Offences Against the Person Act (Excerpts on Buggery)

Offences Against the Person Act

Article 76 (Unnatural Crime)"Whosoever shall be convicted of the abominable crime of buggery (anal intercourse) committed either with mankind or with any animal, shall be liable to be imprisoned and kept to hard labour for a term not exceeding ten years."

Article 77 (Attempt) "Whosoever shall attempt to commit the said abominable crime, or shall be guilty of any assault with intent to commit the same, or of any indecent assault upon any male person, shall be guilty of a misdemeanour, and being convicted thereof shall be liable to be imprisoned for a term not exceeding seven years, with or without hard labour."

Article 78 (Proof of Carnal Knowledge) "Whenever upon the trial of any offence punishable under this Act, it may be necessary to prove carnal knowledge, it shall not be necessary to prove the actual emission of seed in order to constitute a carnal knowledge, but the carnal knowledge shall be deemed complete upon proof of penetration only."

Article 79 (Outrages on Decency) "Any male person who, in public or private, commits, or is a party to the commission of, or procures or attempts to procure the commission by any male person of, any act of gross indecency with another male person, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and being convicted thereof shall be liable at the discretion of the court to be imprisoned for a term not exceeding 2 years, with or without hard labour."

Applying for a Police Record

Applying for a Police Record

If you are applying for a Police Record, visit:
The Police Records Office,
Ground Floor, North Tower,
NCB Towers,
2 Oxford Road, Kingston 5.

Office Hours:
Mondays to Thursdays: 7:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Fridays: 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

For travelling purposes you will need:
Your passport
Taxpayer Registration Number (TRN)
2 passport sized pictures
For other purposes you will need:
Valid identification(driver's licence, passport or National ID)
Taxpayer Registration Number (TRN)
COST: $2000 (Express: 3 working days)
$1000 (Regular:21 working days)

The Touchy Subject of Hemorhoids

Hemorhoids.
Hemorhoids are varicose veins of the rectum. The hemorhoidal veins are sited in the lowest area of the rectum and the anus. Sometimes they swell, so that the vein walls become stretched, slim, and irritated b passing bowel movements. When these veins bleed, itch, or hurt, they are known as hemorrhoids, or piles. Hemorhoids are divided in two general categories: internal and external.

Formation of hemorhoids
Veins in the rectum and anus are under considerable pressure whenever a stool is passed. Pushing or straining may cause veins in the rectal wall to lump, creating clusters of swollen, or dilated, veins called hemorrhoids. Internal hemorrhoids can form anywhere inside the anal canal, while external hemorrhoids are visible, or just below, the opening of the anus.

Internal hemorhoids
Internal hemorrhoids lie far inside the rectum that you can't see or feel them. They do not usually hurt, because there are few pain sensing nerves in the rectum. Bleeding may be the only sign of their presence. Sometimes internal hemorrhoids prolapse, or enlarge and protrude outside the anal sphincter. If so, you may be able to see or feel them as moist, pink pads of skin that are pinker than the surrounding area. Prolapsed hemorrhoids may hurt, because the anus is dense with pain-sensing nerves. They usually recede into the rectum on their own; if they don't, they can be gently pushed back into place. Most commonly the blood in stool caused by hemorrhoids is bright red but internal hemorrhoids can be reason for appearance of dark blood in stool.

External hemorhoids
External hemorrhoids are situated within the anus and are usually painful. If an external hemorrhoid prolapses to the outside (usually in the course of passing a stool) you can see and feel it. Blood clots sometimes form within prolapsed external hemorrhoids, causing an extremely painful condition called a thrombosis. If an external hemorrhoid becomes thrombosed, it can look rather frightening, turning purple or blue, and possibly bleeding. Despite their appearance, thrombosed hemorrhoids are usually not serious and will resolve themselves in about a week. If the pain is unbearable, your doctor can remove the thrombosis, which stops the pain, during an office visit.

Symptoms: http://hemorhoids.50webs.com/symptoms_of_hemorrhoids.html

Causes: http://hemorhoids.50webs.com/causes_for_hemorrhoids.html

Diagnosis: http://hemorhoids.50webs.com/diagnostics_of_hemorrhoids.html

Treatment: http://hemorhoids.50webs.com/treatment_of_hemorrhoids.html

Nutrtition: http://hemorhoids.50webs.com/nutrition_and_diet_for_hemorrhoids.html

Home Remedies: http://hemorhoids.50webs.com/at-home_remedies_for_hemorrhoids.html

Mariela Castro champions gay rights in Cuba

Castro champions gay rights in Cuba
By Michael Voss BBC News,

Havana There is a Castro who is fighting to introduce radical changes in Cuba.

Transsexuals have a chance to meet at support group sessions>>>

Not the new president, Raul, although he has promised to push through "structural and conceptual" changes to this communist island in the Caribbean. It is Raul's daughter, Mariela Castro. As head of the government-funded National Centre for Sex Education, she is trying to change people's attitudes towards minority groups in the community. She is currently attempting to get the Cuban National Assembly to adopt what would be among the most liberal gay and transsexual rights law in Latin America. The proposed legislation would recognise same-sex unions, along with inheritance rights. It would also give transsexuals the right to free sex-change operations and allow them to switch the gender on their ID cards, with or without surgery. There are limits: adoption is not included in the bill and neither is the word marriage. "A lot of homosexual couples asked me to not risk delaying getting the law passed by insisting on the word marriage," Mariela Castro said.

In the early years of the revolution much of the world was homophobic. It was the same here in Cuba and led to acts which I consider unjust
Mariela Castro">>>>

In Cuba marriage is not as important as the family and at least this way we can guarantee the personal and inheritance rights of homosexuals and transsexuals." She says that her father is supportive of her work, although he advises her to move slowly. "I've seen changes in my father since I was a child. I saw him as macho and homophobic. But as I have grown and changed as a person, so I have seen him change." Mariela's mother, the late Vilma Espin, was an internationally recognised champion of women's rights. For Mariela, it is the rights of homosexuals and transsexuals that need fighting for.

Counselling

Once a week, a group of transsexuals gathers for a support session at the old Havana mansion which houses Mariela's Sex Education Centre.

<<<<<Libia says the sessions have boosted her confidence

Their ages range from late teens to mid-40s. All are dressed as women; some have had sex-change operations. A state-funded psychiatrist offers counselling, support and health education. "Transsexuals have always faced a degree of injustice," said Libia, who trained as a hairdresser after attending sessions at the centre. "Here we get a lot of respect. This institution has helped raise our self-esteem." Past repression Today Cuba has a vibrant but generally discreet gay scene. There is a popular gay beach in Playas del Este just a short drive from Havana. In the capital itself there are no openly gay bars, but there is a weekly nightclub complete with floor show. The venue also hosts a comedy club one night, a cabaret another.

A weekly gay night at a Havana nightclub is well attended

But according to the manager, who asked not to be named or for the club to be identified, it is the gay evening that is always the best attended. The event is perfectly legal but it is not advertised, relying instead on word of mouth. Given Cuba's past treatment of homosexuals, most people here prefer to remain anonymous. In the early days of the revolution many homosexuals were sent to forced labour camps for re-education and rehabilitation. The camps did not last long but still gays were often denied certain jobs as "ideological deviants". In the 1980s, there were orchestrated mass rallies denouncing homosexuals. Ingrained prejudices Sex between consenting adults of the same gender was legalised about 15 years ago, but police harassment and raids on gay gatherings continued until very recently. "In the early years of the revolution much of the world was homophobic. It was the same here in Cuba and led to acts which I consider unjust," said Mariela Castro. "What I see now is that both Cuban society and the government have realised that these were mistakes. There is also the desire to take initiatives which would prevent such things happening again." But it remains an uphill struggle. Old prejudices remain deeply ingrained, particularly amongst the older generation. "It's like an illness or perhaps a character defect," one man explained, asking not to be identified. Others though are more tolerant. Talking to people in the street, many said that they disapproved of homosexuals but felt that people should be free to live their own lives. There is still no guarantee that when the National Assembly convenes later this year, under the watchful eye of Raul Castro, it will approve Mariela's gay rights bill. If it does, though, this would mark a revolutionary change in Cuba's sexual politics.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7314845.stm

Transgender Care & Information

http://www.transgendercare.com/default.asp

Reference Materials
• TGIP Electrolysis Guide
• Expanded Medical Glossary
• TransGenderCare Medical Feminizing Program

What is Gender and Who is Transgendered?
Gender is more complex than the expression of maleness or femaleness. The complex journey towards one's own personal gender expression is explored and transgenderism is explained. This article will enable the reader to answer the question, "Am I transgendered?"

Also see, The Multi-Dimensionality of Gender.

Gender Expressions
Gender Expressions helps separate fact from myth, addressing key questions regarding transition: What is transition?, Is transition for me? How and where do I find help in my transition?

Penile Inversion Process (Charts): http://www.transgendercare.com/surgical/penile_inv/penile_inversion_proto.htm

Hair Removal: http://www.transgendercare.com/electrolysis/methods/temporary.htm

epilate(ep´i-lat)To extract a hair; to remove the hair from a part by forcible extraction, electrolysis, or loosening at the root by chemical means. Cf. depilate. [L. e, out, + pilus, a hair]

depilate(dep´i-lat)To remove hair by any means. Cf. epilate. [L. de-pilo, pp. -atus, to deprive of hair, fr. de- neg. + pilo, to grow hair]

Breast Implant Info: http://www.transgendercare.com/surgical/breast_implant_types.htm

Larry Chang ........ a Reintroduction

Chinese-Jamaican gay man, political organizer and spiritual counselor, Larry Chang has much to offer the Asian-American, LGBT, Caribbean-American, and People of Color communities.

Larry was born in Jamaica of Hakka Chinese immigrant parents; he is a founding member of the Jamaica Forum of Lesbians, All-Sexuals & Gays, J-FLAG . He had previously organized a gay group in Jamaica, the Gay Freedom Movement (GFM) as early as 1978 in a fiercely hostile climate. He held the position of General Secretary and was Publisher and Editor of its newsletter, Jamaica Gaily News .

A leader and active participant of the community for equal justice, Chang came to the U.S. as a refugee in 2000, and was granted political asylum in 2004. He currently resides in Washington, D.C., where he continues to educate and work for equal justice in the United States and for Jamaica. He is featured in the Phillip Pike documentary, Songs of Freedom, which had its world premiere in Toronto in January 2003, and has been shown in selected US cities, Toronto, Montreal and Kingston. He also appears in Dangerous Living: Coming Out in the Developing World , which documents the struggle for human rights of LGBT people in the global south; it premiered at the New York Film Festival in June 2003.

He completed Religious Science Studies to Level 3 under Dr. Rev. Elma Lumsden at the Temple of Light Church of Religious Science in Kingston, Jamaica, and has been profoundly influenced by Zen Buddhism. Introduced in May 2006 to much acclaim at Book Expo America, Larry's anthology of quotations, Wisdom for the Soul: Five Millennia of Prescriptions for Spiritual Healing is now available in bookstores and online, as well as the follow-up, Wisdom for the Soul of Black Folk . He's currently at work on Wisdom for the Soul of Queer Folk, slated for release in 2008.

He has the enthusiastic support of many scholars:

"Larry Chang is a first-rate activist, and a superb thinker and analyst of political/social issues. Anyone who hears him speak will not be disappointed."
- Thomas Glave
Assistant Professor, Department of English, General Literature and Rhetoric
State University of New York (SUNY), Binghamton, NY, USA
Author of Whose Song

"Larry Chang brings a special spirituality to whomever he meets. He has the amazing ability to transcend race, ethnicity, gender, religion and sexual orientation in his efforts to heal the planet. His wisdom might well be the path that we need to lead us to both individual and global peace."
- Jerry Wright
Professor, Social Work and Anthropology
Savannah State University, Savannah, Georgia, USA

"... dependable, thorough, focused, and knowledgeable about the arts ... He is not, however, limited to being an "expert" in the arts. His interests are diverse, and he has been able to combine history, mathematics, anthropology, psychology, and sociology into an integrated whole that define him as both an intellectual and a practitioner of his craft."
- Davilla T. Davis
Former Professor/Director, Study Abroad Programs
Morris Brown College, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

"I have had many opportunities to meet with Larry Chang. Invariably I have come away greatly enriched. He is a man of enormous knowledge and wisdom, an excellent counseller and speaker, a true humanist. I have learned a lot about Jamaican culture, about spirituality, about human nature, from him."
- Wolfgang Binder
Professor/Academic Director, North American & Caribbean Literatures
University of Erlangen, Erlangen, Germany

"Larry Chang is original and insightful. He is a speaker well worth inviting to provide new perspectives and stimulate discussion."
- Frank H. Wu
Professor, Howard University School of Law
Washington, DC, USA
Author of Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White


Larry Chang is an ENGAGING SPEAKER with experience as a SPIRITUAL COUNSELOR, WORKSHOP FACILITATOR, WRITER and ARTIST. His diverse background caters to a spectrum of communities such as the LGBT, People of Color (POC), Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI), Caribbean Diaspora Communities and in fields of LGBT, Asian-American, Gender, History, Latin American & Caribbean Studies.

Background and Topics:

SPIRITUAL UNFOLDMENT
- with training in Religious Science and dharma study, Larry assists in the exploration of life questions within the paradigm of the sanctity and beauty of the individual ensconced in and inseparable from the multidimensional whole. He has developed a playful yet incisive tool, reading Wisdom Cards a la Tarot, to facilitate this process. His ideas are even now coalescing into a discourse known as I-sight.

EMPOWERMENT
- based on training and experience in the human potential movement and drawing from experience of working with LGBT, spiritual and alternative health groups, artisanal and rural micro-entrepreneurs.


"Larry Chang was contracted to provide technical design expertise and training in product development to mainly small and medium size enterprises focused in the innovative industries. He has a capacity for connecting with the client and assisting in bringing forth their highest potential."
- Valerie Veira, CEO, Jamaica Business Development Centre, Kingston, Jamaica

WORKING WITH DIVERSITY/BUILDING BRIDGES
- being an Anomaly: Asian in Black Jamaica, Gay in homophobic Jamaica, Asian-Jamaican in African-America, Hakka in predominantly Cantonese Chinese-America, Free-Thinker in an increasingly Fundamentalist Orthodoxy, Exile with no Country, A ROLE FOR THE ETERNAL OUTSIDER.

WORKING IN THE LGBT PEOPLE OF COLOR COMMUNITY

HISTORY of Gay Activism in Jamaica, Chinese in Jamaica, Legacy of Slavery in Gender Roles, Violence & Homophobia

INTERRACIAL RELATIONSHIPS : Asian/Black intimacy

THE TYRANNY of anal sexism among MSM

Larry is available to individuals, groups and organizations as a presenter and facilitator at a nominal fee. He is initiating a new service,
SoulVentures - Exploring the Possible
offering counselling, coaching, imagineering, spiritual/holistic marketing and promotion.

Recent Presentations Include:

Participant, HIV Community Coalition Seminar on Religion, Spirituality, and Sexuality
Washington, DC, February 2002
Panelist, 12th Biennial Midwest Asian Pacific American Student's Conference, "Transcending Boundaries: Communities, Crisis, and Resistance"
Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH, March 2002
Presenter, Asian Pacific American Awareness Conference (APAAC): "Affirming Identity"
Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY, April 2003
Presentation/Workshop - "Building Then Breaking Out of the Box: Claiming, Creating and Transcending Identities"
Panellist, "Examining Jamaica's Policy towards Homosexuality & Dealing with the Impact of International Scrutiny"
presented by Jampact , St. Francis College, Brooklyn, NY, January 2005
Speaker, Amnesty International 2005 Get On the Bus Rally
All Souls Church, NY, April 2005
Speaker, hosted by Rainbow Pride Union
SUNY Binghamton, NY, April 2005
Panellist, "Beyond the Music: Reggae and the Cultural Contours of Homophobia," Stanford University Black Law Students Association Conference, Stanford, CA, February 2006
Speaker, hosted jointly by Amnesty International and Lambda Union
Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH, April 2007
Speaker, hosted jointly by Asian Students Union and Rainbow Pride
SUNY Binghamton, NY, April 2007

also see:

Genesis of the Jamaica Gay Freedom Movement Archive

The Journey to Upload the Jamaica Gay Freedom Movement

Gays Attacked by Mob at Funeral in Jamaica (Flashback)

Gays Attacked by Mob at Funeral in Jamaica
Thursday, April 12 2007 @ 01:51 PM CDT
Contributed by: Oread Daily

Rev Amos Campbell, a pastor whose church was attacked by an angry mob on Easter Sunday because of the presence at a funeral service of gays told the Jamaica Observer the violence reflected the dangerously high level of intolerance in Jamaican society.

The 3:00 pm funeral service was for 30 year-old businessman Kirk Wayne Lester who was found dead with multiple stab wounds on March 18. Campbell said the church service took place despite the "disturbance on the outside" and interment took place later as planned at Oak Lawn in Manchester.

Sunday's incident came only three days after the beating of three alleged homosexuals along the popular Gloucester Avenue Hip Strip in Montego Bay, further underlining Jamaica's reputation as being among the globe's most homophobic societies.

International human rights organisations have described Jamaica as one of the most homophobic places in the world. Homophobic violence is widespread on the island; fuelled by the anti-gay hatred that is daily spewed from church pulpits, newspaper columns, dancehall music and radio stations.

And it ain't just gay men who are the targets of hate.

According to a 2004 report from the London-based charity Asylum Aid, one woman who appeared on a television show to speak (from behind a screen) about the persecution she had endured because of her sexuality was verbally abused and assaulted. “The following day, a co-worker who had recognised her voice went as far as beating her up,” states the report. “Other women suspected of being lesbians have been raped and chased out of their homes and communities.”

And it ain't just Jamaica.

Jamaica may be the worst offender, but much of the rest of the Caribbean, reported Time magazine last year, also has a long history of intense homophobia. Islands like Barbados still criminalize homosexuality, and some seem to be following Jamaica's more violent example.

on the tiny islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique, French territories in the eastern Caribbean, rampant homophobia goes unchecked. Guadeloupean pop singer Admiral T and his musical confrère from Martinique, Lieutenant, have made big names for themselves regionally by peddling vicious, anti-gay "entertainment."

Meanwhile, Christian groups on the Caribbean island of Tobago are calling for Elton John to be nixed from an upcoming concert.

All this homophobia has also, of course, impacted the spread of HIV disease. the second highest rate of infection after sub-Saharan Africa.

Discrimination by employers and others is so pervasive that infected people often delay seeking treatment for the virus, still largely perceived as a "gay disease" by many in the region, said officials at a recent one-day Caribbean Summit on HIV-AIDS in St. Croix.

"It's going to be a political challenge because, unfortunately, we live in a society that is very homophobic," said Douglas Slater, health minister for St. Vincent and the Grenadines. "It's something we are going to have to overcome."

The following is from Pink News.

Homophobic violence at Jamaica funeral

A funeral service in the Carribean island of Jamaica has been disrupted by a mob attempting to attack a group of mourners.

The Easter Sunday funeral of Kirk Wayne Lester, a Jamaican businessman, was attended by "gay cross-dressers," reports Real Jamaica Radio.

A mob surrounded the church and attacked people thought to be gay with knives, stones and bottles.

Missiles where thrown through the windows.

The island's gay rights movement, the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All Sexuals and Gays (J-Flag), is forced to operate underground and anonymously.

It called on police to find the people who attacked the church in Mandeville.

Pressure group Jamaicans for Justice agreed that a urgent police investigation is needed.

JFJ said it is deeply disturbed by yet another incident involving mob violence against gay people latest incident is particularly daring because it occurred during a church service.

In February three gay men were stoned by a huge mob in a homophobic attack in Jamaica.

Police came to rescue the men from a pharmacy in Saint Andrew Parish, where they had been hiding for almost an hour.

An angry crowd had gathered outside the pharmacy, hurling insults and threatening to kill the men.

When the police arrived, the mob demanded the men be handed over to them.

The police tried to escort the men to their car, but the crowd began to throw stones at the objects of their hate, hitting one of them on the head.

Finally, officers were forced to disperse the crowd with tear gas. According to the Jamaica Observer, as many as 2000 people were involved in the attack.

International human rights organisations have described Jamaica as one of the most homophobic places in the world.

Gay and lesbian relationships are largely conducted in secret.

Sex between men in Jamaica is illegal, and punishable with up to ten years in jail, usually with hard labour.

In December 2003, a World Policy Institute survey on sexual orientation and human rights in the Americas said that:

"In the Caribbean, Jamaica is by far the most dangerous place for sexual minorities, with frequent and often fatal attacks against gay men fostered by a popular culture that idolises reggae and dancehall singers whose lyrics call for burning and killing gay men.

"Draconian laws against sexual activity between members of the same sex continue to be in force not only in Jamaica, but in most of the English-speaking Caribbean."

According to Amnesty International, the gay and lesbian community in Jamaica faces "extreme prejudice" and are ‘routinely victims of ill-treatment and harassment by the police, and occasionally of torture."

Amnesty has highlighted the growing problem of vigilante action against gays and lesbians – Wednesday was just one example of this.

In 2004, the organisation revealed that "gay men and lesbian women have been beaten, cut, burned, raped and shot on account of their sexuality," and that they are one of the "most marginalised and persecuted communities in Jamaica."

Political parties have ignored the issue of gay rights. Indeed, homophobia is flourishing amongst politicians and the police.

For example, opposition leader Bruce Golding vowed last year that "homosexuals would find no solace in any cabinet formed by him."

Jamaica: Shield Gays from Mob Attacks (Flashback)

Jamaica: Shield Gays from Mob Attacks

Widespread Homophobic Violence Shows Failure of Police Protection

(New York, February 1, 2008) – A homophobic mob attack in Jamaica that left one man severely injured and another missing and feared dead shows yet again that authorities must take urgent action against violence and hatred, Human Rights Watch said today. This incident is the latest in a string of homophobic mob violence over the last year, including an attack on mourners in a church.

Gays and lesbians in Jamaica face violence at home, in public, even in a house of worship, and official silence encourages the spread of hate

Scott Long
director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Program

“Roving mobs attacking innocent people and staining the streets with blood should shame the nation’s leaders,” said Scott Long, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights Program at Human Rights Watch. “Gays and lesbians in Jamaica face violence at home, in public, even in a house of worship, and official silence encourages the spread of hate.”

On the evening of January 29, a group of men approached a house where four males lived in the central Jamaican town of Mandeville, and demanded that they leave the community because they were gay, according to human rights defenders who spoke with the victims. Later that evening, a mob returned and surrounded the house. The four men inside called the police when they saw the crowd gathering; the mob started to attack the house, shouting and throwing bottles. Those in the house called police again and were told that the police were on the way. Approximately half an hour later, 15-20 men broke down the door and began beating and slashing the inhabitants.

Human rights defenders who spoke to the victims also reported that police arrived half an hour after the mob had broken into the house – 90 minutes after the men first called for help. One of the victims managed to flee with the mob pursuing. A Jamaican newspaper reported that blood was found at the mouth of a nearby pit, suggesting he had fallen inside or may have been killed nearby. The police escorted the three other victims away from the scene; two of them were taken to the hospital. One of the men had his left ear severed, his arm broken in two places, and his spine reportedly damaged.

The attack on these men echoes another incident in the same town on Easter Sunday, April 8, 2007. Approximately 100 men gathered outside a church where 150 people were attending the funeral of a gay man. According to mourners, the crowd broke the windows with bottles and shouted, “We want no battyman [gay] funeral here. Leave or else we’re going to kill you. We don’t want no battyman buried here in Mandeville.” Several mourners inside the church called the police to request protection. After half an hour, three police officers arrived.

But instead of protecting the mourners, police socialized with the mob, laughing along at the situation. A highway patrol car subsequently arrived, and one of the highway patrol officers reportedly told the churchgoers, “It’s full time this needs to happen. Enough of you guys.” The highway patrol officers then drove off. The remaining officers at the scene refused to intervene when the mob threatened the mourners with sticks, stones, and batons as they tried to leave the service. Only when several gay men among the mourners took knives from their cars for self-defense did police reportedly take action by firing their guns into the air. Officers stopped gay men from leaving and searched their vehicles, but did not restrain or detain members of the mob.

“While Jamaican police have begun to reach out to gay and lesbian communities, this change hasn’t reached many police stations where protection remains an illusion,” said Rebecca Schleifer, advocate on HIV/AIDS and human rights at Human Rights Watch. “These horrifying attacks should galvanize officials to protect all Jamaicans against violence, regardless of who they are.”

Two other mob attacks last year reinforced the fears of gay and lesbian Jamaicans. On April 2, 2007, a crowd in Montego Bay attacked three men alleged to be gay who were attending a carnival. The men took to a stage to dance during the revelry, but the mob began throwing bottles and stones at them. Witnesses said the crowd chased the men down the street, slashed one man with knives and beat him with a manhole cover. According to local press reports, at least 30 or 40 people beat another man as he sought refuge in a bar, tearing his clothes from him and striking him as he bled severely from a head wound.

In this case, police did intervene in an attempt to protect the men, but were overpowered by the mob. They were able to transport at least one victim to the hospital only after backup forces arrived more than 20 minutes later.

On February 14, 2007, a mob in Kingston attacked four men, including the co-chair of t the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (JFLAG). The men took refuge in a store in Tropical Plaza on Constant Spring Road in Kingston, while a crowd of at least 200 people gathered outside, calling for the men to be beaten to death because they were gay. The men called local police, as well as Human Rights Watch. When officers arrived, instead of protecting them, they verbally abused the victims, calling them “nasty battymen,” and struck one in the face, head, and stomach. They took the men to Halfway Tree Police Station in Kingston, but refused to take their complaints and ordered them never to return to the station.

In 2007, Human Rights Watch wrote to then-Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller and Peter Phillips, minister of national security, calling for an investigation into all the reported violence, as well as protection of witnesses from threats or reprisals. Human Rights Watch has received no response from the government to any of this correspondence.

Brian's last letter (Flashback)

Brian's last letter

published: Sunday June 13, 2004

By Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer
IN JANUARY, Brian Williamson wrote what would be his last letter to the media concerning the welfare of Jamaica's endangered homosexual community. In it, he criticised the Government's proposed anti-terrorism bill calling it hypocritical.
"I find it shocking that we can seriously be considering a terrorist plan without dealing with the basic safety of our homosexual citizens especially as homosexuality is not against the law in Jamaica," wrote Williamson in the letter, published in The Gleaner.
The safety that Williamson had long advocated for homosexuals in Jamaica eluded him Wednesday as he was murdered at his home at Haughton Avenue in New Kingston. His blood-splattered body was discovered by Desmond Chambers, the caretaker of the apartments Williamson owned.

The police report that the 59-year-old Williamson was bludgeoned to death, his home ransacked and a safe where he reportedly kept money, was stolen. They surmise that the motive for his death was robbery and have since picked up a suspect in the case.
But members of the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG) organisation Williamson founded six years ago do not support the police's theory. They believe Williamson, who was open about his gay lifestyle, was the victim of a hate crime.

Though he was not afraid to show his sexuality, Alexander Gordon (not his real name), a J-Flag representative, says Williamson was guarded about his private life. J-Flag affiliates knew he had a sister and that he operated a business centre but little else was known about him outside of the organisation.

Williamson consistently hissed at Jamaica's rigid homophobia by appearing on television talk shows and penning several letters to newspapers without using a pseudonym. That vigilance, says Gordon, will be missed.

Tributes and more stories: http://www.globalgayz.com/g-jamaica.html

Remembering Brian Williamson

Remembering Brian Williamson

published: Sunday June 20, 2004

Gay activist Brian Williamson in happier times.
Thomas Glave, Contributor

THIS MUCH is true: the brave, loving gay man who was murdered in Kingston last week will not be forgotten. His name was Brian R.B. Williamson. None of us who are gay, lesbian or bisexual will forget him, and neither will many others.

He was a founding member of J-FLAG. I remember him from that time. That was where I first met him ­ where I first had the privilege of getting to know him. We all were meeting in great trust, scarcely knowing at that time, in the latter months of 1998, how daunting and ultimately vital our mission would be. But in 2004, six years later, J-FLAG still exists ­ proof of the importance and utter correctness of our work. Jamaica's viciousness and hatred, no matter how brutal, could not destroy us then, and will not destroy us now.

I remember Brian as a laughing man: a man with 'a head of silver coins'," as I described his head of curly silver-gray hair. He loved laughing and laughter. Though it is often said of the dead even when untrue, he truly did love life, and exemplified that love in his formidable bravery where sexuality matters were concerned. He was not afraid to open, and operate from the late 1990s until only a few years ago, the gay and lesbian dance club Entourage, right in his home at

3A Haughton Avenue.

A SAFE PLACE
Entourage, a place where so many of us gays, lesbians, and bisexuals could go and dance, laugh, flirt, party, and hang out with friends and loved ones ­ a place where we could breathe freely and openly, delivered for a few hours from Jamaica's otherwise repressive, hateful anti-gay environment. At Entourage and in other places, Brian was not afraid to challenge the police, fiercely, when they attempted to harass him. He was not afraid to represent J-FLAG on the radio, using his own name, and to appear on television, representing the organisation, showing his face. He did it all with great humour and generosity, and lived, until a few weeks ago, to tell about it. In that regard, he was truly an example to all of us who are gay, lesbian, or bisexual ­ an example of just what bravery and risk can accomplish.

It remains to be seen whether Brian was murdered specifically because he was gay, although given the extremely violent nature of the crime and his being so widely known as an outspoken gay man, one would be a bit naive not to wonder. These are hard times for all Jamaicans living on the island, but they're especially hard for gay men, and for men who have sexual/romantic involvements with other men, and with women, and don't call themselves 'gay'.

SHROUD OF FEAR
Many men who desire other men in Jamaica continue to live with an enormous amount of anxiety, shame and fear. Such is also the case for women who love other women. Those of us who are men, particularly after an incident such as which took Brian's life, return to that gnawing fear: will someone strike us down anytime soon because we are 'b-men'? How will it happen? With fire, machetes, pickaxes, hammers, guns, knives or simple strangling? Or will it be 'just' a beating? Or a good old-fashioned stoning? Will our father do it to us, or a neighbour? A boyfriend of ours, or a co-worker?

Will everyone in our community turn on us? Will it happen in the cool, quieter hours of the night, or beneath the sun's blazing afternoon? Will people laugh after our death, as they did after Brian's or will some cry for us, as many did for Brian? Will people tell each other after our murder that we 'deserved' it, or were 'asking for' it? Will people in our families be so ashamed of us, and so embarrassed, that they'll refuse to speak about us to anyone, especially when it comes to the men we loved? Will self-hating gay men say vicious things about us - that we were nothing more than a 'sketel', nothing more than a 'butu', so what could we expect?

We all have faced discrimination and bigotry from friends, family members, church members, and others; yet many of us somehow have managed to survive that bigotry, and even triumph. In that regard, we, male and female homosexuals, are truly testaments to survival and the human spirit. Jamaica would be much poorer without our talent, hard work, skills, and intelligence, and Jamaica knows it. Jamaica will be much poorer without the light of Brian Williamson, but the gay/lesbian community, and J-FLAG, will continue, and prevail, as Brian himself would have wanted us to.

EQUAL TO NAZI TYRANNY
Make no mistake ­ years from now, the world will look at Jamaica the way we do at Nazis today. Jamaica's hatred of homosexuals is the equal of Nazis' hatred of Jews. It is the equal of racist whites' hatred of blacks, is the equal of all hatred everywhere ­ just as ugly, just as destructive and self-destructive, just as ignorant and narrow. Just as evil.

We are Nazis toward lesbians and gay men, but Hitler's fury didn't wipe out all the Jews, and Jamaica's rage won't kill all of us - it won't even kill those of us who hate ourselves so much because Jamaica has taught us to hate ourselves and other gay people.
In our private spaces we still love and make love to each other, we still tell jokes and drink, play cards and watch T.V, nyam our curry goat and brown stew chicken, go on bad and tek bad tings mek laugh. We still dream of love, like everyone else, and, when necessary, we take care of each other. If anything, Brian's death should teach us all to do all these things even better.

But it should teach us something else, even more important: it should teach us that we, and no one else, will have to make the kind of world we want our children to live in. If one of our children turns out to be gay ­ and I mean the children of any Jamaican, any person, heterosexual or homosexual, since we, too, produce children ­ are we prepared to send them out into a world that might chop them up, burn them, dash acid on them, or burn down their house? Or stone them? Or cause them to flee Jamaica in fear? Or cause them to grow up lying about themselves, lying to their parents, to spouses, children, friends, family ­ to everyone?
What are we all doing right now, nearly one week after a brave man's death, to protect our children from that world? From this world?
Brian featured on the bottom of his outgoing e-mails a quote from Gandhi: "We must become the change we wish to see in the world." It's useful, but to achieve what it says requires a tremendous amount of human bravery: brave heart, brave mind, brave soul, and the courage to expand the mind beyond the prejudices that make us happy and comfortable. Are we prepared to try and live this way, if only to keep other people from being killed as Brian was killed, and to save ourselves from such a death as well?

Light a candle, then, for this man who was loved. Light many candles, and remember his name.

Remember his laughter.
Remember how much he loved other men, and how very much he wanted them to love him in return. Remember how much he loved his cat Jonathan and his dog Tessa - poor Tessa, who was there, at home, on the morning of his death.
Remember how Brian loved his garden, especially the trailing yellow allamanda flowers on his front lawn's overhead trellis. Say a prayer for him, and say another for those terrible lost people who killed him.
Remember how much power, love, and life he brought us in Jamaica. Remember, how much braver he made so many of us. Remember how he expanded our entire country. Remember, and know that he will not be forgotten.

Homophobic governments block gays from UN AIDS conference

Homophobic governments block gays from UN AIDS conference
By Tony Grew • June 5, 2008 - 16:59

General Assembly meetings in 2001 and 2006 resulted in commitments by all member states to halt and reverse the HIV epidemic,
Lesbian and gay and sexual health groups from Jamaica, Zimbabwe and Egypt have been excluded from a major international conference on HIV/AIDS organised by the United Nations General Assembly.

The UN meeting is intended to review progress in the fight against AIDS.
Representatives of the governments of those three countries, all of which are openly homophobic, complained about the presence of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR), Gays and Lesbians of Zimbabwe (GALZ), and the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG).

They were all initially included on the President of the General Assembly's list of human rights groups and international AIDS organisations taking part in next week's high-level meeting.
However, after complaints from Egypt, Zimbabwe, and Jamaica they were denied accreditation.
The General Assembly accepted their respective governments' objection.

"J-FLAG is extremely disappointed by this move," said Jason McFarlane, programme manager of J-FLAG.

"The Jamaican government itself has acknowledged that homophobia is fuelling our HIV epidemic.
"Silencing J-FLAG Jamaica's, only LGBT organisation, undermines Jamaica's efforts to combat HIV/AIDS."

General Assembly meetings in 2001 and 2006 resulted in commitments by all member states to halt and reverse the HIV epidemic by 2010 and to achieve "universal access" to HIV prevention, care, and treatment.

"This meeting is about expanding access to HIV prevention and treatment," said Joe Amon, HIV/AIDS programme director at Human Rights Watch.
"It's hypocritical and counterproductive for UN member states to block organisations from attending who are working to ensure that HIV information and services are truly available to all."

PM was right

PM was right
published: Thursday June 5, 2008

The Editor, Sir:

The Prime Minister, the Honourable Bruce Golding, is to be commended for his forthrightness and honesty in the position he took on the B.B.C. regarding homosexuality. All Jamaicans of goodwill should support his stand.

I personally served with homosexuals in the army and in politics. They are mostly vicious, manipulative, scheming and careless with the truth. May I suggest to the prime minister that he takes a close look within his Cabinet for any such person(s).

We are a nation of laws, and that is how we keep order. The Roman Empire fell because of homosexuality. Jamaica suffers from a virus of lost standards. Well done, prime minister, your stand is to be applauded.

I am, etc.,
LESLIE LLOYD
kasjam1@yahoo.com
Walker's Wood P.O

JFLAG Press Release - “OAS General Assembly renews hope in draft resolution on Human Rights”

For immediate release
June 4, 2008

“OAS General Assembly renews hope in draft resolution on Human Rights”

On Tuesday, June 3, the General Committee of the Organisation of American States, OAS, approved by consensus a draft resolution entitled "Human Rights, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity." The aims of the resolution are to:

1). express concerns about acts of violence and related human rights violations against individuals because of their sexual orientation and gender identity;

2). request the OAS' main human rights committee to include on this year's agenda the topic "Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity;" and

3). to request a report by the main implementing arm of the OAS on the implementation ofthis resolution.

J-FLAG joins The Caribbean Forum of Lesbians, All-sexuals and Gays, C-FLAG, in welcoming the draft resolution and note the good intentions of American and particularly Caribbean states regarding the issue of violence against gays and lesbians and considers this an important step forward for the Caribbean and Jamaica.

The organisations hope that with time and a process of education, in accordance with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the rights of all citizens to freedom without distinction to race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status will be affirmed and protected. In this regard, J-FLAG sees the draft resolution as renewing hope that the dialogue on violence against members of the gay and lesbian community can be advanced within a framework where the basic rights of all citizens of the Americas to live in free, fair and life-affirming societies are recognised.

The resolution, once adopted by the General Assembly, will serve as a permanent record of the political will of the state parties, including those in the Caribbean, to tackle this insidious problem which faces the gay and lesbian community in Jamaica and the Caribbean.

Contact: J-FLAG
TEL: 1-876-978-8988
EMAIL: admin@jflag.org

Symbols and Their Meanings

Rainbow Flag





Artist Gilbert Baker first proposed the Rainbow Flag as the symbol for the 1978 San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade. Volunteers hand-dyed and hand-stitched two huge flags out of organically grown cotton. The original design used eight colors, but hot pink and turquoise were eliminated because of cost. The six colors of the resulting flag displayed at the 1979 parade symbolized the following: red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sun, green for harmony with nature, blue for art, and purple for spirit. Within the first two years of production, the flag became so popular that it used up the world's supply of purple flag cotton. The Rainbow Flag became nationally known after a 1988 lawsuit in which John Stout, a gay man living in West Hollywood, CA. successfully fought his landlord's attempt to keep him from flying the flag from his apartment balcony. A mile-long rainbow flag weighing over 7,000 pounds was carried by over 10,000 people as part of the 1994 New York City Pride Parade, marking the 25th anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion.

Pre-Nazi Germany of the 1920's saw the modern world's first gay rights movement and the mergence of a visible lesbian and gay culture. In January 1933, only weeks after the Nazi party came to power, a law was passed banning all pro-gay organizations. On May 10, 1933, Hitler Youth staged the Nazis' first book burning, destroying the valuable collection contained in gay rights activist Magnus Hirschfield’s Institute of Sexual Science. Over 12,000 books, 35,000 pictures, and other materials were burned.

Men convicted under the German law known as Paragraph 175, which criminalized homosexual relations (including kissing and embracing), were sent to Nazi concentration camps. The Pink Triangle, now one of the most widely recognized symbols of the gay community, originated in these camps, where tens of thousands of gay men imprisoned during the Holocaust were forced to where the triangle so that they could be easily identified.

The Black Triangle is also rooted in Nazi Germany. Although lesbians were not included in the Paragraph 175 prohibition of homosexuality, there is evidence to indicate that the black triangle was used to designate prisoners with anti-social behavior. Considering that the Nazi idea of womanhood focused on children, kitchen, and church, black triangle prisoners may have included lesbians, prostitutes, women who refused to bear children, and women with other "anti-social" traits.

Jewish gay men were forced to wear a yellow triangle beneath the pink one. From this combination, the six-pointed Jewish Star of David was formed.
Lambda
This Greek letter was adopted by the Gay Activist Alliance in 1970 as a symbol of the gay movement. An ancient Greek regiment of warriors who carried a flag emblazoned with the lambda marched into battle with their male lovers. The group was noted for their fierceness and willingness to fight until death. It became the symbol of their growing movement of gay liberation.

In 1974, the Lambda was subsequently adopted by the International Gay Rights Congress held in Edinburgh, Scotland. As their symbol for lesbian and gay rights, the Lambda has become internationally popular.

Labrys
The Labrys, or double-bladed ax comes from the goddess Demeter (Artemis). It was originally used in battle by Scythian Amazon warriors. The Amazons ruled with a dual-queen system, and were known to be ferocious and merciless in battle, but just and fair once victorious. Rites associated with the worship of Demeter are believed to have involved lesbian sex. Today, the labrys has become a symbol of lesbian and feminist strength and self-sufficiency.

Transgender
Inspired by the gender symbols, the IFGE Logo is another symbol for transgendered peoples. The International Foundation for Gender Education is an educational and charitable organization addressing cross-dressing and transgender issues. One of the organizations logos, this symbol combines the lavender color and the pink triangle shape with a ring denoting various genders all fused into one.

Bisexual
These 2 triangles together have come to be known as a symbol for bisexual men and women.Freedom Rings
Freedom Rings, designed by David Spada with the Rainbow Flag in mind, are six colored aluminum rings. They have come to symbolize independence and tolerance of others. Freedom rings are frequently worn as necklaces, bracelets, rings, and key chains. Recently, Freedom Triangles have emerged as a popular alternative to the rings, though the meaning remains the same.

Bisexual moon symbol.

Gender Symbols

<<<<< gay liberation movements used the male and female symbols superimposed to represent the common goals of lesbians and gay men. These days, the superimposed symbols might also denote a heterosexual aware of the differences and diversity between men and women. A transgendered person might superimpose the male and female symbols in such a way that the arrow and cross join on the same single ring.

Two interlocking female symbols form a lesbian symbol

Two interlocking male symbols form a gay male symbol

On Halloween night (31 October),
1969, sixty members of the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) and the Society for Individual Rights (SIR) staged a protest at San Francisco's Examiner in response to another in a series of news articles disparaging LGBT people in San Francisco's gay bars and clubs. The "peaceful protest" against the "homophobic editorial policies" of the San Francisco Examiner turned "tumultuous" and was called "Friday of the Purple Hand" and "Bloody Friday of the Purple Hand".Examiner employees "dumped a bag of printers' ink from the third story window of the newspaper building onto the crowd".Some reports were that it was a barrel of ink poured from the roof of the building.The protestors "used the ink to scrawl "Gay Power" and other slogans on the building walls" and stamp purple hand prints "throughout downtown San Francisco" resulting in "one of the most visible demonstrations of gay power". “

At that point, the tactical squad arrived -- not to get the employees who dumped the ink, but to arrest the demonstrators who were the victims. The police could have surround the Examiner building...but, no, they went after the gays...Somebody could have been hurt if that ink had gotten into their eyes, but the police came racing in with their clubs swinging, knocking people to the ground. it was unbelievable.-- Larry LittleJohn, then president of SIR”
The accounts of police brutality include women being thrown to the ground and protester's teeth being knocked out.
Inspired by "Black Hand" (La Mano Nera in Italian) extortion methods of Camorra gangsters and the Mafia some activists attempted to institute "purple hand" as a gay and lesbian symbol as a warning to stop anti-gay attacks, with little success. In Turkey, the LGBT rights organization Purple Hand Eskişehir LGBT Formation (MorEl Eskişehir LGBTT Oluşumu), also bears the name of this symbol

Bisexual Flag
Bisexual Pride Flag The pink color represents sexual attraction to the same sex only (gay and lesbian); the blue represents sexual attraction to the opposite sex only (straight) and the resultant overlap color purple represents sexual attraction to both sexes (bi).

Red Ribbon
The Red Ribbon is a symbol of our concerns for our brothers and sisters afflicted with AIDs and HIV related disease. The wearing or displaying of the Red Ribbon also indicates our disgust and abject horror at the negligence of governments and health organizations to act promptly when this disease was first encountered in the early 80s.

'Gay rights' is abnormal

'Gay rights' is abnormal '
published: Wednesday June 4, 2008

The Editor, Sir:

It is my firm belief that there should not even be a debate on the subject on 'gay rights'. Homosexual rights should be no different from any other person's constitutional rights in this country. They should be treated in like manner save and except to promote the 'rights of 'gay'.
What is 'gay rights'? To have a law for same-sex marriage, to say that homosexuality is normal! How can that be! Homosexuality is not normal, it is very abnormal.

The male and female bodies are a perfect fit for pleasure and reproduction. That's the natural law of nature. Why should man go against the natural law? Not even the lower animals have these tendencies.

What is this 'gayrights' campaign?
So, whether homosexuality stems from a chemical imbalance, a brain malfunction, or plain perversion, it is still abnormal.How can you make that right? So what is this 'gay rights' campaign that is currently taking place all over the globe and now prevalent in Jamaica?
If you are abnormal and are homosexual, keep it to yourself and your partner. Don't flaunt something that is morally wrong and abnormal. We will not stand for it in this country. And so be it, Amen!

I am, etc.,
LUCI EMANUEL
luci_emanuel@hotmail

Tolerance (Sunday Herald Editorial June 1, 2008)

Stokeley Marshall

Minister Bruce Golding’s recent comments on homosexuality in the now famous BBC interview may never be forgotten. He stated in clear, unequivocal terms that whilst homosexuals may be in a future Jamaican Cabinet, it would not be in his.
I agree with the remark in principle. However, the manner and tone in which he made the comments reflected the age-old attitude of many Jamaicans who still tend to look down on homosexual acts as the worst vice. I do not think Jamaicans are really homophobic. What the average Jamaican does not approve of is the open expression of homosexuality.

There are homosexuals who live among us, in the inner-city and elsewhere. Others either work or have worked with us. This includes serving in government on both sides of the political fence. However, the message remains that whilst you may live and work among us, do not expect that your lifestyle will be accepted by mainstream society.
This is contrary to the dominant ethos in certain developed countries in the West. It is politically incorrect to be critical of homosexuality in England. Clearly England is not Jamaica. So while the Prime Minister’s comments resonate with the average Jamaican, they will find little fertile soil in Britain. Several years ago, our Sandals hotel chain learnt that the hard way when it was forcefully influenced to alter the message in its visitor policy that had stated, “heterosexuals only”. The right to privacy?Based on the Prime Minister’s comments on the BBC, he seemed to acknowledge that persons will continue to conduct their sexual relations in private and that in time, the Jamaican people could shift their thinking somewhat on how people may wish to live their lives.

This could provide an opening that in the future, once the Jamaican people decide to permit same sex relations, whether in public or private, then maybe there could be shifts in the government’s position on this matter. This would be in keeping with democratic ideals that espouse rule by the majority.
What the PM was clear on is that no overseas lobby group would impose its will on the majority of Jamaicans. I see nothing wrong with that. In fact, it shows strong and bold leadership in the face of strong overseas opposition. As to whether some agree with his stance is another matter.
On the issue of privacy, the existing Constitution has no right to privacy that would include the right of consenting adult homosexual males to engage in same sex relations. However, we have signed onto international agreements such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

In that agreement, the right to privacy has been interpreted in the well-known human rights decision in Toonen vs. Australia, to include adult male consensual homosexual relations. If our draft Charter of Rights, which includes that right, were passed into law, it could allow such sexual relations unless some special provision were made to exclude it.

However, merely qualifying the right to privacy may not preserve the heterosexual nature of our laws on sexual relations, because one cannot predict if a court (to include the Privy Council or the Caribbean Court of Justice) will uphold the exclusion of same sex relations. This potentially places pressure on our anti-buggery laws. So in my view, the Prime Minister’s respect for the privacy of persons, if made a right under the Charter, could (unknowing to him) challenge his BBC comment — “Not in mine” (Cabinet).Science and social policyI recall that during the 2007 election debates, the People’s National Party’s (PNP) Dr. Peter Phillips squared off with the Jamaica Labour Party’s (JLP) Dr. Kenneth Baugh. Dr. Phillips was asked a question on fundamental rights as they relate to homosexuality, and in response, he asserted that there is no fundamental right to engage in those acts, that is, homosexual acts (paraphrasing). However, Dr. Baugh made a remark that I think is often forgotten. He indicated that the matter includes a scientific side that requires examination.

In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association de-listed homosexuality from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. According to Wikipedia, this followed “controversy and protests” by homosexual activists at the association’s annual conferences from 1970—1973, as well as new material from researchers such as Alfred Kinsey and Evelyn Hooker. Their findings have been challenged and there has been furor that the de-listing was really political and not scientific.
In April 2008, prominent Spanish psychiatrist Enrique Rojas declared that 95 per cent of homosexuals became so inclined as a result of environmental factors, and that homosexuality is “a clinical process that has an etiology, pathogeny, treatment, and cure”. This places pressure on the view that homosexuality is innate and unchangeable, as is race.

Another noted psychiatrist, Dr. Robert Spitzer, who reportedly played a major role in the 1973 de-listing, stated a few years ago that based on a more recent study: “I thought that homosexual behaviour could be resisted, but sexual orientation could not be changed. I now believe that’s untrue — some people can and do change.”
In February 2008, Matt Foreman, then outgoing executive director of The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, challenged his own gay activist community by siding with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), pro-family organisations and a growing number of homosexual activists who have been willing to admit that homosexual behaviour is both extremely high-risk and primarily responsible for the spread of HIV/AIDS in the United States.

This is not a licence to beat homosexuals or push them out of their jobs. For the record, I wish to register my disgust at the beating of homosexuals and those who describe themselves as transgender persons (although I am of the view that such reports are exaggerated), as well as the general scornful manner that many are treated with in certain quarters, to include some churches. It is wrong for persons to be ill-treated and made to feel “less than” because of some deviation in their behaviour, particularly if it does not pose any instant threat to society.
Hopefully, such biases will stop and those who have strong moral convictions against homosexual behaviour will learn to still love the homosexual and try to encourage the desired behavioural change through love and moral suasion and not by physical force. A continuation of such force, even in the few cases, would set the stage for the acceptance of homosexuals by the force of legislation. Which do you prefer? That’s how I see it. See you on Sunday, June 15.

Stokeley Marshall is an attorney-at-law.

He may be reached at stokeleymarshall@gmail.com

Homophobic prejudice?, Letters of the Day

Homophobic prejudice?
Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Dear Editor,
In your editorial of May 26, you claim that the prime minister "got it right" with respect to his (reaffirmed) opposition to homosexuals serving in his Cabinet. With due respect, I think that both you and the prime minister got it entirely wrong.
Neither you nor the prime minister sees the fundamental folly of sexual orientation being a basis for excluding qualified Jamaicans from serving in the Cabinet. Given the prime minister's stance, what is to prevent other public sector executives from excluding qualified (but gay) Jamaicans from jobs in the public service or statutory corporations?

Like the prime minister, you justify discrimination against homosexuals on the basis of Jamaica's well-entrenched homophobic culture. Both you and the prime minister trot out this xenophobic mantra that Jamaica will not allow its values to be shaped by external pressures. This position appears to be grounded more in ignorance and prejudice than research and critical thinking.
A little research on your part might reveal that opposition to Jamaica's anti-gay culture is not primarily or solely the province of "external" pressure groups. There are Jamaicans (albeit a minority) who have consistently advocated that Jamaica's anti-homosexual culture violates fundamental human rights standards, such as the right to privacy and the right to equal treatment under the law.

Further, ultural exceptionalism does not exempt a state from its obligation to uphold international human rights. Accordingly, Jamaica's homophobic culture does not exempt it from respecting international human rights for all Jamaicans, regardless of sexual orientation. Jamaica is a voluntary member of the international human rights community, as exemplified by its ratification of certain international human rights instruments such as the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the American Convention on Human Rights. In light of this, what rational basis do you or the prime minister have for privileging Jamaica's homophobic culture over international human rights law?

So-called "external" lobby groups are more than entitled to demand that Jamaica lives up to its international obligations, in much the same way that Jamaica sought to "impose its values" on apartheid South Africa. Such a demand cannot be equated to "sullying Jamaica's name" or forcing acceptance of a gay lifestyle on Jamaica.

On pandering to prejudice, both you and the prime minister got it right. On promoting principle over prejudice, you both got it wrong.

O Hilaire Sobers
ohilaire@yahoo.com

Mr Golding did not get it right

Mr Golding did not get it right
Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Dear Editor,Your editorial of May 26, "Mr Golding got it right", is reprehensible. You fail to acknowledge that PM Golding's stance can do nothing but bolster the perpetrators of the very anti-gay violence that you claim to abhor. You also fail to recognise that this sort of stance, taken by the highest elected official in the land, can lead to further discrimination in the workplace and in public facilities. If the PM can discriminate against gays, why can't the rest of the society do the same?

No, Mr Editor, Mr Golding did not get it right, he got his priorities all mixed up. If this is the issue on which he wishes to spend his political capital, both in Jamaica and abroad, then he is not going to be able to achieve very much. There is a huge contradiction (which you also fail to point out), between the so-called softening of attitudes to gays that the PM spoke about in the BBC interview and his own hardened position. Where is the evidence of this softening, may I ask? Certainly not in the bellicose rantings heard on talk-radio, and not to mention the vulgarity that passes for discourse on the Internet.

Something that nobody has been able to explain to me is what necessitated the "no gays in my cabinet" statement in the first instance? Was he under some pressure from the dreaded "outside lobby groups" to include gays in his Cabinet? No, this is mere populism of the darkest kind and you, Mr Editor, have no business supporting it.
Contrary to what even some gays might say, homosexuality is not a privacy issue, about what two people of the same sex do behind closed doors. Most people keep their intimate sexual activities private, but heterosexuals proclaim their sexuality in public at every turn. Just watch a passa passa video, if you are unsure. Indeed, the issue revolves around the right of homosexuals to "come out", to be able to do the same things that heterosexuals are allowed to do in public, without the fear of verbal or physical abuse.

If you are seriously against anti-gay violence, and this is not just a byline that "decent" people use when promoting their homophobic views, you should be calling on the prime minister to proclaim unreservedly his opposition to such acts. There is no record of him having done this and it is unclear that he wishes to do so. Instead, he brings up red herrings such as gay marriage in an effort at obfuscation and just plain old deceit. Our elected officials have an obligation, not an option, to protect the rights of minorities, and remaining silent on the issue of anti-gay violence is tantamount to supporting it. In this respect, Jamaica has been horribly served by this and the previous government.

Delain Navin
Georgetown, Guyana
delain.navin@gmail.com

Psychiatric Disorders, Paraphilias and Sexual Disorders

Psychiatric Disorders, Paraphilias and Sexual Disorders
http://allpsych.com/disorders/paraphilias/index.html


Common Characteristics


Paraphilias all have in common distressing and repetitive sexual fantasies, urges, or behaviors. These fantasies, urges, or behaviors must occur for a significant period of time and must interfere with either satisfactory sexual relations or everyday functioning if the diagnosis is to be made. There is also a sense of distress within these individuals. In other words, they typically recognize the symptoms as negatively impacting their life but feel as if they are unable to control them.


Paedophilia


Etiology

A large percentage of individuals with this disorder were sexually abused as children, although the vast majority of adults who were abused do not develop pedophilia or pedophilic behaviors. There is also those who argue pedophilia results from feelings of inadequacy with same age peers, and therefore a transfer of sexual urges to children.

Symptoms

This disorder is characterized by either intense sexually arousing fantasies, urges, or behaviors involving sexual activity with a prepubescent child (typically age 13 or younger). To be considered for this diagnosis, the individual must be at least 16 years old and at least 5 years older than the child.

Treatment

Treatment typically involves intensive psychotherapy to work on deep rooted issues concerning sexuality, feelings of self, and often childhood abuse. Medical treatments such as ‘chemical castration’ (which is actually a hormone medication which reduces testosterone and therefore sexual urges) have been investigated with very mixed results.

Prognosis

Prognosis varies, although it is typically good if the individual has insight into his behaviors and his own childhood issues. Combined with an antisocial personality (which is usually what is seen on the news or in movies), however, treatment prognosis declines, sometimes significantly.

Other Disorders in this Category


Exhibitionism
Fetishism
Frotteurism
Pedophilia
Sexual Masochism
Sexual Sadism
Transvestic Fetishism
Voyeurism


Interesting readings, some points to consider as we debate the varying issues - Admin

Homosexuality removed from DSM (1973)

Homosexuality removed from DSM (1973)

In the late 1960s and early 1970s, activists campaigned against the DSM classification of homosexuality as a mental disorder, protesting at APA offices and at annual meetings from 1970 to 1973. In 1973 the Board of Trustees voted to remove homosexuality as a disorder category from the DSM, a decision ratified by a majority (58%) of the general APA membership the following year. A category of "sexual orientation disturbance" was introduced in its place in 1974, and then replaced in the 1980 DSM-III with ego-dystonic homosexuality. Controversy ensued when it was removed in 1987, going against the standard still used by the World Health Organization's ICD-10, the Chinese Classification and Diagnostic Criteria of Mental Disorders and the The Medical Council of India. There is also controversy regarding the new category of "sexual disorder not otherwise specified" which can include a state of distress about one's sexual orientation, as well as the diagnosis of "gender

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders - DSM

The DSM, including DSM-IV, is a registered trademark belonging to the American Psychiatric Association.[1] It has attracted controversy and criticism as well as praise. There have been five revisions of the DSM since it was first published in 1952. The last major revision was the DSM-IV published in 1994, although a "text revision" was produced in 2000. The DSM-V is currently in consultation, planning and preparation, due for publication in May 2012.[2] An early draft will be released for comment in 2009. [3] The mental disorders section of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) is another commonly-used guide, and the two classifications use the same diagnostic codes.