Jamaican TV Stations TVJ and CVM Sued for Not Airing Ad Promoting Tolerance Towards Homosexuals

by Dionne Jackson Miller

Attorney-at-law Maurice Tomlinson has filed suit in the Supreme Court against Jamaican free-to-air television stations TVJ (the 1st Defendant) and CVM (the 2nd Defendant), claiming breach of his constitutional rights for refusing to air a Public Service Announcement (PSA) promoting tolerance towards homosexuals. He has asked the court to make declarations stating that by refusing to air the PSA the stations breached his constitutional rights. He is also asking the court to order the stations to air the ad, and has asked for damages.

This case, if it goes forward, will be an important test of the new Charter of Rights, and could be a significant test case for freedom of expression and the gay rights lobby.

In his court papers, Mr. Tomlinson says that homophobic laws, policies and attitudes throughout the region discourage homosexuals from seeking effective HIV prevention support and treatment.

Against that background, the PSA, dubbed “Love and Respect PA,” is said to be part of a campaign to promote tolerance for Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) and homosexuals. The 30-second ad is described as depicting a man and his aunt, in which the man (played by Mr. Tomlinson) tells his aunt that he continues to try “to get Jamaicans to respect (his) human rights as a gay man.” The aunt tells the man that she loves him even though she does not know why he is gay.

The sections of the Charter of Rights on which Mr. Tomlinson is relying are as follows:

s. 13 (1) (c ) which states that all persons are under a responsibility to respect and uphold the rights of others recognized in this Chapter;

s. 13 (5) which states that the Charter binds natural or juristic persons if, and to the extent that, it is applicable, taking account of the nature of the right and the nature of any duty imposed by the right;

s. 13 (c) which sets out the right to freedom of expression;

s. 13 (d) which sets out the right to seek, receive, distribute or disseminate information, opinions and ideas through any media.

Photo by www.freedigitalphotos.net

The Claimant says that under the Charter, private entities as well as government have an obligation to protect the constitutional rights of citizens. He says TVJ and CVM therefore had a duty to respect his rights to freedom of expression and to seek, receive, distribute or disseminate information, opinions and ideas. He states that the companies should have aired the ad because:

airing a paid advertisement with public interest content can be described as a public function;
the broadcasting licences which the state granted to the companies place an obligation on them to operate in the public interest;

it is in the public interest that MSM are free to receive and distribute information to enhance public awareness about homosexuality and the national HIV response;

TVJ and CVM operate Jamaica’s major TV stations, and therefore have “immense power over the information, opinion and ideas that are disseminated and distributed to the public;”

free speech is guaranteed not only to media owners and workers but also to members of the public who wish to use the media to share their views,

the constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech can be enforced against private media owners since they control mass media and provide a service under a government license.

Mr. Tomlinson says there was no justification for refusing to air the ad as the Broadcasting Commission had stated in writing that the ad did not breach any broadcasting regulations. By not airing the PSA, therefore, he says that the stations abused their “power over the dissemination and distribution of ideas and opinions via television.”

ENDS

NB: Miss Jackson is employed to the the TVJ or RJR Communications group.

Here is the video:

Like its predecessor the quality of the video in my eyes would not qualify to be run on a television station, also see Big Blow to JFLAG ad from August 2011

Here is an older audio/podcast I had done that time as well:

here is the older ad which was far better in production value.

Here is the second problematic ad with the "High Coloured" folks who many LGBTians rejected as spokespersons supposedly on our behalf.

You decide

Meanwhile AIDSFREEWORLD cries fowl but why are they taking on this and where is JFLAG are some of the questions being asked as this unexpected ball from left field now comes, some say it's a diversion from the homeless msms issues, I tend to agree as the men are still out on the streets despite a recent media interview saying a shelter will be open. 

AFW claims the following:

Crippling homophobia drives gay Jamaicans underground, away from HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support interventions. It also prevents the government from properly targeting HIV services to the population most at risk. This contributes to a vastly disproportionate HIV prevalence among Jamaican men who have sex with men (MSM) of 32.9% as against 1.6% in the general population. An effective way to end homophobia is to provide positive images of Jamaican MSM in national media. AIDS-Free World therefore produced an advertisement aimed at increasing tolerance for Jamaican MSM, however the two major television stations have effectively refused to air it. By supporting this case AIDS-Free World will demonstrate how to respond creatively to debilitating homophobia and help to end the stigmatization and discrimination against gays which contribute to the HIV epidemic.

see more HERE

I say BULLSHIT if JFLAG, Jamaica AIDS Support through its GLABCOM(gay, lesbian, bisexual community) programs and others were doing their work over the 14+ years on the ground, listening to the various committees set up that dealt with among other things homelessness and providing leadership we would not be here today, Mr Tomlinson was once a board member of Jamaica AIDS Support for Life the once leading private entity reaching MSMs and others now it has been relegated to a mere struggling NGO hobbling behind the ministry of health's HIV programs as funded by Global Fund while he attached himself to foreign groups, MSMs are also now being reached by some four other non LGBT agencies I might add with HIV prevention as part of their outreach yet AFW continues to use old programmatic narratives to make itself relevant when the legal advisor himself does not reside here nor is he in actual touch which these said marginalized men on whose behalf of which he so eloquently writes and speaks. 

This is NOT the first time we have seen Mr Tomlinson using old programmatic language to try to justify things, this newcast on CVM TV in August of the eviction of the homeless men from Cargill Ave had condoms displayed by the movers at 1:06 yet in a subsequent interview on the same station after he said gay men do not have access to condoms, so how did these men get condoms eh?
check this podcast for more:

Hypocrisy here folks and "activists" as it were filling the vaccuum left by a sadly gullible LGBT community who may not speak out directly on issues and who fall for hero worship of narcissistic individuals.

also see from last year: Jamaicans weigh in on rejection of gay ad ......

In the previous ad fiasco unsolicited advise was given from an expert from the Caribbean Institute of media and Communication, CARIMAC 

in the form of Dr Livingston White and also a representative from Women's Media Watch, see Settle the Score on CVM TV's Live @ 7 (26.08.11)...the JFLAG ad campaign

Also hear my commentary on recent disturbing displacements etc:

Peace and tolerance

H