUGHES, ARIF BULKAN and GINO PERSAUD, Counsel on behalf of the applicants, for redress under Article 153 of the Constitution of the Republic of Guyana in the following terms:

a declaration that the refusal of the police to inform the first to the fourth named applicants of the reason for their arrest on February 6^th and February 7^th, 2009 and subsequent detention constituted a violation of their rights to be so informed as guaranteed by Articles 139(3) and 144(2)(b) of the Constitution of Guyana, for which they are entitled to redress;
a declaration that the refusal by the police to permit the first to the fourth named applicants to retain and instruct a legal adviser of their choice upon their arrest and before they were first taken to court violated their rights under article 139(3) of the Constitution, for which they are entitled to redress;
a declaration that the conduct proscribed by section 153(1)(xlvii) of the Summary Jurisdiction (Offences) Act, Chapter 8:02 of the Laws of Guyana, under which the first to the fourth named applicants were subsequently charged, is vague and of uncertain scope, rendering the offence purportedly created thereunder contrary to the Rule of Law and unconstitutional;
a declaration that the said offence under s. 153(1)(xlvii) of Chapter 8:02 is irrational, discriminatory, undemocratic and contrary to Articles 1 and 40 of the Constitution;
a declaration that the said offence under s. 153(1)(xlvii) of Chapter 8:02 affords different treatment to different persons because of non-conformity to stereotypes based on sex in contravention of the prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of sex and gender contained in Article 149(1) of the Constitution;
a declaration that the said offence under s. 153(1)(xlvii) of Chapter 8:02, by authorizing different treatment based on sex stereotypes, contravenes the guarantee of equality before the law in Article 149D of the Constitution;
a declaration that the said offence under s. 153(1)(xlvii) of Chapter 8:02, by preventing persons from giving expression to their gender identity and dressing in conformity with their innermost beliefs and orientation, contravenes the guarantee of freedom of expression contained in Article 146 of the Constitution;
a declaration that all criminal proceedings against the first to the fourth named applicants arising out of their arrest between February 6^th and 7^th, 2009 based on the allegation of wearing female attire were unconstitutional, null, void and of no legal effect by reason of the contraventions of the Rule of Law and the explicit guarantees contained in Articles 1, 40, 139, 144, 149 and 149D of the Constitution;
a declaration that the learned Chief Magistrate, in telling the first to the fourth named applicants in the course of the hearing that they must attend church and give their lives to Christ, was improperly influenced by irrelevant considerations, discriminated against them on the basis of religion, and violated a fundamental norm of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana as a secular State, in contravention of Articles 1, 40, 145 and 149(1) of the Constitution;
damages
such further or other relief as may be just;
costs.

…………………………………………..

……………………………………………

Attorneys-at-Law for the Applicant

Dated at Georgetown, Demerara,

This 19^th day of February, 2010

AND TAKE NOTICE that this Honourable Court is asked to make

such orders, issue such writs and give such directions as it may consider necessary for the purpose of enforcing the applicants’ fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution.

AND TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the following are the grounds of this application:

On Friday the 6^th day of February, 2009 at approximately 8:30 p.m. the first and second named applicants were arrested at the corner of North Road and King Street in Georgetown, Demerara by members of the Police Force then on mobile patrol. At the time, these applicants were merely waiting on a taxi in order to meet up with friends at the D&J Snackette at 67 Leopold and Cross Streets in Werk-en-Rust, Georgetown.

2. Upon their arrest the first and second named applicants were ordered into the police vehicle and taken to the Brickdam police station. They inquired as to the reason for their arrest but the police refused to tell them. At the station they were photographed and then made to undress, after which they were placed in the lock-ups until Monday February 9^th when they were taken to the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.

3. In the course of the same night, at about 3:30 in the morning of February 7^th, 2009, the third and fourth named applicants along with a third person were arrested out of an incident which arose while they were eating at the K&VC Snackette in Stabroek Market, Georgetown. At the time, these three were dressed in skirts and were wearing wigs, which attracted verbal abuse from onlookers.

When the three responded, the said onlookers began to pelt them with bottles and other objects. They attempted to defend themselves, but outnumbered by the hostile crowd they were overpowered and forced to retreat.
In the course of running away, the three persons were stopped in the vicinity of Parliament Buildings by members of the Police Force, arrested and taken to Brickdam police station.
At the police station the three persons each inquired why they were being detained, but the police refused to answer, instead stating that they were not obliged to answer questions asked by “certain people”. They were all made to undress, in the course of which they were also subjected to full body searches.
The three persons asked for medical attention because of the injuries received in the course of the incident at Stabroek Market at the hands of the hostile crowd, but the police denied their request.
All four applicants along with the fifth person were detained at Brickdam police station until Monday, February 9th, and they did not learn of the charges against them until they were taken to court, when the Chief Magistrate informed them that they were charged with “loitering” and “wearing female attire” contrary to section 153(1)(xlvii) of Chapter 8:02.
The four applicants along with the fifth person all pleaded guilty to the charge of “wearing female attire”, though at the time they were unrepresented and did not fully understand the nature of the proceedings or the applicability of the charge to them.
After imposing sentence, the learned Chief Magistrate, Her Worship Ms. Melissa Robertson, told the applicants that they must go to church and should give their lives to Jesus Christ. Her Worship also told the applicants that they are confused about their sexuality and that they are men, not women. Her comments, which we are informed and verily believe to be true, were reported in the newspapers, including the Stabroek News of February 10^th and 15^th, 2009.
The remaining charges against the applicants were eventually dismissed for want of prosecution.

.........................…………………

……………………………………………

…………………………………………….

……………………………………………

Attorneys-at-Law for the Applicant

Dated at Georgetown, Demerara,

This 19th day of February, 2010

AND TAKE FURTHER NOTICE that the applicant intends to use the affidavits of the Applicants filed in support of this Originating Notice of Motion and such other affidavits and/or viva voce evidence as Counsel may advise.

THIS ORIGINATING NOTICE OF MOTION is issued by MESSRS MILES FITZPATRICK S.C., NIGEL HUGHES, ARIF BULKAN and GINO PERSAUD whose address for service and place of business is at the Chambers of

De Caires, Fitzpatrick and Karran, 80 Cowan Street, Kingston, Georgetown, Demerara, Attorneys-at-Law for the Applicant.

.........................…………………

……………………………………………

Attorneys-at-Law for the Applicant

Dated at Georgetown, Demerara,

This 19th day of February, 2010

2010 No. DEMERARA

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE SUPREME COURT OF JUDICATURE

CIVIL JURISDICTION

In the matter of the Constitution of the Republic of Guyana.

-and-

BETWEEN:

QUINCY McEWAN
SEON CLARKE
JOSEPH FRASER
SEYON PERSAUD
SOCIETY AGAINST SEXUAL ORIENTATION DISCRIMINATION – a duly constituted and registered Trust in Guyana by Trust Deed No. 1032 of 2006.

Applicants

-and-

THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

Respondent

AFFIDAVIT IN SUPPORT OF MOTION

I, Joel Simpson, of ……………………………………………………………………………, being duly sworn, make oath and say as follows:

1. I am the agent of the fifth-named applicant herein and am authorised to swear this Affidavit on its behalf.

2. The Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (hereinafter referred to as ‘SASOD’) is a Trust, duly constituted and registered in Guyana by Trust Deed No. 1032 of 2006, and whose registered office is at 180 Charlotte Street, Lacytown, Georgetown.

3. SASOD is a non-profit organisation whose registered objects are to advocate for the human rights of all persons in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to encourage acceptance of diversity in a plural society, and to work towards the elimination of discrimination particularly on the grounds of sexual orientation and identity as well as gender identity and expression.

4. The first to the fourth named Applicants herein were variously arrested between February 6^th and February 7^th, 2009, though at no time were they informed by any officer of the charge for which they were arrested, after which they were taken to Brickdam Police Station and detained without charge until February 9^th, 2009.

5. On Monday the 9^th February 2009 the first to the fourth named applicants were taken to the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court along with one Anthony Bess who had also been arrested with them, where they were all charged (inter alia) with ‘wearing female attire’ contrary to section 153(xlvii) of the Summary Jurisdiction (Offences) Act, Chapter 8:02 of the Laws of Guyana.

6. The said applicants, who were all unrepresented, pleaded guilty to the charge of ‘wearing female attire’ and were fined the sum of $7,500.00. In the course of the arraignment they were told by the Chief Magistrate Madame Melissa Robertson that they are confused about their sexuality in that they are men and not women, and that they must go to church and give their lives to Jesus Christ.

7. On 13^th February, 2009 the first to fourth named Applicants came into the registered office of the fifth named Applicant where I interviewed and took statements from them as related above.

8. SASOD has been advised by its Attorneys-at-Law Messrs. Miles Greeves Fitzpatrick S.C., C.A. Nigel Huges, Arif Bulkan and Gino Peter Persaud and verily believes that the refusal of the police to inform the first to the fourth named applicants of the reason for their arrest and detention was contrary to article 139(3) of the Constitution and accordingly unlawful.

9. SASOD has been further advised by its Attorneys-at-Law herein and verily believes that by instructing them to attend church and give their lives to Jesus Christ the Chief Magistrate discriminated against them on the basis of religion, and violated a fundamental norm of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana as a secular State, in contravention of Articles 1, 40, 145 and 149(1) of the Constitution.

10. Because the first to the fourth named applicants are transgendered persons who are accordingly compelled to dress in the manner of the gender with which they identify, there exists an ever-present danger of them being arrested and charged in the future under the same section 153(1)(xlvii) of the Summary Jurisdiction (Offences) Act. In these circumstances SASOD has been advised by its Attorneys-at-Law herein and verily believes that the provisions of this offence pose a continuing threat to the Applicants’ right to be protected from discrimination on the ground of sex and gender under article 149 of the Constitution of Guyana, as well as their right to equality before the law and equal protection and benefit of the law under article 149D and their right to freedom of expression under article 146 of the said Constitution. SASOD is further advised by its Attorneys-at-Law herein and verily believes that this likelihood renders the said offence unconstitutional, null, void and of no effect.

11. SASOD is further advised by its Attorneys-at-Law herein and verily believes that section 153(1)(xlvii) of the Summary Jurisdiction (Offences) Act, Chapter 8:02 of the Laws of Guyana is vague and of uncertain scope as well as irrational and discriminatory on the ground of sex, rendering it a violation of articles 1, 40, 149 and 149D of the Constitution and thereby null, void and of no effect.

12. In the premises I respectfully pray that this Honourable Court would be pleased to grant the orders as prayed for in the Notice of Motion filed herein.

……………………………………………

Joel Simpson

Sworn to at Georgetown, Demerara,

This 19th day of February, 2010

BEFORE ME

A COMMISSIONER OF OATHS TO AFFIDAVITS

World AIDS Day 2009

2009-12-16T03:59:00.000-08:00

World AIDS Day (WAD) on December 1, 2009, was commemorated under the theme ‘Universal Access and Human Rights,’ which will foreground global observances on HIV over the next year. United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon placed on record a strong message urging the repeal of “punitive laws, policies and practices that hamper the AIDS response.” He was clear that laws which institutionalize discrimination against sex workers and men who have sex with men only serve to fuel the HIV epidemic and prevent cost-effective programmes. While we commend these calls consistently being made at the international level, SASOD is alarmed that even the rhetoric at home seems to be wearing thin. In an ambiguous interview reported just a week before WAD in the Stabroek News of November 24, 2009, Minister of Health Dr Leslie Ramsammy has said that he does not view homosexual sex as criminal but at the same time it would be a mistake to impose decriminalization on the nation. There also seems to be some confusion that decriminalization is equivalent to legalization, as Minister Ramsammy is also quoted saying “Criminalizing it is wrong, but that doesn’t mean we should legalize it either.”

Responding to Minister Ramsammy’s comments, SASOD Co-Chairpersons, Namela Baynes-Henry and Joel Simpson took issue with his dubious positions. “Minister Ramsammy needs to lead Guyana’s HIV response to live up to the commitments to universal access and human rights the government has made abroad,” charged Henry, who represented SASOD last year at the United Nations High Level Meeting on HIV and AIDS where Minister Ramsammy acknowledged the need to address antiquated laws which stigmatise marginalized groups. “Why is he ‘singing a different tune’ now? Minister Ramsammy should ‘talk the talk’ and ‘walk the walk’ as Guyana has signed UN declarations to that effect,” she added. Picking up on this point, fellow Co-Chair Simpson added, “If the Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS means nothing to Minister Ramsammy, then the Guyana government should not have signed on. Why are we putting on one face on the international stage and then when we are at home it’s a different story? That just smacks of hypocrisy.” Simpson continued that “I want to remind Minister Ramsammy that these discriminatory laws were imposed on us by our colonial rulers. Decriminalizing behaviours of stigmatized minority groups, which should not have been criminalised in the first place, is in no way an imposition on the majority. The state is duty bound to protect its minorities, regardless of what opinion polls say. This is the true test of any real democracy – how well we protect our minorities.”

Minister Ramsammy’s reported remarks had seemingly marred the climate for advocacy on “universal access and human rights” but thankfully civic organizations were brave and bold where political courage is apparently now diminishing. First, the Clerical and Commercial Workers Union (CCWU) in its WAD message called for all vulnerable groups including sexual and gender minorities to have equal access to HIV prevention without discrimination, as this is critical to halt the spread of the disease. “Same-sex relationships must be decriminalized so that these persons dare to exercise their rights and seek health services,” its statement unequivocally said. Following on, the National AIDS Committee (NAC) its WAD press release called for rights-related barriers to universal access to be addressed, including the failure to decriminalize same-sex intimacy which discourages men who have sex with men from seeking health services and tackle homophobia promoted by religious dogma, popular culture and negative masculinities. We salute the CCWU and the NAC for their principled positions on these issues.

Even as the United States Embassy in Georgetown announced its renewal of support for the next five years to HIV response in Guyana through the President’s Emergency Fund Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), we are concerned that the funding allocated for prevention programmes is not reaching the most affected communities. “While national HIV prevalence in Guyana has been declining, and that is to be commended, HIV prevalence among MSM in Guyana remains scandalously high at an unrestrained 21 per cent,” said Ian McKnight, who is the new Executive Director at the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition (CVC), a regional coalition which supports frontline organizations working with vulnerable groups. “I am dismayed that in a Caribbean country with such elevated rates of HIV among MSM, that existing community-based organizations advocating for the health and human rights of these groups are not able to access funds to implement prevention programmes,” he noted. McKnight was referring to a recent debacle between USAID’s local PEPFAR programme in Guyana, and SASOD.

This past July, SASOD was invited by the Guyana HIV & AIDS Reduction and Prevention Phase II project (GHARP II) to participate in an institutional assessment to determine if SASOD meets USAID’s eligibility criteria for funding. On July 27, 2009, SASOD was formally notified by GHARP II on behalf of Community Support and Development Services Inc (CSDS), local funding agent for USAID, that SASOD was approved to receive funding for the financial year October 2009 to September 2010 contingent upon participation in the funding process laid out by CSDS and GHARP II. SASOD participated in a series of NGO work-planning activities culminating in the submission of a work plan and budget for funding on August 14, 2009 and receiving feedback for revisions from GHARP II and its affiliate, Management Sciences for Health (MSH), on August 24, 2009. On Monday, August 31, 2009, at 8:45 hrs, SASOD received a telephone call summoning a representative to an urgent meeting at 10:00 hrs that day for all the NGOs involved in the funding process.

At that meeting, a representative of USAID in Guyana, Edris George, announced that due to a decrease in the overall PEPFAR budgetary allocation for 2010, that out of the 3 new NGOs to be funded, SASOD and a CBO working on HIV prevention with vulnerable groups, would not be receiving operational funding.

This announcement was subsequently confirmed in writing in an email sent by a CSDS staffer on September 2, 2009. SASOD responded to USAID, CSDS and GHARP II by email on September 7, 2009, calling out the homophobia SASOD has experienced with a CSDS official, and rejecting any form of collaboration or partnership with USAID, CSDS and GHARP II other than that which was originally proposed to receive direct funding. To date, 3 months later, none of these agencies has responded to the concerns raised by SASOD directly with them.

Reacting to these reports, Dr Robert Carr, Co-Chair of the Global Forum on MSM and HIV (MSMGF) expressed disappointment that frontline organizations working with vulnerable groups are not equally able to access resources to implement prevention programmes. “This is a huge blow to community-based efforts to stem the tide of HIV among MSM in Guyana,” Dr Carr posited. “The local PEPFAR programme has lost a golden opportunity to make inroads in providing prevention services to key populations which are very hard to reach,” he added.

As we approach the next United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV and AIDS (UNGASS) review and reporting period in 2010, Guyana is still missing the mark in terms of attaining universal access for HIV by failing to reach key populations necessary to halt the spread of the epidemic.

It seems as if the promise to “stop AIDS” is the proverbial ‘comfort to a fool’ for communities most affected by the stigma and spread of the disease.

GLBTIQ Issues Make Inroads at Commonwealth Summit

2009-11-28T05:05:00.000-08:00

For the first time at a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, at CHOGM in Trinidad & Tobago, there was significant representation of GLBTQ (gay/lesbian/ bisexual/ transgender/ queer) activists among civil society participants, and a concerted effort to highlight issues of sexual citizenship and rights. A delegation of GLBTQ activists from Africa, Asia and the Caribbean participated actively in the thematic assembly discussions and drafting process in the November 22-25, 2009 Commonwealth People’s Forum (CPF), a gathering of civil society organizations that meets in advance of, and sends a statement to, the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. Working in partnership with gender, disabilities and other human rights advocates, they achieved visibility for a number of key concerns, and won inclusion of these issues in the broad civil society agenda for the Commonwealth.

The issues cut a wide swath: repealing laws criminalizing non-normative sexualities and gender expression; preventing and prosecuting bias-related murders and violence, including punitive rape of Lesbians; ending discrimination in accessing health services; creating safety in the school system from violence and bullying; addressing the need for support and resources for parents; and developing training and sensitization for a range of public servants and service providers. Both scheduled speakers and participants from the floor made moving contributions related to human rights violations on grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity in Commonwealth member countries. Especially powerful speeches came from Ashily Dior, a Transgender activist from Trinidad; Canadian Stephen Lewis, co-director of AIDS Free World and former UN Special Envoy on HIV in Africa; and Robert Carr, director of the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition. Together, contributors raised a comprehensive range of concerns in several of the assemblies, particularly those focused on Gender; Health, HIV and AIDS; and Human Rights.

The final Port of Spain Civil Society Statement to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting includes language calling on “Commonwealth Member States and Institutions” to “recognize and protect the human rights of all individuals without discrimination on the grounds of…sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression”; to “repeal legislation that leads to discrimination, such as the criminalisation of same sex sexual relationships” ; and for “the Commonwealth Foundation to facilitate a technical review of such of laws”. Further, it issues a call for “Commonwealth Member States to ensure universal access to basic” health “services for marginalised and vulnerable groups”, including “sexual and gender minorities”, and to “work to actively remove and prevent the establishment of legislation which undermines evidence-based effective HIV prevention, treatment and care available to marginalised and vulnerable groups, such as sexual minorities”. Its Gender section includes a distinct item on “Transgenders, Gays and Lesbians” (“We call on Commonwealth Member States to include gender and sexuality as a specific theme on sexualities, sexual and gender minorities, related violence and discrimination, making them no longer invisible”) and echoes the recognition in the human rights section “that gender equity implies equality for all and therefore issues related to non-normative sexualities, such as sexual and gender minorities”.

The Statement also makes reference to proposed “Anti-Homosexuality” legislation introduced in the Parliament of Uganda, home of current CHOGM Chair President Yoweri Museveni. The legislation would require reporting of homosexuals, provide a sentence of life imprisonment for homosexual touching or sex, and the death penalty for “aggravated homosexuality” , if the offender is HIV-positive. In remarks in more than one CPF assembly and in a special press conference, Lewis, Carr and a representative of the Caribbean HIV & AIDS Alliance, spoke out forcefully against the legislation, asking Museveni to take a clear position on it, and calling on others to condemn it. The Trinidad & Tobago Coalition Advocating for Inclusion of Sexual Orientation joined these voices, asking its own Prime Minister Patrick Manning, who will assume the chairmanship of CHOGM, and other CARICOM leaders, to do the same.

Eighty-six countries in the world currently have legislation criminalizing same-sex conduct between consenting adults as well as other non normative sexual and gender behaviours and identities; half of them are Commonwealth member states. Criminal provisions in these countries may target same sex sexual conduct, men who have sex with men specifically, or more generally any sexual behaviour considered “unnatural”. Some countries criminalize other non normative behaviours, such as cross-dressing, or utilize criminal provisions on indecency or debauchery, among others, to target individuals on their real or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. These criminal provisions not only constitute a violation of civil and political rights in and of themselves because they violate key provisions established by international human rights law; they also have significant human rights implications, representing a serious risk for the exercise of other fundamental rights, such as the right to association, the right to assembly, and the right to expression, the right to health, the principle of non discrimination, to mention a few. Furthermore, the mere existence of these laws is in many countries is an avenue for other human rights violations by state and non-state actors.

We acknowledge and welcome the civil society consensus on the above mentioned issues, and call on Commonwealth member states, the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Commonwealth Foundation to implement the recommendations of the Commonwealth People’s Forum.

You can access the Port of Spain Civil Society Statement to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 25 November at: http://www.commonwe althfoundation. com/governancede mocracy/CPF2009/ NewPublicationsC PF/

· Alternative Law Forum (ALF) - India
· Center for Popular Education and Human Rights Ghana (CEPEHRG) - Ghana
· Coalition Advocating for Inclusion of Sexual Orientation (CAISO) - Trinidad & Tobago
· Gay and Lesbian coalition of Kenya (GALCK) - Kenya
· GrenCHAP – Grenada
· Jamaica Forum for Lesbians All-Sexuals and Gays – (J-FLAG) - Jamaica
· Knowledge and Rights with Young People through Safer Spaces (KRYSS) - Malaysia
· Lesbians and Gays Bisexuals Botswana (LEGABIBO) - Botswana
· People Like Us (PLU) - Singapore
· Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) – Guyana
· The Independent Project (TIP) - Nigeria
· United and Strong - St Lucia
· United Belize Advocacy Movement (UNIBAM) - Belize
· United Gays and Lesbians against AIDS Barbados (UGLAAB) – Barbados
· Global Rights
· International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC)

The Village.

2009-10-23T04:16:00.001-07:00

SASOD presents

“The Village”

annual costume party

on Saturday, October 31

at the new Sky 7 Nite Club

8 Pere Street, Kitty, G/town

Tickets: $1000. Gate: $1500.

Tight Security in Effect

"The Village" gate opens at 10 pm

Proceeds in aid of SASOD’s work on

Homophobia, Human Rights & Health

Ticket Locations:

Oasis Cafe - 125 Carmichael St.

German's Restaurant - 8 New Market St.

D & J Snackette - 67 Leopold & Cross Sts.

Sea Breeze Hotel (Front Desk) - 8 Pere St.

Rainbow Fashion Boutique - Bent & Camp Sts.

ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE COALITION OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSVESTITES, TRANSSEXUALS, TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX ORGANIZATIONS OF THE AMERICAS

2009-07-10T06:21:00.000-07:00

The Coalition composed of organizations from 17 Latin American and Caribbean countries and its partner Global Rights, are denouncing the coup in Honduras, which we consider not only an affront to the national constitution and the Charter of the Organization of American States (OAS), but also an attack on democracy, respect, equality, rights and lives of the Honduran people.

As always in crisis scenarios, the most affected people are those under hightened vulnerable conditions, such as our lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transsexuals, transvestites, transgender and intersex Honduran brothers and sisters. Our colleague Vicky, a Honduran trans-woman, and other members of the LGBT sector, have been killed as a result of this brutal military intervention. As well, human rights activists and people who were born in a free country are in imminent danger, have now lost their freedom and their individual rights are suspended.

The LGBTTTI Coalition expresses its solidarity with the Honduran democratic sectors, who, rejecting military interventionism and political assassinations, arbitrary arrests, beatings and intimidation, demostrate on the streets to express themselves and
fight with their hands against hand-guns, machine-guns and tanks. We reject military interventionism, and request that those who cowardly and through force have taken power, to desist and restore the country to the democratically- elected president President José Manuel Zelaya; engage new communication chanels and a democratic and peaceful
solution to differences and problems they have. We urge the international community, international organizations, governments and civil society to remain mobilized and alert until the return of constitutional order in Honduras.

Coalition members:

1. AIREANA – Paraguay
2. C TTT- Honduras
3. COLECTIVA MUJER y SALUD - Dominican Republic
4. CORPORACION OPCION – Colombia
5. ENTRE-TRANSITOS – Colombia
6. GRENCHAP – Grenada
7. HUMANA NACION TRANS – México
8. IGLHRC – Argentina
9. INSTITUTO RUNA – Perú
10. LIDERES EN ACCION – Colombia
11. SMU - Suriname
12. MESA JOVEN POR LA DIVERSIDAD SEXUAL - Colombia
13. MULABI – Regional
14. ORGANIZACIÓN DE TRANSEXUALES POR LA DIGNIDAD – Chile
15. RED AFRO LGBTI – Brasil
16. J FLAG – Jamaica
17. RED LACTRANS – Argentina
18. RED TRANS Nicaragua – Nicaragua
19. SASOD – Guyana
20. TALLER MUJER Y COMUNICACIÓN – Ecuador
21. UNIBAM – Belize
22. VELVET UNDERGROUND – Trinidad and Tobago

Caribbean Inferno Party

2009-06-28T16:22:00.001-07:00

Groups Put Pressure on Governments to Reform Harmful Drug Policies

2009-06-26T17:41:00.001-07:00

GEORGETOWN, GUYANA: June 26, 2009— As the United Nations launches the 2009 World Drug Report this week, more than 40 international groups and experts worldwide today issued a call to action that presses governments to adopt a humane approach to drug policy.

The Call to Action, signed by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, former president of Brazil Fernando Cardoso, and others, urges governments to enact policies that are based on scientific and medical research rather than politics. The Call has been signed by a total of 46 people from a range of professional backgrounds, including economists, drug policy/harm reduction experts, AIDS and human rights activists, and professors of medicine, representing 14 international organizations and 32 national organizations from 21 different countries.

“We need a more humane approach to drug use based on harm reduction principles and respect for human rights to eliminate the negative impact of the drug trade here in Guyana,” said Donna Snagg, President of Juncata Juvant Friendly Society. “Old methods are not working so we must turn to more evidence-based approaches,” she continued.

Rather than receiving treatment, millions of nonviolent drug users are languishing in prisons as a result of current drug policies. The drug trade continues to grow while families are torn apart by the global war on drugs. As the HIV and AIDS crisis spreads, policies that drive away drug users are creating public health disasters.

“Laws and policies that drive drug users underground, keep people away from life-saving HIV services and allows AIDS to spread,” said Joel Simpson, Co-Chair of Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD). “These are very similar dynamics of exclusion which we see against sexual and gender minorities, and other marginalized groups,” he added.

Instead of continuing with these ineffective and harmful policies, today’s call to action urges governments to focus on reducing the harms of drug trade and use. It is time for governments to support needle exchange, substitution therapy, and decriminalization of possession for personal use. Drug control measures must respect human rights with penalties that are proportional and humane, and recognize that drug cultivation is primarily a development issue—not simply a security threat.

ENDS

---

Juncata Juvant Friendly Society (JJFS) is a non-governmental, charitable, non-profit organization, providing services to persons who have been deported for resettlement into the Guyanese society.

Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) is a local, non-governmental, advocacy organisation working on issues related to homophobia, human rights and health promotion in Guyana.

Press Contacts:

For JJFS, email juncatajuvant@yahoo.com

Website: http://www.juncatajuvant.org.gy/

For SASOD, email sasod_guyana@yahoo.com

Website: http://www.sasod.org.gy/

Painting the Spectrum 2009 : SASOD's Fifth Lesbian & Gay Film Festival

2009-06-10T11:53:00.000-07:00

Painting the Spectrum 5 : Schedule of Films

Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from Monday 1 June to Tuesday 30 June, 2009

Venue : Sidewalk Cafe, Middle Street, Georgetown Guyana

Programme starts at 7pm each night

Admission is FREE. All films are intended for mature audiences unless otherwise indicated

Special Event : Discussion on Spirituality and Sexuality - Wednesday 10 June, 6pm at Sidewalk Cafe.

Monday 1 June Brother Outsider : The Life of Bayard Rustin (2003)
/USA Documentary/

A master strategist and tireless activist, Bayard Rustin is best remembered as the organizer of the 1963 March on Washington, one of the largest nonviolent protests ever held in the United States. He brought Gandhi’s protest techniques to the American civil rights movement, and helped mold Martin Luther King, Jr. into an international symbol of peace and nonviolence.
Despite these achievements, Rustin was silenced, threatened, arrested, beaten, imprisoned and fired from important leadership positions, largely because he was an openly gay man in a fiercely homophobic era. Five years in the making and the winner of numerous awards, BROTHER OUTSIDER presents a feature-length documentary portrait, focusing on Rustin’s activism for peace, racial equality, economic justice and human rights (85 mins)

Film donated by the Bayard Rustin Film Project

Tuesday 2 June Karmen Geï (2001)

Senegal/ Musical/ French and Wolof with English subtitles

Karmen Gei is the African adaptation of Bizet's popular opera Carmen. The conflicts between conventional morality and sexual freedom, between constraint and liberation, between complacency and passionate self-abandon, which are always present in iterations of the Carmen myth, will here acquire a very African political dimension, as well as a very modern one in terms of its sexual politics. (85 mins)

Donated by California Newsreel

Wednesday 3 June Le fate ignoranti/ His Secret Life (2001)

Italy:Turkey / Drama/ Italian/English subtitles

This beautiful film is another triumph from Director Ferzan Ozpetek in which he explores the sub rosa aspect of the lives of his characters. Antonia is happily married to a handsome Italian man (Massimo) who dies suddenly in an accident, leaving her bereft and lonely. Massimo's friends at work bring Antonia his belongings and in opening the office clutter she discovers a painting ("The Ignorant Fairy") which has an inscription on the back that it is from a lover of seven years. Antonia is convinced that her husband has had another woman and sets out to confront her, only to discover that the lover was a man (106 mins)

Monday 8 June Dreams Deferred : The Sakia Gunn Story (2008)
USA/ Documentary

This documentary tells the little known story of Sakia Gunn, a 15 year old student who was fatally stabbed in a gay hate crime in Newark, New Jersey. Sakia was a homosexual woman of color who dressed in masculine attire but did not necessarily identify as either lesbian or female-to-male transgender. Sakia was stabbed while waiting at the bus stop, after rejecting violent advances from young men. What lessons does her murder have for the way in which we perceive youth violence and violence against girls who reject violent masculine advances? (71 mins)

Film donated by Third World Newsreel

Tuesday 9 June Dostana (2008)

India/ Comedy

Abhikshek Bachan and John Abraham play Kunal and Sameer, two straight guys who pretend to be a gay couple to secure an posh Miami apartment, but both of them fall for their gorgeous room-mate Neha, hilarity ensures as they strive to convince one and all they are gay! Secretly they are trying to win Neha's heart! (120 minutes)

More information..

Wednesday 10 June Toul Omry / All my Life (2008)

Egypt/ Drama/ Arabic with English subtitles

For Rami, all is for the best in this best of all possible worlds, as long as he keeps to himself. But when his longtime lover leaves him to marry a woman and his best friends drift away, he comes face to face with the harsh realities of life as a gay man in Egypt. Against the backdrop of the choreographed crackdown on gay men and the notorious Queen Boat arrests of 2001, he plunges into a world of loveless friendships and spirals downwards to his ultimate downfall.(120 minutes)

Film Donated by Maraia Films

Monday 15 June Milk (2008)

USA / Drama

Academy Award nominee Gus Van Sant directs Academy Award winner Sean Penn as gay-rights icon Harvey Milk. Mr. Milk (1930-1978) was an activist and politician, and the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in America; in 1977, he was voted to the city supervisors' board of San Francisco. (128 mins)

Read the Stabroek News Editorial

Tuesday 16 June Bi the way (2008)

USA / Documentary

Bi the Way had its World Premiere at SXSW Film Festival in Austin, TX. The film is an enjoyable and entertaining documentary about the changing nature of sexuality and sexual identity in America today and how the next generation is redefining its sexual mores. The directors travel across the country talking mostly to young people about their new definitions of sexual identity. It is an eye-opening film, because it really begins to break down our normative dichotomous definitions of heterosexuality and homosexuality. (85 mins)

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Wednesday 17 June The Sum of Us (1994)

Australia / Comedy

Happy Father's Day!!!! A widowed, beer-drinking ferry driver who is looking for Ms Right and his rugby-playing, beer-drinking, gay plumber son both search for love and romance. Starring Russel Crowe, this film tells the story of a father son relationship and the difficulties they encounter as they try to intervene in each other's lives (100 mins)

Monday 22 June

Spectrum Celebration - An evening of poetry, prose, drama acknowledging the struggle and the achievements.

Featuring a reading from Beautiful Little Lies , a play by Judith Rudakoff

A Cuban cocktail with a twist.

Cuba, February 1998. The Pope’s historic visit raised the spirits of the Cuban people but a few weeks later, nothing has changed. Tourists are still drinking “Cuba Libre” (Free Cuba) cocktails, and bartenders are still calling them “Mentirita” (Little Lie) when no one is listening.

But this is Cuba. Someone is always listening.

Beautiful Little Lies follows the adventures of Juancy, a Cuban transvestite performer, Suzanne, a Canadian woman tourist whose mother has just died, Moffi, a little white Cuban dog with attitude, Bob, a closeted male homosexual tourist, and Maria, a Cuban mother with a passion for all life has to offer. And like Cuba, the world of Beautiful Little Lies is also populated by the ever present Orishas, the iconic and earthy spirit guides of the AfroCuban belief system...

Tuesday 23 June Straightlaiced: How gender's got us all tied up (2008)

USA/ Documentary

With a fearless look at a highly charged subject, Straightlaced unearths how popular pressures around gender and sexuality are confining American teens. Their stories reflect a diversity of experiences, demonstrating how gender role expectations and homophobia are interwoven, and illustrating the different ways that these expectations connect with culture, race and class.
From girls confronting media messages about culture and body image to boys who are sexually active just to prove they aren’t gay, this fascinating array of students opens up with brave, intimate honesty about the toll that deeply held stereotypes and rigid gender policing have on all our lives.

Film donated by Groundspark

Wednesday 24 June The World Unseen (2007)

South Africa / Drama

The film is set in Cape Town, South Africa during apartheid in 1952 and is based on the novel by Samin Sharif. The films stars Lisa Ray and Sheetal Sheth as two Indian South African women who fall in love in a racist, sexist, and homophobic society. This film has a background of beautiful music from that period. (100mins)

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Monday 29 June Three films

Coolie Gyal (2004)

In this coming-out story, an honest and sincere letter is read from a daughter to her parents. A familial montage is incorporated with a heartfelt narrative filled with the expectations and anxieties of a young woman. Renata Mohamed is a Toronto-based Indo-Guyanese filmmaker born in the British Virgin Islands.( 7 mins)

Contributed by Director Renata Mohamed

Blu in you (2008)

Canada/Tobago / Essayist Documentary

Directed by Guyana born Michelle Mohabeer PhD

BLU IN YOU is an essayist rumination mediated through the lens of a female observer (Melanie Smith), who watches the staged conversations between a visual arts curator (Andrea Fatona) and a writer (Nalo Hopkinson). These conversations bridge historical and contemporary representations of the black female body, subjectivity and sexuality exploring various thematics from a cultural history of violence and spectacularization (embodied in the figure of "the Hottentot Venus") to discussions of art, representation and celebrated cultural icons (Josephine Baker, Dorothy Dandridge and the figure of the muse Jeanne Duval), to a contemporary black queer female erotic body and sexuality. (50 mins)

Film donated by Dr Michelle Mohabeer

Flores en el Parque (2006)
Spain / Short / 10 minutes

Ana and Lola arrange to meet in the park. Lola will bring flowers. Ana will bring doubts.

Film donated by director Mariel Macia

previously announced as
A domicilio (2008) (programme changed for this film )

Spain/ Drama
Rosa has thought of everything, she’ll treat Flor to a sushi dinner; they’ll drink white wine and listen to music. Both know what they are there for. However, things not always go as planned and some words, some time together can make them reconsider the prejudices they have about themselves and about one another (25 mins)

Film donated by director Mariel Macia

Tuesday 30 June Noah's Arc: Jumping the Broom (2008)

USA / Comedy

Noah and Wade invite their friends to Martha's Vineyard (Massachusetts) for their wedding. This feature-length version of the TV show gives the characters a chance to learn more about each other - and themselves - while living in close quarters. Relationships are tested and there are plenty of surprises. (101 mins)

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Acknowledgements

With the support of

For arranging the delivery of films :-

Scheherazade Khan
Stacey Gomes
Dion Small
Greg Jagroo
Sherlina Nageer