Even an Olympic gold medalist from Jamaica isn’t spared from being insulted by a homophobic fellow countryman, but Jamaican culture has evolved to the point where such hostility now has stern consequences. Omar McLeod, who won the men’s 110-meter hurdles on Aug. 16, was called a “goldfish” in a tweet from a major Jamaican company. … Continue reading
Tag Archives: Portia Simpson-Miller
I refuse to be a victim, so I took a stand, Tomlinson says
I considered myself to be a very confident person. That changed suddenly a few years ago when I received a particularly vicious email death threat because of my advocacy for the human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) Jamaicans. In vulgar language the author made plain that, if I did not immediately … Continue reading
Commentary: Jamaican activists need to change focus
Jamaica needs to make a wide variety of improvements in its human rights record with regard to its LGBT citizens — which may not be possible if activists focus too much attention on the nation’s buggery law, says Jaevion Nelson, program and advocacy manager at the Jamaican LGBT advocacy organization J-FLAG. In today’s Jamaica Gleaner, … Continue reading
Protesting Jamaicans fear UK leader will push LGBTI rights
Two Jamaican groups opposing LGBTI rights protested yesterday’s arrival of visiting British Prime Minister David Cameron. The protest was a missing opportunity, said LGBTI rights activist Maurice Tomlinson. He argued that the protesters’ fears about sexuality led them to ignore a high-priority issue: pushing Cameron to help Jamaica recover from past injustices imposed on it … Continue reading
Jamaica’s major newspaper backs LGBTI rights
Jamaica’s major daily, the Gleaner, today published an editorial supporting the U.S. Supreme Court’s marriage equality ruling and calling on Jamaica to take a similar course. In contrast to the United States, the editorial states, in Jamaica “there is still much work to be done to lift official discrimination from large swathes of Jamaica’s citizens … Continue reading
LGBTI news briefs: Pakistan, India, Malawi, many more
News briefs about countries with anti-gay laws, excerpted from the Equal Eyes recap of the world’s LGBTI-related news: ASIA In Pakistan, friends are mourning the assassination of Sabeen Mahmud, a prominent human rights activist. … Mahmud was the director of ‘The Second Floor’ (T2F) – a space that hosted many conversations and events for marginalized … Continue reading
LGBTI news briefs: Russia, Jamaica, Egypt, Nigeria, India, more
News briefs about countries with anti-gay laws, excerpted from the Equal Eyes recap of the world’s LGBTI-related news: The UN Human Rights Committee has recommended to Russia that it consider the “hate motive” when investigating crimes of possible homophobic or transphobic nature. Lawyer Kseniya Kirichenko said this is of “truly historical significance” as the recommendation acknowledges LGBT people as … Continue reading
Evicted gay youths under attack (again) in Jamaica
On Wednesday, April 15 at about 1 p.m., some patrons of the Clocktower Plaza in Kingston decided to “cleanse” the premises of gays. This shopping venue was one of the few spaces in the capital that gays could hang out in relative peace, although they had to travel in groups. On this occasion, their congregation … Continue reading
Jamaican doctor: homosexuality “inherently infectious”
The fundamentalist Christian group, Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society (JCHS), is one of the island’s most strident campaigners against LGBTI human rights. The organization’s Chairman and most outspoken representative, is Dr. Wayne West, a medical doctor and Senior Lecturer in radiology at the University of the West Indies, Mona campus. West regularly uses his medical … Continue reading
Signs of progress in violent, homophobic Jamaica
A recent report by Human Rights Watch paints a familiarly grim picture of LGBT life in homophobic Jamaica, but speaks optimistically about signs of progress. HRW says: “Violence against LGBT people in Jamaica today is rampant. Police, schools, and hospitals discriminate against LGBT people in Jamaica. But attitudes are shifting and a heated public debate about … Continue reading
