Amnesty International Report - Jamaica 2016/7

Unlawful killings and extrajudicial executions continued. Violence against women and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people persisted. Children continued to be detained in violation of international standards.

Background

In February, the Jamaica Labour Party won the general election and Andrew Holness became Prime Minister.

Despite committing to the establishment of a national human rights institution, Jamaica had not established the mechanism by the end of the year.

Jamaica continued to have one of the highest homicide rates in the Americas.

Police and security forces

In June, a Commission of Enquiry published its much-anticipated report into the events that took place in Western Kingston during the state of emergency, declared on 23 May 2010, which left at least 69 people dead. Almost 900 pages long, the report identified a number of cases of possible extrajudicial execution and produced a number of important recommendations for police reform.1

In an official response, the Jamaica Constabulary Force accepted a number of recommendations, such as committing to hold administrative reviews into the conduct of officers named in the Commissioners’ report. However, the police continued to refuse to accept any responsibility for human rights violations or extrajudicial executions during the state of emergency. By the end of the year, the government had still not officially indicated how it would implement the recommendations of the Commissioners.

While the number of killings by police have significantly reduced in recent years, 111 people were killed by law enforcement officials in 2016, compared with 101 in 2015. Women whose relatives were killed by police, and their families, experienced pervasive police harassment and intimidation, and faced multiple barriers to accessing justice, truth and reparation.

Violence against women and girls

According to local NGOs, national legislation to address violence against women remained inadequate. For example, the Sexual Offences Act continued to narrowly define rape as non-consensual penile penetration of a woman’s vagina by a man, and to protect against marital rape in certain circumstances only. By December, over 470 women and girls had reported rape during the year, according to the police.

Criminalization of women engaged in sex work continued to place them at risk of discrimination, arbitrary arrest and violence by the police.2

Children’s rights

The NGO Jamaicans for Justice reported that children were still being detained in police lockups for being “uncontrollable”, often for illegal periods and in inhumane conditions.

Rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people

There remained no legal protection against discrimination based on real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. Young LGBTI people continued to face bullying and harassment in the absence of legal protection. Consensual sex between men remained criminalized.

Between January and June, 23 people reported to the LGBTI rights NGO J-FLAG that they had been physically assaulted or attacked because of their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.

A survey published by J-FLAG found deeply homophobic attitudes. For example, only 36% of Jamaicans surveyed said they would allow their gay child to continue to live at home. Almost 60% of respondents said they would harm an LGBTI person who approached them.

In June, the Attorney General used social media to criticize the US Embassy for flying a Pride flag after the killings of LGBTI people in a nightclub in Orlando, USA.

In August, for the second year in a row, J-FLAG held activities to celebrate Pride Week.

International Justice

Jamaica again failed to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, signed in September 2000, nor had it adhered to the UN Convention against Torture or the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

Jamaica: State of Emergency 2010 – ten things the government must learn, and ten things it must do (AMR 38/4337/2016)

"I feel scared all the time": A Jamaican sex worker tells her story (News story 27 May 2016)

Human Rights Day ......

Here we are again this old familiar place on what is the annual International Human Rights Day and while the original egis of the recognition was made on credible aspirational terms towards a better world it seems that over several years since the world has turned to something else, counter to the objectives set out. We have a Syrian crisis festering right before our eyes, groups and advocates clashing over which rights should be prioritised or are morally acceptable, our least amongst us especially homeless persons on the MSM/transgender front are essentially left out in the cold by the very bureaucrats who claim to represent them but the populations are easily found and made use of for statistics especially in the department of HIV and such yet they are left alone no sooner after the results come to hand alongside the insulting tokenism that is often parading as legitimate answers.

So the main question is whose human rights really? 

recent Jamaica Observer Clovis toon as the debate continues on ganja rights/decriminalization also see: Tolerance, when, has the oppressed become the oppressor? 2009

We have a United Nations that seems near impotent if not just ceremonial on many issues including the refugee crisis madness in places like Greece, Germany, France, Austria and so on and yet as people flee mostly for genuine reasons very little help seems to come their way. Right wingers in the same breath are out in earnest now playing on the fears of sometimes ignorant populations who feel their peaceful countries or existence are being turned upside down with ‘foreigners’ disrupting their way of life but where is the human rights for the genuinely fleeing folks? It has become a political football for example in Germany’s upcoming elections or in France where there is an election to win and juxtapositions or populism seem to be making the fleeing refugees and their rights or protections shafted.

another Clovis toon in the wake of the controversy surrounding a US embassy tweet & a phone company, the old misconceptions on US/foreign impositions on us continue.

That recent telephone directory cover controversy as caused by the hypocritical antigay group Jamaica Coalition for a Healthy Society, JCHS is one such matter that shows us on the human rights front we are eons away from just true tolerance as the so called moral police who think they can impose on everybody else their views. No theocracy ‘round here is the loud rebuttal. Gay rights in the JCHS’ eyes are seen as a fallacy as they prey on yet again the ignorance of the masses sadly which includes clergy, theologians, lawyers and pastors with a gullible congregant populations. The fearmongering is palpable and is so easily done without fail by voices such as Dr Wayne West with obsequious servants who can’t think to save their own lives. Only so called pressured Christian groups or voices matter as some invisible hand somewhere is intent on silencing them they claim because they oppose for the most part homosexuality yet near silent on every other atrocity out there; that old victimhood card. The sad part is that honest, forward thinking and balanced/tolerance Christians or church body are batched as crackpots due to these fanatics.

Meanwhile ho is really standing up for the children these days?

It is disturbing to watch the news cast on television at a certain part of the presentation as a list of missing kids is shown and we wonder, yet groups find time for phonebook covers, homosexuals and buggery law but are all but blind to the things that sit right before our eyes on a daily basis. Some voices who have been championing children’s causes have simply stopped as they feel the thing looks hopeless as slow action from the state is a turn off, while the ones who are active continue to incorporate an old conflation of paedophila, homosexuality, crimes of passions beliefs and a so called gay agenda in their advocacy, case in point Betty Ann Blaine; which gives further strength to the fearmongering imperative as the key strategy y said groups. While I support the thrust for the rights of children to do so by ostracising others who one does not like or misunderstand is not the way to do so. The awful Ananda Dean murder and its unsolved case file status so many years ago is one of those cases that brought persons such as Blaine to prominence and who had mass support but as of late the support has waned somewhat as she shows her colours. Hope she does well at the upcoming Global Missing Children Conference and not let her antigay sentiments cloud her judgement.

We recently recognised the day of the girl child in a bid to raise awareness of girls their issues and abuse to include sexual abuse yet only days ago we had that awful report of a 14 year old rape victim in St Catherine was forced to ride in the very car of the police to the precinct alongside the very perpetrators; to be asked to relive the ordeal like that in the face of supposed enlightenment and training of cops but practice of what is taught is another matter. That other matter where the police spent the better part of eight plus hours at a crime scene of a murder of a teen arguing who has jurisdiction over the matter is another one that shows up the cracks in our justice system and rights. To have the family standing their already in their grief to look on helplessly on a body and to be told by the cops who arrived they cannot handle it is plain absurd, then why did they arrive in the first place then if when 119 or 911 told them the location they should spared the family the grief by telling 911/119 to find another team. Who cares about anything anymore these days? Then we wonder why vigilante justice is seen more and more as a credible option in the eyes of some? Call a ‘shotta’ perhaps; maybe in the eight hours of waiting maybe something would have been done already, at least a plot to find the bastards or best someone’s head back get lick out. Sigh! Of course the illegality of it makes it problematic plus persons who go that route never actually stop paying these men as they when broke simply find you and ask if not demand money on the strength of the secret.

We have CISOCA, Children’s Advocate & Office of the Children’s Registry and a myriad of child rights groups yet we are bombarded with child abuse stories and crimes as the adults continue to quarrel with them living in a world they did not make. Similar to the nonsense about having the most churches per square miles yet per square inch or towns and nation has crime and destitution spreads like an infection while only a few enjoy wealth and privilege. Yet again the refrain the more things change the more they stay the same is appropriate; we ought to have way better improvements and a reduction in atrocities yet things are going in the opposite direction. There must come a point when enough is enough. Oh the monotony. The few things that do work are often not replicated or starved of resources to make them expand with little interest.

Women’s rights seem in stagnation these days with pretty announcements as usual from gender specialists and ministers of government, I have announcement-itis these days, lofty aspirational goes yet blah! Where is that sexual harassment bill that has been sitting on the order paper of the house for so long? Where is the real equality in terms of equal pay or breaking the proverbial glass ceiling? The week of day for recognising violence against women is here again and after the hash tags, social media awareness, what’s next, back to normal, especially the more impacted persons I suspect do not even visit the pages or have a smart phone for that matter. The grand partnership signing on Wednesday December 7 yet another event for smiles for the camera for social pages and media moment with a who’s who of rights personalities, politicians and such as the opposition was missing in a huff following their parliament walk out the day before as they are upset at their election loss on both fronts local and national while complaining about the name change of the partnership as if any party has copyright over words such as “progress”, semantics! I tell you so even in the signing moment the greater idealistic concern for rights and harmony is killed off in a sense and rights linked therein are overlooked. The PNP has convenient amnesia when they made name changes prior; remember the tagline in 2002 “Log on to Progress” subsequently renamed afterwards and then the 2011 partnership signing. The delivery on these partnerships or the lack thereof is the elephant in the room where rights are also directly intertwined. Whatever the thing is named and by whom just get the job done.

Who is really representing certain other issues such as continued HIV discrimination or persons with disabilities apart from the small genuinely concerned groups who are trying their utmost best as lolly voices in the wilderness; as disabilities awareness weeks ends the Executive Director of Disabilities Association of Jamaica lamented on a radio interview that society seems to have lost something as an uncaring nature is here with us again. She and others cite the public transportation complaints, access to thoroughfare, inability by some to pursue tertiary education namely the hearing impaired as institutions have no sign language capacities to disseminate the courses. World AIDS Day just ended and amidst the elegant presentations, radio interviews, online and social media runs were on the up and up but as the hype cools down the issues raised are still there even after so called improvements, it makes one start to wonder what is the point of it is all then? Itty bitty achievements are not enough in my eyes, ARVs for example are cheaper and supposedly more readily available yet shortages interrupt persons’ adherence schedules, or persons forced to travel long distances out of parish to wait in long lines for prescriptions to be filled while a plethora of groups break out like an infection mostly on social media and not actually in the real world engaging real people.

The Public Defender for example seems like many other outfits that need resources are lacking in them if not deliberately starved and rights get caught up in that as well, apart from the pursuit for natural justice for aggrieved persons the office is swamped with complaints from the public seeking redress for rights breaches by agents of the state or government and the cases linger, yet in the midst of it all we hear of flowery aspirational goals of Human Rights Institutes and training which all sound so up in the air yet somehow cannot materialise. The previous administration launched the thrust for the institute but it seemed stuck in the quicksand somewhere and if it dares wiggle or too much is said on it, it may very well get swallowed up as other matters take precedence. The Human Rights for All campaign seems to be more about cake cutting events and experts meeting for shindigs than about actual reaching a way larger percentage of real people.

The Independent Commission, INDECOM standoff with the police high command and by extension the Director of Public Prosecution, DPP only serves to obscure the processes of Justice, clearly some police have not unlearnt the old ways or the ‘squaddie’ mentality yet people who want to be honest are exposed by the very same shady cops in the system and then made to be targeted as informers in their communities so people see wrongs and simply shut up. When family members of victims who speak out but who are harassed by the very police who did the harm in the first place it leaves one wondering yet again what is the point of it all? Groups such as Jamaicans for Justice have been at it on a stretch and yet the more things change the more they stay the same. Honest police are afraid to speak out openly as repercussions can apply, that video episode with an alleged police man living aboard brought that front and center; albeit so many years after the particular issue he was passionate about, whether he was truthful is one thing but to release such a footage warrants serious contemplation.

How do persons can get motivated to stand up?

The fight continues no doubt but the cloudiness that impedes it is of concern.

Peace & tolerance

H

also see:

Human Rights Day: LGBT Stand in the morning, theocratic concert in the evening 

Human Rights Day 2012 ....... My Voice, My Right, My Voice Counts

Protect & Promote Human Rights, Economic and Social Justice for All Jamaicans Petition

sign the petition Here

The Road Towards Sustainable Development: A National Focus on Human Rights, Economic and Social Justice

Equality, justice, and protection are essential to growth and development; Jamaica’s National Development Plan (Vision 2030) was developed on this premise. The Plan recognizes the importance of inclusion given our diversity as a people has been dubbed by said Plan as one of our national strengths. We live in a Jamaica that is affected by economic and social injustices, where there is inadequate protection for the rights of all people without prejudice and discrimination, regardless of economic status, religion, gender identity, place of origin, sex and sexual orientation, ability, age, health or any other status. We also live in a society where there is inadequate protection for the environment on which we depend for sustenance.

J-FLAG is therefore calling on the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and People’s National Party (PNP) to consider the following human rights, economic and social justice issues as critical matters that must be addressed by the next government as part of efforts to achieve Vision 2030.
Empower People with Disability (PWD) to Achieve Their Fullest Potential and Fully Contribute to and Benefit from Jamaica’s Development in accordance with Vision 2030 Goal 1, Outcome 2 and Social Development Goals 1, 3, 4, & 8
Enhance the Lives of Retired Persons, the Elderly and their Families in accordance with Vision 2030 Goal 1, Outcomes 1 & 3 and Social Development Goals 1 & 3

Reduce Stigma and Discrimination and Protect and Promote the Rights of the Most Vulnerable and Marginalized within the Jamaican Society in accordance with Vision 2030 Goal 2, Outcomes 5 & 6 and Social Development Goals 5, 8, 10 & 11

Reduce the Number of Children and Youth Living and Working on the Streets by Half in accordance with Vision 2030 Goal 1, Outcome 3 and Goal 2, Outcome 5 and Social Development Goals 1 & 3

Reduce Income Inequality and Secure Economic Justice for All Jamaicans in accordance with Vision 2030 Goal 1, Outcome 3 and Social Development Goals 1, 5, 8 & 10
Protect the Rights of Children, Youth and Adults who Come in Conflict with the Law in accordance with Vision 2030 Goal 2, Outcome 5 and Social Development Goal 16
Address Homelessness and Protect the Rights and Well-Being of People who are Displaced and Homeless in accordance with Vision 2030 Goal 1, Outcome 3 and Goal 2, Outcome 5 and Social Development Goals 1 & 3
Protect the Human and Civil Rights of LGBT Jamaicans in accordance with Vision 2030 Goal 1, Outcome 2 and Goal 2, Outcome 5 and Social Development Goals 3, 4 &16
Create and Strengthen National Mechanisms to Facilitate the Enjoyment of Rights in accordance with Vision 2030 Goal 2, Outcomes 5 & 6 and Social Development Goal 16
Promote Environmental Protection as a National Priority in accordance with Vision 2030 Goal 4, Outcomes 13, 14 & 15 and Social Development Goals 2, 11, 12, 13, 14 & 15

J-FLAG is calling on the next administration to commit to economic and social justice for all Jamaicans guided by a human rights framework toward achieving sustainable development. We cannot achieve Vision 2030 if the state, the Opposition, civil society, and our people do not work cooperatively and collectively to reduce and eliminate all forms of inequalities. Vision 2030 will only be achievable when there is adequate protection, consideration, coverage, access and empowerment for our people to achieve their full potential. 

We cannot continue to marginalize parts of the society, and we cannot continue to engage in business and personal activities that contribute to the degradation of the natural environment. We are aware that this cannot only be the responsibility of the next administration, but will require partnerships. We are calling on both the Jamaica Labour Party and the People’s National Party to declare their unwavering and actionable commitment to equality for all and for environmental protection. If we action this commitment, we will improve lives, families and businesses, and preserve the environment for future generations.

The organisation is willing to work with the next administration and all stakeholders and partners to action these recommendations.

You may read the full call to action here: https://goo.gl/9HUfTS 

also see from Gay Jamaica Watch:

The Line in the sand for the PNP part 16: Pre-election debate dodging

Buggery law referendum baiting by JLP in #Javote2016 campaign

The line in the sand part 15: More shenanigans & exploiting buggery ....

Nicholson says JLP 'crazy' for wanting referendum on buggery law .... oh boi

Tufton on Same Sex Marriages & Growing Up ..... Charles panders to antigay position

Human Rights Day ..........

Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December. It commemorates the day on which, in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 1950, the Assembly passed resolution 423 (V), inviting all States and interested organizations to observe 10 December of each year as Human Rights Day.

This year's Human Rights Day is devoted to the launch of a year-long campaign for the 50th

more HERE

anniversary of the two International Covenants on Human Rights: the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which were adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 16 December 1966.

The two Covenants, together with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, form the International Bill of Human Rights, setting out the civil, political, cultural, economic, and social rights that are the birth right of all human beings.

"Our Rights. Our Freedoms. Always." aims to promote and raise awareness of the two Covenants on their 50th anniversary. The year-long campaign revolves around the theme of rights and freedoms -- freedom of speech, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear -- which underpin the International Bill of Human Rights are as relevant today as they were when the Covenants were adopted 50 years ago. For more this year's theme and the year-long campaign, see the website of the UN Human Rights office.

Peace & tolerance

H

European Parliament adopts a new comprehensive report on fundamental rights in the EU.

Yesterday, the European Parliament adopted a new comprehensive report on fundamental rights in the EU.

Copyright 2015 ILGA-Europe

Defying an attempt by the EPP group to adopt an alternative report which would have deleted nearly all content on LGBTI rights and other relevant human rights issues, the final report includes an extensive section of the situation for LGBTI people (par. 85 – 92).

For the first time, a parliament report also specifically addresses the human rights violations experienced by intersex people (par. 92). The report condemns medically unnecessary genital surgery on intersex infants and calls on Member States to outlaw such practices.

Genital “normalisation” surgery currently occurs throughout Europe, and is only explicitly forbidden in Malta.

Furthermore, parliament spoke out in favour of making legal gender recognition procedures easier for transgender people, and to review mental health catalogues as to exclude transgender people as being considered mentally ill (par. 89 – 91).

Parliamentarians also highlight that same-sex couples everywhere should have access to marriage or registered partnerships, the effects of which should be recognized across the EU (par. 86).

Lastly, Parliament underlined its demand for the development of a comprehensive action plan/strategy against homophobia, as well as the pending horizontal anti-discrimination directive (par. 44 and 85).

The Rapporteur, Laura Ferrara MEP, Member of the LGBTI Intergroup, reacted: “By this report, the European Parliament has clearly stated that the rights of LGBTI people need to be further consolidated and better protected.”

“Whereas in many countries the situation has improved, we need to ensure that other Member States ensure equal rights too. The Commission has a key role to play here, and this report also calls on them to show political leadership in this regard.”

Ulrike Lunacek MEP, Co-President of the Intergroup on LGBTI Rights and shadow rapporteur on the report, continued: “It is sad that the EPP has again tried to get an alternative text adopted, virtually lacking all content on LGBTI rights.”

“However, good sense prevailed for the majority of MEPs, and I am very glad that the Parliament stood up for the ideals of equal rights and non-discrimination, including for lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex people.”

Read more:

Read the full report

United Nations Report Advocates for Intersex Peoples' Bodily Autonomy

The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has issued a new report, “Discrimination and violence against individuals based on their sexual orientation and gender identity”, A/HRC/29/23, or HERE which includes detailed reference to intersex and other LGBTI persons. OII Australia warmly welcomes this report, which for the first time calls for an end to forced medical treatment on people born with intersex variations in all UN member states. 

As well as a wide range of actions and recommendations affecting people who are same sex attracted and transgender, it contains the following statement on the medical treatment (not just surgeries) of intersex children:

53. Many intersex children, born with atypical sex characteristics, are subjected to medically unnecessary surgery and treatment in an attempt to force their physical appearance to align with binary sex stereotypes. Such procedures are typically irreversible and can cause severe, long-term physical and psychological suffering.

Similar statements, and a call to end forced treatments, have been made by the cross-party 2013 Senate committee report, “Involuntary or coerced sterilisation of intersex people in Australia” and the 2015 Council of Europe Issue Paper, as well as longstanding calls by OII Australia and other intersex-led organisations.

Australia and Malta are mentioned in connection with discrimination protection, implemented in 2013 with cross-party support:

72. … Anti-discrimination laws have also been strengthened in several States, including Chile, Cuba, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, Montenegro, as well as in Australia and Malta, which became the first countries to expressly prohibit discrimination against intersex persons.

It also mentions Malta, the first country to prohibit unnecessary treatments on intersex people, and Argentina, which has world-leading laws on gender identity recognition, including access to free gender-affirming treatments:

73. Legal recognition of same-sex relationships was introduced in at least 12 additional States, either in the form of civil marriage (Brazil, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Uruguay) or civil unions (Chile, Croatia, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Malta). Argentina, Denmark and Malta established new laws that allow transgender persons to obtain legal recognition of their gender identity on the basis of self-determination, while Australia (Australian Capital Territory), the Netherlands and Sweden removed abusive sterilization, forced treatment and divorce requirements. Argentina furthermore established access to free gender-affirming treatment for those who wish to receive such treatment. Nepal and Bangladesh created a legal “third gender” category, and new passport policies in Australia and New Zealand allow individuals to choose male, female or indeterminate gender markers. 

The Supreme Court of India affirmed the right of transgender persons to determine their own gender, and called upon the Government to ensure equal rights for transgender persons, including in access to health care, employment and education. Malta became the first State to prohibit sex-assignment surgery or treatment on intersex minors without their informed consent.

While intersex organisations call for an end to forced medical interventions, access to gender-affirming treatment on request, with fully informed consent, is also of clear benefit to many intersex people.

The conclusions also make several recommendations on ending unnecessary procedures on intersex children and other matters:

78. The High Commissioner recommends that States address violence by:
…
(g) Banning “conversion” therapy, involuntary treatment, forced sterilization and forced genital and anal examinations;
(h) Prohibiting medically unnecessary procedures on intersex children;

79. States should address discrimination by:
…
(c) Ensuring that anti-discrimination legislation includes sexual orientation and gender identity among prohibited grounds, and also protects intersex persons from discrimination;
…
(i) Issuing legal identity documents, upon request, that reflect preferred gender, eliminating abusive preconditions, such as sterilization, forced treatment and divorce;
…
(k) Ensuring that LGBT and intersex persons and organizations are consulted with regard to legislation and policies that have an impact on their rights

Morgan Carpenter, president of OII Australia, said:

We warmly welcome these recommendations, particularly the call to end forced medical treatment and other forms of violence.

There is much more that has to be done to provide better legal protection. Protection from unnecessary medical treatment is urgently needed, building on the recommendations of a 2013 cross-party Senate committee report.

Australia is ahead of most countries in providing federal protection from discrimination, but State/Territory laws lag behind, with many improvements necessary, to recognise the diversity of gender identities held by intersex people, and to properly resource peer and family support.

Organisation Intersex International Australia (OII Australia) is an intersex-led Public Benevolent Institution that promotes the human rights and bodily autonomy of people born with intersex variations, and provides information, education and peer/family support services. OII Australia is not funded and is volunteer-run.

Intersex people are born with bodies that don’t meet stereotypical expectations for male and female, including a range of different genetic, hormonal and anatomical sex characteristics. People with intersex variations have as diverse a range of gender identities as non-intersex people.

also see:
New OHCHR report presents recommendations on protecting LGBT rights

LGBT Envoy Wants To Get By With A Little Help From Our Friends

J. Lester Feder

Newly appointed U.S. LGBT rights envoy Randy Berry doesn’t see his primary job as weighing in in countries where LGBT rights are most embattled. Instead, he says he’s targeting “the vast set of countries in the middle” on the question of embracing LGBT rights as a human rights concern.

“If we can do our part to move the center of the universe towards progress on this, that’s something I would like to be able to point to a few years from now,” Berry said in an interview with BuzzFeed News on Friday just before beginning a 15 country swing through Latin America and Europe set to coincide with LGBT Pride Month.

The pace of the trip “kind of makes my stomach hurt,” Berry said. “I’m home long enough to basically take my shirts to the dry cleaner and tuck the kids in.”

Though Berry is working on plans to head to Uganda in July, he is first visiting countries that have made rapid progress on LGBT rights over the past few years to get ideas on what strategies have been most effective. His South American stops include Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil, all of which have established marriage equality over the past five years. He’ll also visit Chile, which enacted its first civil partnership law earlier this year, and is also a funder of the Global Equality Fund, a multinational, public-private partnership set up by the United States to support LGBT rights groups around the world.

“A great deal of leadership is coming out of several places in Latin America,” Berry said, adding that he hoped the trip would generate ideas on how to diffuse the attack often made by LGBT rights opponents that the United States is forcing acceptance of homosexuality on the rest of the world.

“We’re not working on a [North] American issue. We’re working on a global issue,” Berry said.

Berry said his last stop in Latin America will be in the Dominican Republic, where the appointment of the out gay Wally Brewster as U.S. ambassador in 2013 was met with a backlash from conservatives and the leaders of the Catholic Church.

Berry next heads to Eastern Europe, including a stop at the continent-wide pride event being held right on Russia’s doorstep in the capital of Latvia, Riga. He will also visiting neighboring Lithuania — which has a law similar to Russia’s ban on “gay propaganda” on the books — Poland, and Finland, which is also a contributor to the Global Equality Fund.

Before returning to the United States, Berry will stop in Amsterdam and London with the goal of recruiting support from business interests to promote LGBT rights, which he described as “one of the pillars” of what he hopes to achieve in the envoy post.

Berry is kicking off his tenure by emphasizing his role as an international emissary, but he has also been charged by Secretary of State John Kerry with coordinating the U.S.’s response to anti-LGBT crackdowns when they occur. Following the passage of sweeping anti-LGBT laws in Nigeria and Uganda in early 2014, Kerry said in an interview with BuzzFeed News that he had called for a comprehensive review of our relations with all countries that have anti-LGBT laws on the books.

That review has been completed, Berry said, including a “process of engaging with embassies and consulates” about the situation on the ground.

When asked about the fact that the U.S. response to LGBT crackdowns has been uneven — introducing some sanctions on Uganda and the Gambia following passage of their anti-LGBT laws, for example, while remaining mostly publicly silent on Nigeria’s anti-LGBT law and Egypt’s growing arrests of people accused of homosexuality — Berry said it would be a mistake to establish a set of measures automatically triggered when governments turn against LGBT people.

“I’m not convinced that you can put a matrix of action together that when you consider them to be violating human rights … because it robs you of the flexibility to engage,” said Berry. “Sometimes you need to take out the sticks,” he said, “but I’m firmly a believer in engagement.”

But he said that it was sometimes a challenge to get the United States to respond swiftly to threats to human rights because foreign policy requires coordinating across a sprawling set of divisions in the State Department and several other federal agencies.

“Any time you’re moving a bureaucracy as big as this one — especially with interagency [cooperation] — it takes some time,” Berry said.

also see:

'We came to listen and talk, not to judge'

RANDY Berry and Todd Larson wanted Jamaicans to have a clear understanding of the reason for their visit to the island last week.

So, in an interview with the Jamaica Observer lasting just under 30 minutes, the US Government officials stated more than once that they were here to listen, to engage America's partners in dialogue on human rights, and that meant the State giving equal treatment to everyone, regardless of their race, class, sexual orientation or beliefs.

"We're not advancing special rights, but talking about the universality... of human rights of everyone," said Larson, the United States Agency for International Development's senior LGBTI (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex) co-ordinator.

That point was reinforced by Berry, who was just a few weeks ago appointed special envoy for the human rights of the LGBTI community by US Secretary of State John Kerry.

Both Berry and Larson sat with the Observer on Friday afternoon, a day after their arrival which sparked protest by some church groups who argued that they were here to force Jamaica to embrace homosexual lifestyle as normal.

"I think it's unfortunately uninformed of what we are here doing," Berry said when asked to respond to the protest.

 Fanatical group Lovemarch protest outside the Pegasus where Berry was in a meeting during his recent visit to Jamaica

"We have been very, very careful -- as the president (Barack Obama) was during his visit and others -- to ensure we are engaging in a spirit of equality within a human rights framework. That is what we are interested in. We are not at all interested in making judgements, in using any other manner than to seek just an honest dialogue."

Berry said that while he was aware of that view regarding his and Larson's visit, he was confident that there wouldn't have been that much controversy if there was an understanding that both men were here "engaging in a human rights framework".

Amnesty International 2014/5 Report mentions Jamaican LGBT Matters

The latest report from AMNESTY is now available for download. Amnesty International’s Annual Report provides a comprehensive overview of the state of human rights in 160 countries over the course of 2014.

The inability of world leaders to deal with the changing face of conflict, including a growing threat from armed group attacks, has left millions of people unprotected and in grave danger, Amnesty International warned as it launched its annual assessment of the world’s human rights.

download HERE

It mentions as usual the LGBT community's struggle and has mentioned the so called promised conscience vote that was missed in April 2014 that was to address the decriminalization of buggery on the duped promise by the Prime Minister. See: Human Rights of Most Marginalised Must Be Protected – Portia Simpson Miller at "Justice for All" conference 2014 for more background on the political trick played on us.


Also see: Buggery law conscience vote for parliament soon .............

RIGHTS OF LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENDER AND INTERSEX PEOPLE 

Consensual sex between men remained criminalized. LGBTI organizations continued to report attacks, harassment and threats against individuals based on their real or perceived sexual orientation, which were not fully and promptly investigated. 

On 14 June a mob attacked a young man at a shopping mall in the town of May Pen because he was allegedly seen putting on lipstick. 

There was no police investigation into the incident. In August, Javed Jaghai, a member of the Jamaica Forum of Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays, discontinued the constitutional challenge he had filed in February 2013 against laws criminalizing sex between men, following the receipt of threats against him and his family. A “conscience vote” by MPs on legislation criminalizing consensual same-sex relations, which the government announced would be held before April, did not take place.

According to the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, 78 countries have laws in effect that are used to criminalize consensual sexual relationships between adults of the same sex.

Other matters:

BACKGROUND 

Levels of homicide remained high, mainly in marginalized inner-city communities, although there was a decrease on 2013 figures. The Jamaica Constabulary Force reported that 699 people had been killed up to 14 September, 15% fewer than in the corresponding period for 2013. 

POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES

 Following rising numbers in police killings in recent years (210 in 2011, 219 in 2012 and 258 in 2013), 2014 saw a reduction in the number of police killings according to the Independent Commission of Investigations (INDECOM), an independent police oversight agency. 

By the end of October, 103 civilians had been killed by police, compared with 220 for the same period in 2013. A number of people were killed in circumstances suggesting that they may have been extrajudicially executed. 

Following the death of Mario Deane (latest news on there HERE) in suspicious circumstances in police custody in August, in September the Ministers of Justice and National Security announced a review of the detention system in order to “develop a strategic response to the issue of the treatment of persons in lock-ups and correctional facilities”. The Criminal Justice (Suppression of Criminal Organizations) Act, which is aimed at “disruption and suppression of criminal organizations” became law in April. 

Concerns were raised that this law could be used to
criminalize whole communities by association.
In February a Commission of Enquiry was finally established into the state of emergency of May 2010, when 76 civilians were killed during an operation by the security forces.

The three-person Commission began its work on 1 December. In April the Office of the Public Defender handed over all files pertaining to its investigations into the state of emergency to INDECOM. The files include
the cases of 44 people alleged to have been unlawfully killed by the security forces. Eleven police officers from Clarendon suspected of being part of a “death squad”
were arrested and charged in April by INDECOM. 

They were alleged to have been involved in the murder of nine civilians since 2009. Investigations were ongoing at the end of the year.

JUSTICE SYSTEM
Overburdened courts led to continued delays in the justice system. In February, the National Security Minister stated there was a backlog of approximately 40,000 cases. In June, the Chief Justice said that the unavailability of forensic evidence, outstanding statements and ballistic reports, as well as an absence of adequate court infrastructure, human and financial resources, were seriously hampering the
justice system.

also see: 
Mark Wignall on Buggery law review promise was a political sham 2013

Peace & tolerance

H

Human Rights Protect Us From Each Other

Firstly Happy Independence Day Jamaica and hope we do reflect on our struggle as a nation and not just the usual handing out of Order of Jamaica and Festival or Grand Gala celebrations without some deep thinking on where were are now especially on rights which is timely for discussion given recent events.

The following is a column from a member of Jamaicans for Justice's membership given the recent meltdown and constitution of an interim board.

Also see if you can: Sodomy is an Issue for Teens says Jamaicans for Justice Interim Chairman

Rodje Malcolm, GUEST COLUMNIST

The protection of universal human rights and the separation of Church and State are foundational for a robust democracy. As a normative framework, a human-rights approach to law and governance, by design, protects the rights and freedoms of all groups - including Christians. Contrary to the divisive rhetoric coming from Jamaican religious leaders, the human-rights movement is not a war against the Church.

It has been argued that Jamaica is a majority-Christian country and as such, a Judaeo-Christian world view should dictate law, particularly in the context of Jamaica's buggery law. This is not new. Oftentimes, groups in positions of superiority find it difficult to consider the plight of disadvantaged groups. They either cannot identify with minority causes, have no real reason to care, or have an incentive to perpetuate thestatus quo.

In Jamaica, an archaic, strict majoritarian vision of democracy has been advanced as a solution to resolving social tensions. That is, the interests of minorities are unimportant because of their minority status. This approach is exclusionary.

The dangerous implications become clear when, in alternate cultural contexts, the roles are reversed, and these groups experience widespread discrimination and persecution at the hands of some other majority. They clamour for equality, human rights, and an end to the same discrimination they exhibit when they are in comfortable majority settings.

The pervasiveness of discrimination across societies demonstrates that discrimination, as a phenomenon, does not discriminate. Depending on the context, minorities, of any identity group, face the prospect of prejudice. Political systems should, therefore, be designed to protect against the tyranny of the majority. They should be secular, creating a neutral public sphere in which all people can exist on equal terms. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

This is why Steve Lyston's recent column, 'Religious freedom and global economy' (Gleaner, July 28, 2014), is so bizarre. Lyston was decrying the persecution of minority Christians in Iraq, Syria and Egypt, urging Christians to be vigilant. Lyston, a biblical economist - whatever that means - blasted the media and human-rights groups for remaining silent on the persecution of Christians, claiming, "Their only focus is 'freedom of sexual choice' - so sexual choice has now taken precedence over religious freedom."

He said:

"In light of what is happening, if the Caribbean believes that Christians are safe in this region, think again! ... If the Caribbean and the other Western nations are not vigilant, very shortly we will see our schools being infiltrated and freedom of choice will be taken away! ... Bibles will be banned and only Qur'ans will be in the schools."

Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Discrimination against any group is tragic and inexcusable. This holds true for Muslims in Myanmar who face persecution at the hands of a majority Buddhist population; the Roma, a minority ethnic group who face displacement in parts of Europe; Christians and Buddhists, who face criminal sanctions for organising or preaching in North Korea - considered a threat to 'North Korean values'; and the LGBT community in Jamaica who live under discriminatory colonial laws. When there is a clash of values, only a system of universal human rights can limit the capacity for abuse.

PARANOIA

Christian advocates such as Lyston and those who gathered in Kingston to protest a loss of religious rights cannot, in one breath, decry the discrimination against Christians in minority settings and then, in another breath, advocate that Christian majority status gives them the right to call the shots in Jamaica. That is special pleading - having your cake and nyamming it, too.

Also, accepting the ability of differing world views and lifestyles to exist does not equate to support or endorsement for them. It simply recognises that diverse interests can coexist without 'the majority using criminal code to suppress others - even if they find each other absolutely disgusting.

Because such a system, when normalised, poses an inherent risk of injustice, and because no society is perfectly homogeneous across religious, ethnic and sexual lines, a secular, human rights approach to navigating differences is necessary.

The religious lobby is correct; LGBT rights must never stifle freedom of speech of Christians. In the same way, religious freedom cannot infringe upon the sexual rights and the right to privacy of LGBT people. We cannot become so entrenched in our positions that we become polarised.

When the only thing that (usually bickering) Christian denominations can find to unite around is the fight against 'the gay lobby', our priorities are warped. This national paranoia has led to division, when engagement and discourse are needed.

Let's re-evaluate the type of political system we desire - one that will protect, not subordinate, the interests of all.

Rodje Malcolm is a director of Jamaicans for Justice(JFJ. The views above do not necessarily reflect those of JFJ. Email: rodjemalcolm@outlook.com.

ENDS

also see:

Don't Mix Religion With Politics & The Ugandan Antigay Law Overturn

Ian Boyne on "Do Gays Threaten Free Speech?"

UN Development Commission: Don’t Trade Away LGBT Rights

High-Level Development Debate on Friday Chance to Highlight LGBT Rights Violations

(April 3, 2014 – New York) Heads of state and top government officials from all over the world meeting Friday at the United Nations have a responsibility to acknowledge that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity is a barrier to development, said the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) today.

“It’s not rocket science: when you are criminalized, discriminated against, or bullied, chances are you have a harder time at school, at work, or when you are trying to access healthcare,” said Jessica Stern, Executive Director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC). “That’s a development issue. That’s what we are talking about.”

The high-level meeting at the United Nations in New York tomorrow is meant to kick-off a week long discussion on development objectives at the Commission on Population and Development (CPD). The CPD is a 47-seat UN body that meets annually to discuss issues pertaining to health, population growth, as well as economic and human development.

This year, the CPD discussions are happening in the context of ongoing United Nations negotiations for a sustainable development framework, known as the Post-2015 process. The main objective for the Post-2015 process is for UN Member States to agree upon development goals, along with explicit targets and indicators to monitor compliance. IGLHRC recently joined dozens of other organizations in demanding attention to the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals (LGBT) and communities in the Post-2015 process.

“Sustainable development simply cannot happen without addressing the systemic discrimination and violence perpetrated worldwide against LGBT communities,” said Stern. “We demand explicit attention to this reality in any new development framework.”

The CPD, which will meet all of next week, comes only two weeks after the closing of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, where this year’s debate also focused on development. At that commission, reference to non-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity was left outof the final document at the last minute, as a trade-off to maintain a status quo agreement on the appropriate level of international oversight into national affairs.

“It is unacceptable that our rights are constantly used as a political bargaining chip,” said Stern. “We know governments can do better, and we demand they step up during the Commission on Population and Development, starting with tomorrow’s high-level debate.”

Background Information

At the 58th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), the LBT Caucus—a group of LBT activists from around the world—wrote a statement demanding the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) in the CSW process. The LBT statement received overwhelming support and was signed by over 70 organizations and more than 20 individuals. Because LGBT people and issues related to SOGI are often invisibilized in discussions of sustainable development, the LBT Caucus has decided to use an updated version of the statement as our manifesto for SOGI inclusion in the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

This manifesto, entitled Demanding a Post-2015 Development Agenda Inclusive of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (excerpted below) will be open to signatures indefinitely. To add your endorsement to the manifesto, fill out the signature form.

We, the undersigned non-governmental organizations and individuals, are outraged that, despite the United Nations’ decades-long commitment to anti-discrimination, governments engaging in the ongoing Post-2015 discussions have so far failed to meet their obligations towards all human beings. They have done this by sidelining evidence of and broad regional support for sexual rights, the right to development, and the need to recognize a diversity of families, sexualities, and gender identities. They have also selectively ignored segments of their own populations, including people who are targeted for discrimination and violence because of their real or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.

We are deeply disappointed at this attempt to render our experiences, communities, and families invisible. And we stand alongside the people in other groups who have been ignored or isolated in similar ways.

We have been told that sexual orientation and gender identity are "too controversial" and that they have nothing to do with development. We know better. And so do our governments, though many appear to willfully ignore our presence and our realities in all regions of the world.

The Post-2015 agenda is meant to set new, universally applicable, development goals. To do this credibly, this agenda must acknowledge the devastating impact of violence, discrimination and marginalization in our lives everywhere. Study after study concludes that individuals stigmatized or targeted because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity face discrimination, violence and bullying that can force us out of growing environments. People assumed to be lesbian, gay, bisexual, or trans* are kicked out of housing or denied employment, facts that have direct impact on our lives and earning potential. Legal and socially condoned discrimination against our communities marginalizes many of us, putting us at additional risk of violence, HIV, and other health problems. Discrimination and stigma further prevents us from seeking or receiving needed care. Too often, the result is preventable suffering, institutional violence and poverty.

We are outraged at the continued criminalization of our organizing, restrictions on our freedoms of expression and association, and the relentless attacks on our human rights. These violations take place in all regions. Dialogue and democracy require respect for diversity, not criminal sanctions for human rights defenders, health professionals, and anyone who does not adhere to prevailing social mores. The criminalization of sexual orientation and gender identity, and related homophobia and transphobia do not translate into lasting social benefit for anyone. Quite to the contrary, as the World Bank recently concluded, hateful policies have both an economic and a personal cost.

At the 58th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), the LBT Caucus—a group of LBT activists from around the world—wrote a statement demanding the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) in the CSW process. The LBT statement received overwhelming support and was signed by over 70 organizations and more than 20 individuals. Because LGBT people and issues related to SOGI are often invisibilized in discussions of sustainable development, the LBT Caucus has decided to use an updated version of the statement as our manifesto for SOGI inclusion in the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

Jamaican human rights advocate uses the "H" word in submissions on intersex/lgbt issues at IACHR hearing

I sat frozen for a moment as I heard the recently departed co-founder and Director of Jamaicans for Justice now at her new post at the Caribbean Vulnerable Communities Coalition, CVCC as she made submissions at today's Inter-American Commission for Human Rights, IACHR regular review. She in essence spoke for JFLAG, JCSC, Jamaica Civil Society Coalition and Jamaica AIDS Support, JAS also on the anti gang legislation, children in lockups, the Tivoli commission of enquiry, the public defender and other matters. I was also contacted about the grave error by an Intersex activist in the US who was also tuned in to a radio program aired here in Jamaica where Ms Gomes' segment was played in full. She briefly highlighted LGBT rights, the gender problem in the Charter of Rights and other matters.

The mythological term “hermaphrodite” implies that a person is both fully male and fully female. This is a physiologic impossibility.

also see from sister blog GLBTQJA Wordpress: So You Wanna Know About Hermaphrodite's? and 

OFFENSIVE TERMINOLOGY TO AVOID WHEN PRESENTING PRO-GAY POINTERS ………

The words “hermaphrodite” and “pseudo-hermaphrodite” are stigmatizing and misleading words. Unfortunately, some medical personnel still use them to refer to people with certain intersex conditions, because they still subscribe to an outdated nomenclature that uses gonadal anatomy as the basis of sex classification. In a paper titled Changing the Nomenclature/Taxonomy for Intersex: A Scientific and Clinical Rationale, five ISNA-associated experts recommend that all terms based on the root “hermaphrodite” be abandoned because they are scientifically specious and clinically problematic. The terms fail to reflect modern scientific understandings of intersex conditions, confuse clinicians, harm patients, and panic parents. I think it is much better for everyone involved when specific condition names are used in medical research and practice.

To read more about the Victorian origins of the medical terminology of “true” and “pseudo” hermaphroditism, check out chapter 5 of Alice Dreger’s Hermaphrodites and the Medical Invention of Sex which is available at bookshelf, or go to What’s the history behind the intersex rights movement?.

One more thing: While some intersex people seek to reclaim the word “hermaphrodite” with pride to reference themselves (much like the words “dyke” and “queer” have been reclaimed by LBGT people), we’ve learned over the years it is best generally avoided, since the political subtlety is lost on a lot of people.

Her exact words are as follows ............

"Most people in Jamaica are not in favour of homosexual behaviour but rights are not subject to people's feelings, rights are rights and to clarify for the commission the language of the charter doesn't speak to gender, it is a point that has been made over and over again in submissions to other international bodies as well as this one. The new charter of rights says 'The right to freedom from discrimination on the ground of being male or female,' in fact the UN human rights committee pointed out that this language is incompatible with normal standards and leaves people who are hermaphrodite by nature or intersex completely unprotected and leaves room for real challenges, it does not even speak to gender. She continued on the human rights training of the police."

Clearly someone needs to advise spokespersons specially when they are new to the post that when they do go out there to speak on behalf of groups that they apprise themselves of the lexicon that applies. Outdated language/word use at an important meeting as that of the IACHR today can be embarrassing, the more cynical would say if the respective groups do not know the proper terms then it is no wonder we can't see the proper responses on the ground towards the attendant challenges. The same error was made at a recent workshop for LGBT persons as well where the word was used repeatedly corrective steps have since been taken in that regard.

What is intersex?

“Intersex” is a general term used for a variety of conditions in which a person is born with a reproductive or sexual anatomy that doesn’t seem to fit the typical definitions of female or male. For example, a person might be born appearing to be female on the outside, but having mostly male-typical anatomy on the inside. Or a person may be born with genitals that seem to be in-between the usual male and female types—for example, a girl may be born with a noticeably large clitoris, or lacking a vaginal opening, or a boy may be born with a notably small penis, or with a scrotum that is divided so that it has formed more like labia. Or a person may be born with mosaic genetics, so that some of her cells have XX chromosomes and some of them have XY.

Though the experts speak of intersex as an inborn condition, intersex anatomy doesn’t always show up at birth. Sometimes a person isn’t found to have intersex anatomy until she or he reaches the age of puberty, or finds himself an infertile adult, or dies of old age and is autopsied. Some people live and die with intersex anatomy without anyone (including themselves) ever knowing.

Which variations of sexual anatomy count as intersex? In practice, different people have different answers to that question. That’s not surprising, because intersex isn’t a discreet or natural category.

What does this mean? Intersex is a socially constructed category that reflects real biological variation. To better explain this, we can liken the sex spectrum to the colour spectrum. There’s no question that in nature there are different wavelengths that translate into colours most of us see as red, blue, orange, yellow. But the decision to distinguish, say, between orange and red-orange is made only when we need it—like when we’re asking for a particular paint colour. Sometimes social necessity leads us to make colour distinctions that otherwise would seem incorrect or irrational, as, for instance, when we call certain people “black” or “white” when they’re not especially black or white as we would otherwise use the terms.

In the same way, nature presents us with sex anatomy spectrums. Breasts, penises, clitorises, scrotums, labia, gonads—all of these vary in size and shape and morphology. So-called “sex” chromosomes can vary quite a bit, too. But in human cultures, sex categories get simplified into male, female, and sometimes intersex, in order to simplify social interactions, express what we know and feel, and maintain order.

So nature doesn’t decide where the category of “male” ends and the category of “intersex” begins, or where the category of “intersex” ends and the category of “female” begins. Humans decide. Humans (today, typically doctors) decide how small a penis has to be, or how unusual a combination of parts has to be, before it counts as intersex. Humans decide whether a person with XXY chromosomes or XY chromosomes and androgen insensitivity will count as intersex.

In intersex work, it has been found that doctors’ opinions about what should count as “intersex” vary substantially. Some think you have to have “ambiguous genitalia” to count as intersex, even if your inside is mostly of one sex and your outside is mostly of another. Some think your brain has to be exposed to an unusual mix of hormones prenatally to count as intersex—so that even if you’re born with atypical genitalia, you’re not intersex unless your brain experienced atypical development. And some think you have to have both ovarian and testicular tissue to count as intersex.

Rather than trying to play a semantic game that never ends, the ISNA take a pragmatic approach to the question of who counts as intersex. They work to build a world free of shame, secrecy, and unwanted genital surgeries for anyone born with what someone believes to be non-standard sexual anatomy.

By the way, because some forms of intersex signal underlying metabolic concerns, a person who thinks she or he might be intersex should seek a diagnosis and find out if she or he needs professional healthcare not fully available locally but do some reading online where excellent resources abound such as the Intersex Society of North America.

An article published in the Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology and Metabolism from as far as 2005 makes a compelling case for getting rid of all medical terms based on the root “hermaphrodite.” The authors (including two ISNA staff members and three ISNA Medical Advisory Board members) explain the problems with terms like “pseudo-hermaphroditism” and “true hermaphroditism.”

Why get rid of these terms? Because:
These terms are stigmatizing to patients and their families. We should all be working to reduce stigma, not add to it through medical care.

People with intersex are not hermaphrodites, and they are not helped by being labelled this way.

These terms imply a kind of hierarchy of “real” and “fake” intersex people, which is unhelpful and illogical.

These terms attract people with sexual fetishes and fantasies that, frankly, patient advocacy organizations are not interested in hearing from.

The system of labelling intersex people according to the mere presence or absence of certain gonadal tissues (as the “pseudo/true hermaphroditism” system does) pre-dates the modern sciences of genetics and endocrinology. It causes confusion among doctors and patients because it fails to reflect all that we now know matters.

The authors of the JPEM article suggest that new systems of intersex nomenclature and taxonomy be developed to completely replace the old “five sex” model. Specifically they suggest that the replacement taxonomic system:

should enhance, not complicate, the use of medical informatics in research and clinical practice;

should recognize that diagnosis and taxonomy inform, but do not determine, gender assignment and/or gender identity;

should not include the words ‘hermaphrodite’, ‘hermaphroditism’, ‘sex reversal’, or other easily misunderstood terms;

should label the condition rather than the person;

should not confuse physicians and patients;

should make clear that diagnosis does not simply dictate therapy.

The authors end by suggesting that it would be better to use specific etiology-based diagnoses (like AIS, 5-alpha reductase deficiency, etc.) along with an umbrella term. Which umbrella term? In our travels in the last few months, we notice there seems to be an emerging consensus around using disorders of sex development, abbreviated DSDs. This seems to be a term that doctors and many patient advocates can agree encompasses all of the conditions we at ISNA have traditionally labelled intersex.

For the full article, see:
Dreger AD, Chase C, Sousa A, Gruppuso PA, Frader, J. “Changing the Nomenclature/Taxonomy for Intersex: A Scientific and Clinical Rationale.” J Pediatric Endocrinol Metab. 2005 Aug: 18 (8): 729-33.

I hope not to hear such a slip up again.

Peace and tolerance

H