Do you think the Buggery Law should be?

The Safe House Homeless LGBTQ Project 2009 a detailed look & more


In response to numerous requests for more information on the defunct Safe House Pilot Project that was to address the growing numbers of displaced and homeless LGBTQ youth in Kingston in 2007/8/9, a review of the relevance of the project as a solution, the possible avoidance of present issues with some of its previous residents if it were kept open.
Recorded June 12, 2013; also see from the former Executive Director named in the podcast more background on the project: HERE also see the beginning of the issues from the closure of the project: The Quietus ……… The Safe House Project Closes and The Ultimatum on December 30, 2009

Friday, June 12, 2009

Flawed Sexual Offences Bill (Letter to The Gleaner Editor)

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Editor, Sir:

Unprotected heterosexual sex is the main route to HIV/AIDS transmission in the Caribbean, with unprotected homosexual sex a critical factor.

According to a 2007 report on HIV/AIDS in Jamaica, cultural factors are fuelling the epidemic in high-risk groups (prostitutes and men who have sex with men). In addition, a 2008 study commissioned by the Ministry of Health showed that about one-third of men who have sex with men were also having sex with multiple female partners.

Shortcomings in the laws
The Ministry of Health cannot now deliver services to these high-risk groups under current laws, let alone the even more stringent laws about to be introduced under the Sexual Offences Bill. For example, under this new bill:
A man who is convicted of buggery (having consensual anal sex with a man or a woman) may now be listed as a sex offender after his 10-year prison sentence ends.


A woman who is convicted of prostitution (having consensual commercial sex) may be fined up to $500,000 and be imprisoned for up to five years. Anyone who lives with a prostitute, or is seen in her company, can be arrested and suffer the same penalties as the prostitute.

It is certainly in our interest as a society to avoid introducing laws almost guaranteed to worsen a potential epidemic.

I am, etc.,
YVONNE MCCALLA SOBERS
sobersy@yahoo.com

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Speculation Over Lawyer's Death

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Since the discovery of the decomposing body of attorney-at-law Berriston 'Berry' Bryan at his Stony Hill, St Andrew, home on Monday, there have been unconfirmed claims that his demise was linked to the homosexual tapes that belonged to former trade ambassador Peter King.
While the St Andrew North police, who are investigating the matter, say they have not established any link between the lawyer's murder and the tapes, sources are claiming otherwise.


leaked by someone

Information reaching THE STAR is that certain individuals believed that the content of the tapes, which was reported by the media during the murder trial, was leaked by someone, possibly Bryan, who had viewed the tapes.

"They had to shut him up because nobody was sure if or when he would begin to name persons on those tapes," the sources said.

Bryan, who represented Sheldon Pusey, the man sentenced to 15 years for the 2006 murder of King, was among the few non-state individuals who had officially viewed the tapes taken from King's house.


460 videotapes

The viewing of the 460 videotapes by Bryan was done in his preparation for Pusey's defence.

They allegedly depicted persons from all sectors of Jamaican society carrying out homosexual activities. Since word of the tapes got out, there have been widespread speculations about the persons featured on it.

Bryan's body was found with multiple stab wounds and appeared to have been beaten with a blunt instrument.

OTHER BLOG POST

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Remembering Brian Williamson - September 4 1945 - June 9, 2004

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a special post outside of the October History month but relevant non the less


the good days with his dog Tessa at home

Brian Williamson (September 4 1945 - June 9, 2004) was a Jamaican Gay rights activist and co-founder of the Jamaican forum for lesbians and gays, J-Flag. He was known for personally housing and looking after gay people in Jamaica.


members of the public then were cheering his demise at some instances and singing anti gay songs as police process the crime scene then and his body was removed by the undertakers

He was murdered with a machete, suffering multiple stab wounds to neck and face.Williamson's confessed murderer, Dwight Hayden, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after fifteen years


Other posts and articles on Brian:







More related posts that named Brian: HERE


More from Gay Jamaica Watch: HERE


More from GLOBALGAYZ: HERE




Sadly missed

Peace

Monday, June 8, 2009

Musings: Re-ordering society by treaty

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6/7/2009

By Jeff Cumberbatch

WHETHER owed to our Judaeo-Christian background; our colonial status, which engendered a sometime legislative dependency on Britain; the popular will or, maybe, a combination of these, all sexual acts between males are criminalised under our law. Indeed, in 1992, when we enacted a new sexual offences statute, not only did we reiterate this illegality, but we also criminalised, perhaps inadvertently, identical acts between males and females, even if they are married, even if the acts are consensual, and even if they are committed in private. This anomaly remains.

Not that this is a universal position. England, from whom we would have taken our original legislation, has long ago changed its law to decriminalise sexual acts between males, provided the participants are above the age of consent, the act occurs in private and is consensual. And in the State of Texas, the US Supreme Court has struck down a statute which made it a crime for two persons of the same sex to engage in sexual practices common to a homosexual lifestyle, on the twin bases of the entitlement of such persons to respect for their privacy – “…it is a promise of the Constitution that there is a realm of personal liberty which the government may not enter…”; and their right to equal protection under the law – “…moral disapproval of a group cannot be a legitimate governmental interest under the Equal Protection clause because legal classifications must not be drawn for the purpose of disadvantaging the group burdened by the law…”

Indeed, several of our regional neighbours, who are similarly situated to us societally, have departed from our current stance. In the case of the Bahamas, by virtue of statute, intimate homosexual acts are only outlawed if one adult male has sexual intercourse with another male who is a minor or has sexual intercourse in a public place with another male whether with or without the consent of that other male. And in the British Overseas Territories, specifically Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat, the Turks and Caicos Islands and the British Virgin Islands, the Caribbean Territories (Criminal Law) Order 2000 issued by Her Majesty provides that notwithstanding any statutory or common law provision in Force in the Territory to the contrary, a homosexual act (defined as buggery or gross indecency between two males) in private shall not be an offence “provided that the parties consent thereto and have attained the age of eighteen years”.

Of course, these positions are not binding on Barbados and, as a sovereign jurisdiction, we are free to follow our own democratic sentiments in this regard; free, that is, to the extent that, in the exercise of that sovereignty, we have not bound ourselves by treaty to act in a prescribed manner. In recent times, we have encountered more than a few instances in which the local populist or statutory view clashes with the spirit or letter of our treaty obligations of one kind or another – the death penalty itself, its mandatory nature, the corporal punishment of prisoners, the corporal punishment of children, the provision of imprisonment for certain strikes under the Better Security Act – and unless we are prepared to withdraw from the specific treaty and the community of nations which endorse it, then we may be forced to change our laws in order to conform.

In this regard, Barbados ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) on March 23, 1976. This covenant provides, inter alia, for protection from discrimination on a variety of grounds; protection which Barbados, as a state party to the treaty, undertook to respect and to ensure to all individuals within its territories and subject to its jurisdiction. Now one of these grounds is sex, which ordinarily relates to distinction between male and female but, in 1994, the Human Rights Committee, charged with the interpretation of the Covenant, considered that the criminalisation of private sexual activity between consenting same-sex adults violated the anti-discrimination Articles of the Covenant, including that of discrimination on the basis of sex.

In a March 2007 report prepared by Global Rights and the International Human Rights Advocacy Seminar at the University of Virginia School of Law, which only recently became available online (http://www.globalrights.org/site/DocServer/Shadow_Report_Barbados.pdf?docID=9863) and which is provocatively entitled “Violation of the Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Persons in Barbados”, this country is excoriated for its non-compliance with the Articles of the ICCPR with respect to these individuals. There has not been, to put it mildly, an abundance of public comment on it, but this does not surprise.

The entire document repays reading, but what is intriguing to this writer is its position on same sex marriages and the law in Barbados. Conceding that the right to same-sex marriage is not officially recognised under the ICCPR, it nevertheless refers to the decision in Young v. Australia where the Human Rights Committee held that a failure of the state to grant de facto same-sex couples benefits available to de facto couples of opposite sexes violates Article 26 of the Treaty which guarantees to all persons equality and equal protection of the law without discrimination.

Given that under our Family Law Act, so called “common-law” unions, but only between a man and a woman, are recognised as “unions other than marriage” for certain purposes, the report argues that Barbados thereby provides against equal benefits for unmarried same-sex and heterosexual couples. In other words, we discriminate against same-sex unmarried couples by according different treatment to them from that accorded to heterosexual unmarried couples, based solely on their sex.

This argument appears irrefutable.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

OAS approves second resolution on “Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity”

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At its 39th General Assembly convened in San Pedro Sula , Honduras , from June 1 – 3, 2009 , the Organisation of American States (OAS) approved its second resolution on “Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity”.
This resolution is the result of the advocacy and coordination activities realized in the past three years by 24 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Travesti, Transgender, Transsexual and Intersex (LGBTTTI) groups of 17 countries forming a Coalition of Latin America and the Caribbean, that meets every year before the General Assembly to coordinate its advocacy work within the OAS.

  • RESOLUTION - AG/RES. 2504 (XXXIX-O/09)
    HUMAN RIGHTS, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, AND GENDER IDENTITY

    (Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 4, 2009)

    THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
    BEARING IN MIND resolution AG/RES. 2435 (XXXVIII-O/08), entitled “Human rights, sexual orientation, and gender identity”;

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

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

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

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

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

    NOTING WITH CONCERN acts of violence and related human rights violations perpetrated against individuals because of their sexual orientation and gender identity,


    RESOLVES:
    1. To condemn acts of violence and related human rights violations committed against individuals because of their sexual orientation and gender identity.


    2. To urge states to ensure that acts of violence and human rights violations committed against individuals because of sexual orientation and gender identity are investigated and their perpetrators brought to justice.


    3. To urge states to ensure adequate protection for human rights defenders who work on the issue of acts of violence and human rights violations committed against individuals because of sexual orientation and gender identity.


    4. To request the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the other organs of the inter-American system to continue to pay sufficient attention to this issue.


    5. To reiterate its request for the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs (CAJP) to include on its agenda, before the fortieth regular session of the General Assembly, the topic of “Human rights, sexual orientation, and gender identity.”


    6. To request the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at its fortieth regular session on the implementation of this resolution, the execution of which shall be subject to the availability of financial resources in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources.
    SAN PEDRO SULA DECLARATION OF THE COALITION OF LESBIANS, GAYS, BISEXUALS, TRAVESTI, TRANSSEXUALS, TRANSGENDERS AND INTERSEX OF THE AMERICAS.

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

    We, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Travesti, Transsexual, Transgender and Intersex organizations, convened in San Pedro Sula, Honduras on May 29, 30 and 31, 2009, in accordance with the directives established by the General Assembly of the OAS in its resolutions AG/RES.2092( XXXV-O/05) ; CP/RES.759(1217/ 99); 840(1361/03) ; AG/RES.1707( XXX-O/00) and AG/RES.1915( XXXIII-O/ 03), which determine a regulatory framework to enhance and strengthen civil society participation in OAS activities and in the Summit of the Americas process, highlighting the importance of the resolution AG/RES. 2435 (XXXVIII-O/08) , express our concern for the omission of the concept of gender identity and expression from paragraph 5 of the draft declaration of San Pedro Sula, which makes reference to violence generated by discrimination. Gender identity and expression of travestis, transgenders and transsexuals are fundamental elements of the exercise of our cultural freedom and self-construction.

    In the American hemisphere the atrocities committed have been documented over a decade. Several reports mostly drafted by non governmental organizations highlight the existence of countless extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detentions, tortures and killings as a consequence of the so-called “social cleansing” campaigns or by extermination groups, such as in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador.

    However, it should be noted that these identified forms of discriminatory acts and violence are the most evident and extreme kinds of rights violations, those which essentially affect the rights to life and personal integrity.

    These are not only limited to physical attacks, police mistreatment, abuse by authorities and hate crimes. Within families and the community, practices of private violence, like forced marriages, submission to stereotypes and gender roles that limit the free development of the personality and sexuality, forced segregation and torture in “rehabilitation” clinics, that often end with suicide. Violence within the judicial system, manifested by the legal process for sex and name change, implies humiliating clinical exams, forced surgery and mutilation.


    Being Afro-descendant, woman, indigenous, youth, migrant, elderly, or living with disability, among other reasons for marginalization, are factors that aggravate violence against individuals because of their sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.

    We believe it is fundamental that discrimination is combated with appropriate and effective legal instruments that moreover promote a culture of non violence.


    In this context we should draw attention to the situation in the eight English-speaking Caribbean countries that still keep in force the so-called “sodomy laws” which are used by the state, security forces and private actors to harass, intimidate and persecute us. These laws which have been consistently classified as human rights violations, create a climate of violence which has been identified by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights during their recent visit to Jamaica.

    The countless cases of killings, tortures, sexual violence, arbitrary detentions, public humiliations to which travesti, trangender, transsexual, lesbianas, gay, bisexuals and intersex people, as well as sex workers, are daily subjected in Central America and the Caribbean, and particularly in Honduras, perpetuate a context of hate and impunity with complete indifference by the state.

    For these reasons, we demand that States, and particularly the government of Honduras, to develop transparent and serious investigations that should take place with full respect for the law, as well as to severely punish those actors that commit felonies covered by impunity and moral values that feed and justify hate and prejudices.

    Therefore, we demand:

    That the OAS includes gender identity in its program on the right to identity in order to give States the possibility to develop the necessary legal framework to eliminate social exclusion through the legal recognition of trans persons.

    That member states of the English-speaking Caribbean repeal laws that criminalize sexual intercourse between consenting adults of the same sex and all other laws that limit the free development of personality or incite to social violence.

    That Member states commit to defining national comprehensive policies aimed at implementing good practices in all social, educational and professional contexts and the creation of bodies that monitor the existing situation on human rights violations.


    That the General Assembly approves the draft Resolution AG/doc. 4962/09 “Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity” presented by the Brazilian Delegation, whose initiative we fully endorse.


    That the General Assembly approves the draft Resolution AG/doc. 4959/09 “Draft Inter-American Convention against Racism and all Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance” and that Member States commit themselves to finalize the negotiation of the draft accepting the substantive progress achieved during the past years.


    Given this situation of war against our desire, our bodies and our identities, we advocate for a culture of peace.

    AIREANA - Camila Zabala – Paraguay, C TTT- Claudia Sosa - Honduras, COLECTIVA MUJER y SALUD, Julie Betances – República Dominicana, COMUNICACIÓN MUJER, Soledad Varela - Ecuador, CORPORACION OPCION, Diana Navarro - Colombia, ENTRE-TRANSITOS - Camilo Andrés Rojas - Colombia, GREEN CHOP - Kimany Parke - Grenada, HUMANA NACION TRANS-Hazel Gloria Davenport - México, IGLHRC-LAC - Marcelo Ferreyra – Argentina, INSTITUTO RUNA-Belissa Andia – Perú, LIDERES EN ACCION-Germán Rincón - Colombia, MEN UNITED - Keneth Van Emdem - Suriname, MULABI, ESPACIO LATINOAMERICANO EN SEXUALIDADES Y DERECHOS, Marina Bernal, México-Colombia, ORGANIZACIÓN DE TRANSEXUALES POR LA DIGNIDAD Andrés Rivera –Chile, RED AFRO LGBTI - Edmilson Medeiros BRASIL, RED J-FLAG - Maurice Tomilson – Jamaica, RED LACTRANS - Marcela Romero- Argentina, RED TRANS Nicaragua - Silvia Martínez – Nicaragua, SASOD- Namela Baynes Henry - Guyana,UNIBAM - Devon Gabourel - Belize, VELVET UNDERGROUND Angela Francis - Trinidad and Tobago.
    As a Coalition partner: Stefano Fabeni-Global Rights

Face of HIV/AIDS improves - health official

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There has been a significant shift in the face and image of HIV/AIDS in Jamaica from one of persons being ill, losing a lot of weight, and hardly being able to help themselves, to one of an image of being a regular Jamaican.

JAMAICA HAS come a far way as it relates to the treatment of persons living with HIV/AIDS, according to Dr Kevin Harvey, senior medical officer in the Ministry of Health's HIV/STI Control Programme.

Addressing a recent Gleaner Editor's Forum, Harvey disclosed that there had been significant gains in the last five years in the management and care of persons who are HIV-infected.

"We find that most people are willing to sit beside, hold hands, talk to, and even take care of somebody who is HIV-infected, particularly family members. This has been a significant shift we are seeing now," Harvey told the forum, which was held at the newspaper's, central Kingston head offices.

Harvey added: "We still have a challenge where persons refuse or have difficulties buying food or eating from somebody who they know to be HIV-infected; but they are more willing to allow their children to go to school with HIV-infected individuals and work alongside them."

Ministry of Health estimates indicate that of the 27,000 persons who are living with the disease, 18,000 are unaware of their status.

IMAGE SHIFT

Harvey said that there had also been a significant shift in the face and image of HIV/AIDS in Jamaica from one of persons being ill, losing a lot of weight, hardly being able to help themselves, to one of an image of being a regular Jamaican.

"We are saying you cannot tell by looking; anybody sitting beside you or working with you can be HIV-infected and you don't know," said Harvey.

He attributed this to the affordable treatments that were now available.

Harvey told the gathering that in 2003, it cost somewhere between $20,000 to $30,000 each month for anti-retroviral drugs.

Now, the most expensive regime costs approximately $9,000 per month, and is free in the public sector.

Harvey also revealed that the test to monitor persons who were HIV-infected had been reduced from $10,000 to $3,000.

Persons living with HIV are now living longer, Harvey also revealed. He said before the introduction of anti-retroviral drugs, the average life span after being diagnosed with the disease was one year.

"Now, we have people who are diagnosed with AIDS up to five years, and some people who have been on, before our major programme up to 14 years of anti-retroviral drugs and are living healthy, happy lives," Harvey reported.
Related Posts with Thumbnails

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Podcasts You may have missed or want to re-listen




A look at the fear of the feminine (Effemophobia) by Jamaican standards & how it drives the homo-negative perceptions/homophobia in Jamaican culture/national psyche.



and



After catching midway a radio discussion on the subject of Jamaica being labelled as homophobic I did a quick look at the long held belief in Jamaica by anti gay advocates, sections of media and homophobes that several murders of alleged gay victims are in fact 'crimes of passion' or have jealousy as their motives but it is not as simple or generalized as that.

Listen without prejudice to this and other podcasts on one of my Soundcloud channels

More uploads




Aphrodite’s PRIDE JA tackles gender identity, transgender misconceptions .....



Nationwide New Network, NNN devoted some forty five minutes of prime time yesterday evening to discuss the issue and help listeners to at least begin to process some of the information coming from the most public declaration exercise as done by Jenner. Guests on the show were Dr Karen Carpenter Board Certified Clinical Sexologist and Psychologist, ‘Satiba’ from Aphrodite’s P.R.I.D.E Jamaica of which I am affiliated and Lecturer (Sociologist) and host of Every Woman on the station Georgette Crawford Williams (sister of PNP member of parliament Damian Crawford); one of the first questions thrown at Satiba by host Cliff Hughes was why has Jenna waited so long at 65 years old to make such a life changing decision?

Satiba responded that many transwomen have to hide their true identity in life .... given her life when she was younger she was a star athlete she would have been under tremendous precious to stay in from the expectations by the public and her team etc, also owing to the fact that she had a family as a man with children one may not want to upset the flow at that time until the kids are old enough. There is a lot of burden of guilt that some persons carry in weighing the decisions of coming out or transitioning so suppression of one’s true self is the modus operandi.

Dr Carpenter cautioned after a heated exchange:

“We really must remember as professionals we must stay in our lane I will never pronounce as a Sociologist cause I am not a Sociologist ............When we have an opportunity to speak publicly we must be careful of what we say unless it is extremely well informed......”


Aphrodite's P.R.I.D.E Jamaica, APJ launched their website


Aphrodite's P.R.I.D.E Jamaica, APJ launched their website on December 1 2015 on World AIDS Day where they hosted a docu-film and after discussions on the film Human Vol 1






audience members interacting during a break in the event


film in progress

visit the new APJ website HERE

See posts on APJ's work: HERE (newer entries will appear first so scroll to see older ones)

Dr Shelly Ann Weeks on Homophobia - What are we afraid of?


Former host of Dr Sexy Live on Nationwide radio and Sexologist tackles in a simplistic but to the point style homophobia and asks the poignant question of the age, What really are we as a nation afraid of?


It seems like homosexuality is on everyone's tongue. From articles in the newspapers to countless news stories and commentaries, it seems like everyone is talking about the gays. Since Jamaica identifies as a Christian nation, the obvious thought about homosexuality is that it is wrong but only male homosexuality seems to influence the more passionate responses. It seems we are more open to accepting lesbianism but gay men are greeted with much disapproval.

Dancehall has certainly been very clear where it stands when it comes to this issue with various songs voicing clear condemnation of this lifestyle. Currently, quite a few artistes are facing continuous protests because of their anti-gay lyrics. Even the law makers are involved in the gayness as there have been several calls for the repeal of the buggery law. Recently Parliament announced plans to review the Sexual Offences Act which, I am sure, will no doubt address homosexuality.

Jamaica has been described as a homophobic nation. The question I want to ask is: What are we afraid of? There are usually many reasons why homosexuality is such a pain in the a@. Here are some of the more popular arguments MORE HERE

also see:
Dr Shelly Ann Weeks on Gender Identity & Sexual Orientation


Sexuality - What is yours?

Promised conscience vote was a fluke from the PNP ........



SO WE WERE DUPED EH? - the suggestion of a conscience vote on the buggery law as espoused by Prime Minister (then opposition leader) in the 2011 leadership debate preceding the last national elections was a dangling carrot for a dumb donkey to follow.

Many advocates and individuals interpreted Mrs Simpson Miller's pronouncements as a promise or a commitment to repeal or at least look at the archaic buggery law but I and a few others who spoke openly dismissed it all from day one as nothing more than hot air especially soon after in February member of parliament Damian Crawford poured cold water on the suggestion/promise and said it was not a priority as that time. and who seems to always open his mouth these days and revealing his thoughts that sometimes go against the administration's path.

I knew from then that as existed before even under the previous PM P. J. Patterson (often thought to be gay by the public) also danced around the issue as this could mean votes and loss of political power. Mrs Simpson Miller in the meantime was awarded a political consultants' democracy medal as their conference concludes in Antigua.


War of words between pro & anti gay activists on HIV matters .......... what hypocrisy is this?



War of words between pro & anti gay activists on HIV matters .......... what hypocrisy is this?

A war of words has ensued between gay lawyer (AIDSFREEWORLD) Maurice Tomlinson and anti gay activist Dr Wayne West (supposed in-laws of sorts) as both accuse each other of lying or being dishonest, when deception has been neatly employed every now and again by all concerned, here is the post from Dr West's blog

This is laughable to me in a sense as both gentleman have broken the ethical lines of advocacy respectively repeatedly especially on HIV/AIDS and on legal matters concerning LGBTQ issues

The evidence is overwhelming readers/listeners, you decide.


Fast forward 2015 and the exchanges continue in a post from Dr Wayne West: Maurice Tomlinson misrepresents my position on his face book page and Blog 76Crimes

Tomlinson's post originally was:






Urgent Need to discuss sex & sexuality II






Following a cowardly decision by the Minister(try) of Education to withdraw an all important Health Family Life, HFLE Manual on sex and sexuality

I examine the possible reasons why we have the homo-negative challenges on the backdrop of a missing multi-generational understanding of sexuality and the focus on sexual reproductive activity in the curriculum.

also see:

and





Calls for Tourism Boycotts are Nonsensical at This Time





(2014 protests New York)

Calling for boycotts by overseas based Jamaican advocates who for the most part are not in touch with our present realities in a real way and do not understand the implications of such calls can only seek to make matters worse than assisting in the struggle, we must learn from, the present economic climate of austerity & tense calm makes it even more sensible that persons be cautious, will these groups assist when there is fallout?, previous experiences from such calls made in 2008 and 2009 and the near diplomatic nightmare that missed us; especially owing to the fact that many of the victims used in the public advocacy of violence were not actual homophobic cases which just makes the ethics of advocacy far less credible than it ought to be.

See more explained HERE from a previous post following the Queen Ifrica matter and how it was mishandled

Newstalk 93FM's Issues On Fire: Polygamy Should Be Legalized In Jamaica 08.04.14



debate by hosts and UWI students on the weekly program Issues on Fire on legalizing polygamy with Jamaica's multiple partner cultural norms this debate is timely.

Also with recent public discourse on polyamorous relationships, threesomes (FAME FM Uncensored) and on social.

Some Popular Posts

Are you ready to fight for gay rights and freedoms?? (multiple answers are allowed)

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Blog Roll

What do you think is the most important area of HIV treatment research today?

Do you think Lesbians could use their tolerance advantage to help push for gay rights in Jamaica??

Violence & venom force gay Jamaicans to hide



a 2009 Word focus report where the history of the major explosion of homeless MSM occurred and references to the party DVD that was leaked to the bootleg market which exposed many unsuspecting patrons to the public (3:59), also the caustic remarks made by former member of Parliament in the then JLP administration.

The agencies at the time were also highlighted and the homo negative and homophobic violence met by ordinary Jamaican same gender loving men.

The late founder of the CVC, former ED of JASL and JFLAG Dr. Robert Carr was also interviewed.

At 4:42 that MSM was still homeless to 2012 but has managed to eek out a living but being ever so cautious as his face is recognizable from the exposed party DVD, he has been slowly making his way to recovery despite the very slow pace.

Thanks for your Donations

Hello readers,

Thank you for your donations via Paypal in helping to keep this blog going, my limited frontline community work, temporary shelter assistance at my home and related costs. Please continue to support me and my allies in this venture that has now become a full time activity. When I first started blogging in late 2007 it was just as a pass time to highlight GLBTQ issues in Jamaica under then JFLAG's blogspot page but now clearly there is a need for more forumatic activity which I want to continue to play my part while raising more real life issues pertinent to us.

Donations presently are accepted via Paypal where buttons are placed at points on this blog(immediately below, GLBTQJA (Blogspot), GLBTQJA (Wordpress) and the Gay Jamaica Watch's blog as well. If you wish to send donations otherwise please contact: glbtqjamaica@live.com or lgbtevent@gmail.com



Activities & Plans: ongoing and future
  • Work with other Non Governmental organizations old and new towards similar focus and objectives

  • To find common ground on issues affecting GLBTQ and straight friendly persons in Jamaica towards tolerance and harmony

  • Exposing homophobic activities and suggesting corrective solutions

  • Continuing discussion on issues affecting GLBTQ people in Jamaica and elsewhere

  • Welcoming, examining and implementing suggestions and ideas from you the viewing public

  • Present issues on HIV/AIDS related matters in a timely and accurate manner

  • Assist where possible victims of homophobic violence and abuse financially, temporary shelter(my home) and otherwise

  • Track human rights issues in general with a view to support for ALL
Thanks again for your support.

Tel: 1-876-841-2923




Peace

Information & Disclaimer


Individuals who are mentioned or whose photographs appear on this site are not necessarily Homosexual, HIV positive or have AIDS.

This blog contains pictures that may be disturbing. We have taken the liberty to present these images as evidence of the numerous accounts of homophobic violence meted out to alleged gays in Jamaica.

Faces and names withheld for the victims' protection.

This blog not only watches and covers LGBTQ issues in Jamaica and elsewhere but also general human rights and current affairs where applicable.

This blog contains HIV prevention messages that may not be appropriate for all audiences.

If you are not seeking such information or may be offended by such materials, please view labels, post list or exit.

Since HIV infection is spread primarily through sexual practices or by sharing needles, prevention messages and programs may address these topics.

This blog is not designed to provide medical care, if you are ill, please seek medical advice from a licensed practitioner

Thanks so much for your kind donations and thoughts.

As for some posts, they contain enclosure links to articles, blogs and or sites for your perusal, use the snapshot feature to preview by pointing the cursor at the item(s) of interest. Such item(s) have a small white dialogue box icon appearing to their top right hand side.

Recent Homophobic Cases

CLICK HERE for related posts/labels and HERE from the gayjamaicawatch's BLOG containing information I am aware of. If you know of any such reports or incidents please contact lgbtevent@gmail.com or call 1-876-841-2923

Peace to you and be safe out there.

Love.


What to do if you are attacked (News You Can Use)


First, be calm: Do not panic; it may be very difficult to maintain composure if attacked but this is important.

Try to reason with the attacker: Establish communication with the person. This takes a lot of courage. However, a conversation may change the intention of an attacker.

Do not try anything foolish: If you know outmaneuvering the attacker is impossible, do not try it.

Do not appear to be afraid: Look the attacker in the eye and demonstrate that you are not fearful.

This may have a psychological effect on the individual.

Emergency numbers

The police 119

Kingfish 811

Crime Stop 311

Steps to Take When Contronted or Arrested by Police


a) Ask to see a lawyer or Duty Council

b) Only give name and address and no other information until a lawyer is present to assist

c) Try to be polite even if the scenario is tensed) Don’t do anything to aggravate the situation

e) Every complaint lodged at a police station should be filed and a receipt produced, this is not a legal requirement but an administrative one for the police to track reports

f) Never sign to a statement other than the one produced by you in the presence of the officer(s)

g) Try to capture a recording of the exchange or incident or call someone so they can hear what occurs, place on speed dial important numbers or text someone as soon as possible

h) File a civil suit if you feel your rights have been violated. When making a statement to the police have all or most of the facts and details together for e.g. "a car" vs. "the car" represents two different descriptions

j) Avoid having the police writing the statement on your behalf except incases of injuries, make sure what you want to say is recorded carefully, ask for a copy if it means that you have to return for it

What to do


a. Make a phone call: to a lawyer or relative or anyone

b. Ask to see a lawyer immediately: if you don’t have the money ask for a Duty Council

c. A Duty Council is a lawyer provided by the state

d. Talk to a lawyer before you talk to the police

e. Tell your lawyer if anyone hits you and identify who did so by name and number

f. Give no explanations excuses or stories: you can make your defense later in court based on what you and your lawyer decided

g. Ask the sub officer in charge of the station to grant bail once you are charged with an offence

h. Ask to be taken before a justice of The Peace immediately if the sub officer refuses you bail

i. Demand to be brought before a Resident Magistrate and have your lawyer ask the judge for bail

j. Ask that any property taken from you be listed and sealed in your presence

Cases of Assault:An assault is an apprehension that someone is about to hit you

The following may apply:

1) Call 119 or go to the station or the police arrives depending on the severity of the injuries

2) The report must be about the incident as it happened, once the report is admitted as evidence it becomes the basis for the trial

3) Critical evidence must be gathered as to the injuries received which may include a Doctor’s report of the injuries.

4) The description must be clearly stated; describing injuries directly and identifying them clearly, show the doctor the injuries clearly upon the visit it must be able to stand up under cross examination in court.

5) Misguided evidence threatens the credibility of the witness during a trial; avoid the questioning of the witnesses credibility, the tribunal of fact must be able to rely on the witness’s word in presenting evidence

6) The court is guided by credible evidence on which it will make it’s finding of facts

7) Bolster the credibility of a case by a report from an independent disinterested party.

Sexual Health / STDs News From Medical News Today

VACANT AT LAST! SHOEMAKERGULLY: DISPLACED MSM/TRANS PERSONS WERE IS CLEARED DECEMBER 2014





CVM TV carried a raid and subsequent temporary blockade exercise of the Shoemaker Gully in the New Kingston district as the authorities respond to the bad eggs in the group of homeless/displaced or idling MSM/Trans persons who loiter there for years.

Question is what will happen to the population now as they struggle for a roof over their heads and food etc. The Superintendent who proposed a shelter idea (that seemingly has been ignored by JFLAG et al) was the one who led the raid/eviction.

Also see:
the CVM NEWS Story HERE on the eviction/raid taken by the police

also see a flashback to some of the troubling issues with the populations and the descending relationships between JASL, JFLAG and the displaced/homeless GBT youth in New Kingston: Rowdy Gays Strike - J-FLAG Abandons Raucous Homosexuals Misbehaving In New Kingston

also see all the posts in chronological order by date from Gay Jamaica Watch HERE and GLBTQ Jamaica HERE

GLBTQJA (Blogger): HERE

see previous entries on LGBT Homelessness from the Wordpress Blog HERE

May 22, 2015 update, see: MP Seeks Solutions For Homeless Gay Youth In New Kingston



THE BEST OF & Recommended Audioposts/Podcasts


THE BEST OF & Recommended Audioposts/Podcasts 




The Prime Minister (Golding) on Same Sex Marriages and the Charter of Rights Debate (2009)


Other sides to the msm homeless saga (2012)


Rowdy Gays Matter 21.08.11 more HERE



Ethical Professionlism & LGBT Advocates 01.02.12 more HERE


Portia Simpson Miller - SIMPSON MILLER DEFENDS GAY COMMENT 23.12.11


2 SGL Women lost, corrective rape and virtual silence from the male dominated advocacy structure


Al Miller on UK Aid & The Abnormality of Homosexuality 19.11.11


Homosexuality is Not Illegal in Jamaica .... Buggery is despite the persons gender 12.11.11 MORE HERE 


MSM Homelessness 2011 ...my two cents


Black Friday for Gays in Jamaica More HERE


Bi-phobia by default from supposed LGBT advocate structures?


Homeless MSMs Saga Timeline 28.08.11 (HOT!!!) see more HERE


A Response to Al Miller's Abnormality of Homosexuality statement 19.11.11


UK/commonwealth Aid Matter & The New Developments, no aid cuts but redirecting, ethical problems on our part - 22.11.11


Homophobic Killings versus Non Homophobic Killings 12.07.12


Big Lies, Crisis Archiving & More MSM Homlessness Issues 12.07.12


More MSM Challenges July 2012 more sounds HERE


GLBTQ Jamaica 2011 Summary 02.01.12 more HERE


Homosexuality Destroying the Family? .............. I Think Not!


Lesbian issues left out of the Jamaican advocacy thrust until now?


Club Heavens The Rebirth 12.02.12 and more HERE


Should gov't provide shelter for homeless msm?


National attitudes to gays survey shows 78% of J'cans say NO to buggery repeal


1st Anniversary of Homeless MSM civil disobedience (Aug 23/4) 2012 more HERE


JFLAG's rejection of rowdy homeless msms & the Sept 21st standoff .........


Atheism & Secularism may cloud the struggle for lgbt rights in Jamaica more HERE


Urgent Need to discuss sex & sexuality II and more HERE


MSM Community Displacement Concerns October 2012


The UTECH abuse & related issues


Beenieman's hypocrisy & his fake apology in his own words and more HERE


Guarded about JFLAG's Homeless shelter


Homophobia & homelessness matters for November 2012 ................


Cabinet delays buggery review, says it's not a priority & more ...........................(November 2012) prior to the announcement of the review in parliament in June 2013 More sounds HERE


"Dutty Mind" used in Patois Bible to describe homosexuals


Homeless impatient with agencies over slow progress for promised shelter 2012 More HERE


George Davis Live - Dr Wayne West & Carole Narcisse on JCHS' illogical fear


Homeless MSM Issues in New Kgn Jan 2013 .......


Homeless MSM challenges in Jamaica February 2013 more HERE


JFLAG Excludes Homeless MSM from IDAHOT Symposium on Homelessness 2013


Poor leadership & dithering are reasons for JFLAG & Jamaica AIDS Support’s temporary homelessness May 2013 more HERE


Response To Flagging a Dead Horse Free Speech & Gay Rights 10.06.13