Jamaica - Homophobia, Murder Music and Free Speech

Since the recording of this interview there have been some efforts that have borne fruit.

1). The Reggae Compassionate Act
2). The changing attitudes of the police (still needing improvements)
3). The slowly evolving public discourse on LGBT issues
We still have a long way to go.

A point of interest is that Brian Williamson was not the first openly gay individual to go public...Gay Freedom Movement (GFM), founded around 1974 by five Jamaicans and an American Jesuit then working in the island. It focused on consciousness-raising within the LGBT community and professional organizations, issued a newsletter, Jamaica Gaily News, and ran a Gay Youth Program, Prison Outreach Program and a free STD clinic.

General Secretary, Larry Chang, who was also publisher and editor of JGN, was the first Jamaican to come out publicly, being interviewed on radio and JBC-TV and through his letters to the press. Before he fled to the US in 2000 where he was granted political asylum in 2004, he had helped found JFLAG.

Thanks however to Peter and others for highlighting the issues though.

Peace.