Bigotry Towards LGBT Guyanese Causes Poor Mental Health – says Expert Panel

In observance of the annual International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOT) on May 17 and commemorating Mental Health Awareness Week 2016, the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) hosted a Lunch Talk on Mental Health and Well Being for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Guyanese with discussions being led by Dr. Janice Jackson, Psychologist and retired University of Guyana lecturer; Leroy Adolphus, Policy and Advocacy Officer at the National Coordinating Coalition Inc (NCC); and Dr. Melissa Varswyk, Principal of Georgetown American University and Vice-Chair of Blue CAPS. The discussions were moderated by Ulelli Verbeke, Chairperson of SASOD's Board of Directors.

Guyana needs more mental health professionals 

Given the scarcity of mental health professionals in Guyana which impedes access to services for LGBT people, Dr Melissa Varswyk made a call for vulnerable communities such as the LGBT Guyanese to form groups in civil society for policy and advocacy and community support like SASOD which she said can very influential in offering support for persons suffering with mental health conditions. This she said will not be easy initially but support mechanisms are essential for persons who are struggling. Dr. Varswyk expressed that there is a significant lack of trained mental health professionals in Guyana and on the policy side of things Guyana needs to focus heavily on investing in more skilled professionals such as psychiatrists and psychologists. According to the medical professional, a lot of students show interest in mental health and psychiatric specializations but Guyana does not have the human resources and necessary specialized training to fulfill the needs for these fields of study.

Speech on the occasion of International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia

Dereck Springer, Director of PANCAP Coordinating Unit

Speech on the occasion of International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia

I am pleased to have been invited by SASOD to deliver remarks at this event to commemorate International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia which is being held under the theme “Free Expression”. My own interpretation of this theme is “I am, Let me be”. This event is being supported by PANCAP/CVC-COIN through the PANCAP Global Fund Round 9 grant.

I particularly note that this day was set aside to draw the attention of policy makers, opinion leaders, social movements, the media, and the public in general to the issues of violence and discrimination affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, and to promote a world of tolerance, respect and freedom regardless of people’s sexual orientations or gender identities.

According to UNAIDS 2013 Global Report the Caribbean has made significant progress in combatting HIV, including a decline in prevalence from 1.3% in 2001 to 1% in 2012 with a 49% reduction in new infections between 2001 and 2012, over 90% coverage of services to prevent mother to child transmission, and a 70% coverage rate for ARVs.

Despite these achievements, the HIV epidemic continues to significantly impact some key populations including MSM, sex workers, youth and people who use drugs. A 2012 Lancet study estimates MSM prevalence in the Caribbean to be the highest in the world at 25.4%. 

The region is at a critical point where further progress towards an AIDS-free Caribbean is premised on mobilizing a strong and coordinated multi-sectoral effort to remove the legal, social and cultural barriers that prevent universal access to a wide range of comprehensive and high quality health services.  Eleven CARICOM states have laws which criminalize consensual sex between same sex adults. Recent studies conducted by the Health Policy Project in selected countries have found stigma and discriminatory practices present across all levels of staff in health systems. The Global Commission on HIV and the Law has found that countries that criminalize same-sex sexual activity have higher HIV prevalence rates among MSM than countries that do not.  Specific to the Caribbean, stigma is cited as the main reason for the lack of attention to marginalised groups in the prevention efforts, and their general lack of access to HIV-related services, and stigmatising and discriminatory legal and policy measures are common in the regional legal systems. In recognition of these challenges, the Caribbean Regional Strategic Framework (CRSF) 2014-2018 is grounded on the understanding that ending HIV is not possible until the human rights of all people, and particularly those most vulnerable to HIV, are fully realized.

The Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV and AIDS (PANCAP) is collaborating with UNAIDS to implement a programme of activities under the theme, Justice for All. The aim of the programme is to promote activities consistent with the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights to which all countries are committed. More specifically, it is intended to achieve one of the goals of the United Nations High Level Meeting Political Declaration (2011) to eliminate stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV by 2015 and to uphold the human rights and dignity of all. It is consistent with UNAIDS’ seven key programmes to reduce stigma and discrimination and increase access to justice and build on the findings and recommendations of the Caribbean Regional Dialogue of the Global Commission on HIV and the Law. In this regard national consultations have been held in Guyana, Grenada, Jamaica, Suriname, and St. Kitts & Nevis, and a Caribbean Consultation on Justice for All and Human Rights agenda was held in April in Jamaica. Other countries are scheduled to convene national consultations in 2014.  A Justice for All Roadmap has been developed as an outcome of a literature review and national and the regional consultations with four priority areas geared towards; i) increasing access to treatment including affordable medicines; ii) reducing gender inequality including violence against women; iii) promoting sexual and reproductive health and rights; and iv) achieving legislative reform by modifying and repealing discriminatory laws. A PANCAP Declaration - GETTING TO ZERO DISCRIMINATION THROUGH JUSTICE FOR ALL has also been developed and will be presented to Heads of Government at their Conference in July 2014 for endorsement.

There are encouraging signs in relation to law reform and shifting attitudes towards LGBT. The Caribbean Court of Justice recently granted Maurice Tomlinson, a Jamaican, Special Leave for the case to go forward to allow further examination of the free movement issue and what constitutes undesirable etc. The statement by the Court that both Belize and T&T “agree that being a homosexual cannot, as such, qualify a CARICOM national as an “undesirable person” within the meaning of the 2007 Conference Decision.” The results of UNAIDS Regional Support Team online poll conducted in selected Caribbean countries provide evidence that there is a positive change occurring in the Caribbean society as more people report accepting attitudes toward gay men. The PANCAP Model Anti-discrimination Legislation which was approved by the CARICOM Legal Affairs Committee in July 2012 is being used as the basis for national dialogue on Justice for All.

I hasten to point out however that this progress, though nascent, is due primarily to bold advocacy at the community, national, regional and global level. SASOD’s resolute efforts in this area of calling attention to and working towards the achievements of rights for LGBT persons must be commended and must be seen in the context of a bottom up approach which serves as a catalyst for change among policy makers and gatekeepers including faith, youth, CSOs and private sector leaders and the media.  

SASOD must also be commended for the work it has started in helping our society to ‘take the time to understand’ - to understand our diversity and to respect persons whose sexual identity is different from theirs.

We must also take the time to help people to acknowledge that everyone has values irrespective of how those values are different from theirs. At a personal level we must do our own introspection to ensure that our work is geared towards valuing the diversity of all people and seeing everyone as a valid part of that diversity. In so doing we would be demonstrating that we are willing to address the prejudice in ourselves and others.

I believe that SASOD has helped open a new era in history and stormed the gates of the status quo with the confidence that collectively you would prevail.

Our dreams for change must be big. Our strategies must be big too. I remain confident that those of us who stand on the side of justice for all will continue to also influence change from the bottom up by remaining steadfast in our quest for social inclusion, through the removal of legal, social and cultural barriers in the Caribbean that deny people their rights and enjoyment of the freedom to be.  PANCAP will continue to advocate at the policy level and mobilise resources to support efforts aimed achieving justice for all.

I salute SASOD on convening this commemorative event and launching its SASOD Cine Campaign.

IDAHO 2012 Activities

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

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

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^th century, 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.

“I’m coming out”… The global tragedy of Homophobia

May 20, 2007 Danielle Campbelll, Kaieteur News

The sweeping tentacles of homophobia have long plagued the world as a global arena dating back as far as Sodom and Gomorrah.
Since then many men and women have admittedly “climbed out of the closet” to accept the harsh, cold insensitivities society throws their way.
This is due to the stigma attached to people choosing to deviate from what is known to be the norms of society and its rigid value system.
At the last airing of its movie night held on alternate Tuesdays, the Sidewalk Café presented a documentary film entitled, “Songs of Freedom”.
The film depicts the tragedy resulting from harbouring feelings of hatred towards persons of diverse sexual orientation.
It talks of homophobia in Jamaica which is described as an extremely homophobic island.
The Sidewalk Café teamed up with the Society against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) to air the film.
One self-proclaimed homosexual Jamaican, who graduated from a foreign university, said that the church is ambivalent on the issue of homosexuality.
He noted that there are homosexuals in the church at every level and not only in the fundamental churches, but grass-root churches as well.
“They sing in the choir, sit on the church board, they officiate as deacons, ministers…at every level,” he commented.
He added that Jamaica is exaggeratedly known as the most homophobic society that ever existed and has posited his own theory as to the reason.
“And rightly so…why do they react in such an immediate and violent way to gays?”
The homosexual man explained that this hatred springs from the role of the black man in society as dictated by slavery.
“That they thought their primary function as a man was to breed…as they recognise procreation and reproduction to be the prime indication of manhood,” he said.
According to him, the hate is understandable since homosexuality draws into question the very existence of man’s right to procreate.
The Jamaican graduate has since established a news- letter on homosexuals called the “Gaily News” which he described as the ‘voice of gays’.
Another man, who admitted to coming out of the closet, underlined that there’s hardly a dancehall song without gender bashing.
However, the graduate revealed that a sociology study on the impact of homophobic lyrics on gay people is astounding.
He related that this “gay publicity” is actually contributing to men of gay persuasions accepting their identity.
One Jamaican gay said he was pressured into judging himself based on biblical scriptures quoted ever so often by people.
“I now attend church and I thank God for my gay life. I am comfortable with who I am and realise that he has created me this way,” the gay man said.
A transvestite disclosed that he came out the closet at age 12 after meeting a homosexual at a fashion show.
The man introduced him to the vast world of homosexual entertainment and soon he began performing.
“When I started doing “drags” it helped me to love and understand myself better and to appreciate others for who they are,” the transvestite said.
He stressed that it was not about getting dressed in women’s clothing but about having the exposure and performing at best to the satisfaction of others.
“If heterosexuals can do it, why can’t we?” he questioned.
The transvestite said his most pressing fear is for his life since he has seen gay people beaten and killed.
Another young man revealed that he has kissed more than 300 men and considers it a very pleasurable experience.
One homosexual relating his experience in jail said that the treatment meted out to gays in prison is vastly different from other men.
“They give you piss (urine) to drink, drop your pants to see if you have been penetrated, melt plastic on your skin…its horrible,” he said.
The homosexual said he has discovered that people, who are the most vocal against homosexuality, often have a hidden tendency to be gay.
“I’ve met prison wardens, policemen who promote “fire bun…battie man must dead” and when you check, they turn out to be gays.”
The homosexuals said they are aggrieved that gay people are killed everyday by hate, violence, discrimination, neglect and HIV/AIDS.
Because of the prevalence of violence against gays, one Jamaican said many people often pretend to be “straight” in public.
A young man in his chronicle tells how he was “turned out” by two close friends during a sleep over after a church crusade.
According to him, he fell asleep, but later felt the “warm lips of his friend” kissing him.
He revealed that because they were so close he allowed the friend to continue and that was the turning point for him.
One confessed lesbian revealed how she has derived more pleasure from her explorations with female partners than her sexual experience with men.
At age 16, she tells how she converted her lifestyle to that of a full-fledged Jamaican lesbian.
She talks about meeting and developing a lasting relationship with a young girl who was perceivably “straight” at first.
The woman said the girl was with her parents in a public place when she walked over and asked to speak with her.
The lesbian explained to the girl that she wanted her contact number since she had an important revelation but the stranger was dumbfounded.
She said the girl asked for her number instead and promised to call.
At work, she was surprised to receive the call and as she puts it literally “dropped the bomb” that she was attracted to her.
She noted that the girl rebuffed her advances but offered to be a friend instead.
They later met and while on the phone with another friend, the lesbian said her new love became jealous.
She divulged that it was the beginning of a lasting friendship between them.
“As a Jamaican lesbian I would like to say to the public in general to stop the hatred. Give us a break, its nothing so wrong. Concentrate your energy on other issues like homeless children, people killing people. How can you hate someone who loves someone else? They don’t hate the people who hate each other like they hate us. What we have is love and we are sharing it,” she said.
Homosexuals in Guyana have faced similar fates but luckily many have not tasted a share of such violence.
During an interactive session, a participant said she is comfortable with friends who may have a sexual preference contrary to hers.
However, she noted that they are entitled to their lifestyle choices and are answerable only to God.
There are ongoing debates about the morality of the issue and anti-homosexual advocates have labelled the phenomenon “utter lawlessness”.
They argue that God had destroyed an entire city because of homosexuality.
Some countries have even legalized gay marriages and are sanctioning on whether the couple should be allowed to raise children.
There are even gay cathedral and churches opening up across the world.
SASOD has revealed that there are people who were granted refugee status on the grounds of homophobic stigmatization.
However, the burning question is, are gays really trapped in a man’s body or can they help themselves?

SASOD Statement for International Day against Homophobia 2007

May 17, is the anniversary of the decision when the World Health Organisation removed ’homosexuality’ as a mental disorder marking a formal end to medical homophobia. Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) joins with organisations around the world in commemorating this day as International Day Against Homophobia.

The recent incidents of mob violence in our sister Caribbean territory, Jamaica, against people perceived to be homosexual have placed emphasis on the need of Caribbean societies to battle homophobia as one of the prejudices which retard the development of society. Police were forced to use teargas to dispel a mob threatening three men at a pharmacy in Half-Way-Three on Valentine’s Day. On Palm Sunday at Montego Bay’s Carnival Nite Out, performers and merchants along fashionable Gloucester Avenue had to scamper for their lives as a group of men were chased by an angry mob with one beaten into critical condition with a manhole cover and cutlass. Church windows were smashed with bottles and stones when mourners presumed to be gay attended an Easter Sunday funeral in Mandeville. On April 27, mobs of citizens viciously attacked a cross-dresser who was apparently waiting for transportation in downtown Falmouth.

The prevalence of homophobic lyrics in Caribbean music continues to highlight a kind of cultural and political acceptance of homophobia - singers who have no problem calling for the killing of homosexuals are encouraged rather than condemned by private sector and Caribbean Governments. While at the same time, many Caribbean citizens have protested homophobic music. For instance, Gary Steckles, cultural critic of Jamaican roots, calls on Caribbean citizens to say “No to Hate” in the November/December 2006 edition of the Caribbean Beat magazine.

Homophobic violence in the Caribbean is rarely reported. In this light, SASOD has partnered with the Caribbean Anti Violence Project (CAVP) – a regional, web-based initiative at HIV-AIDS Education Unit, University of the West Indies (UWI) - to document incidents of prejudice-fueled violence on the basis of homophobia, gender and HIV-related stigma (see www.CaribbeanAVP.org). Many times male and transgender sex workers are targets for violence by the army and police while in other places, the justice system does not seem to want to deal with people who have no problem openly attacking people perceived to be homosexual. As part of our collaboration with the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition (CVC), SASOD has endorsed the call of civil society groups and activists, human rights lawyers, national AIDS programme coordinators and researchers in the field of sexual and reproductive health rights across the Caribbean region to decriminalize all aspects of sex work. Particularly, more acute difficulties are posed for male and transgender sex workers who are especially vulnerable to human rights abuses and HIV-AIDS due to homophobia, and more specifically, trans-phobia.

Caribbean-born Professor Linden Lewis states in his paper “Man Talk, Masculinity and a Changing Social Environment” available from the Caribbean Review of Gender Studies (http://sta.uwi.edu/crgs/journals/Linden_Lewis_pm_07.pdf) that: "Moreover, violence directed at homosexual men is not even considered really problematic. Both men and women, on religious grounds, by appeals to nature, or in accordance with social convention, often rationalize or excuse violence against homosexuals in the Caribbean. The region cannot afford to condone violence against people who may not share the heterosexual norm while condemning acts of violence when directed against women. People need to be more vocal in their condemnation of the physical and verbal abuse of all, irrespective of gender or sexual orientation. Failure to criticize all forms of violence is to be less than sincere..."

Globally, homophobia is being recognised as a neglected violation of human rights. Guyana and the Caribbean cannot ignore the global progress towards just societies. Earlier this year on March 26, SASOD joined human rights organizations across the globe in launching the Yogyakarta Principles on the Application of International Human Rights Law in Relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (http://yogyakartaprinciples.org/). The Yogyakarta Principles affirm binding legal standards which put new pressure on governments: end discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, end criminalisation of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people’s lives, make the promise of equality real.

This statement was published in Guyana Chronicle and Stabroek News

Activities for IDAHO 2006

SASOD joined with organisations in a number of countries around the world to commemorate International Day against Homophobia 2006.

On Monday 15 May, Stabroek News printed the press release which was issued to all media houses. None of the other newspapers issued the press release of activities.

On Tuesday 16 May, we screened the film Bent at Sidewalk Cafe. There were about 30 persons there for the screening. We wanted to make the point of the original Nazi persecution of homosexuals, linked to Archbishop Desmond Tutu's comparison of homophobia and apartheid. Some persons liked the film, others thought that it was too deep.

On Wednesday 17 May, SASOD and GUYBOW members participated in a live radio programme 'Let's Talk' from 10pm to 11:30pm. An important presentation was made by Ronnel Trotman who was arrested and fined for cross dressing and vagrancy. GuyBow members also noted that they witnessed the harassment by police/soldier patrols of persons perceived to be male sex workers. There were some key points in that crime ridden Guyana, the police priorities seemed misplaced. There were a couple of call ins to the programme - some which supported our views, while others opposed the views, one caller saying homophobia is a lot of hype and that gender confused people could change if they want to once they get the demons out.


Saturday May 20 - Interactive forum/exhibition at the National Library, Georgetown, Guyana from 10am to 3pm.
This exhibition was set up with GuyBow and SASOD at the National Library. The first participant who arrived, said he had heard the radio programme. He lives about 40 miles from Georgetown, and had left his home at 6am so he could be on time. Another older participant who also heard the radio programme came a little later.
Some of the persons who viewed the exhibition were students who were using the library.
We also aired the recordings prepared by Reverend Jide Macaulay from the Metropolitan Community Church in UK, and Imam Muhsin Hendricks from the Inner Circle in South Africa. We also read a statement from a Hindu worker of Guyanese origins who wanted to remain anonymous since he was still in touch with Guyana, the extract of Archbishop Desmond Tutu's foreword to the Amnesty Report on Homophobia, and the Dalai Lama's message to ILGA.

During the rights gaff, SASOD and GuyBOW agreed to do the following :-
1) to meet with the Guyana Police Force to discuss the harassment of cross dressers, and acknowledging that the HIV workers felt under threat by the police actions

2) To write to the Director of the National Blood Transfusion Service protesting the continued portrayal of HIV as a gay disease.. even going so far as to listing women who have sex with women as a higher risk than women who have sex with men
3.) To follow up on the application to the Ethnic Relations Commission on the homophobic lyrics.
4) to prepare and distribute flyers to people who are targetted by the police which would explain their rights, the powers of arrest and the remedies for complaints on improper police conduct

SASOD will also add the 'cross dressing' offence to the list of homophobic laws which need removing from the law books.

The evening activity at Oasis was well attended and enjoyed by those who stayed for the entire performance. There were recitations of Alan Moore's Mirror of Love and other poems; songs, and tango dances done by two men in the traditional Argentine fashion.


Funding for all activities was done from contributions from members and individuals. Special thanks to Sidewalk Cafe and Oasis Cafe for supporting these activities.