On International Family Equality Day #IFED2017

May 1, 2017, marks the fifth celebration of International Family Equality Day, a day to celebrate families all over the world where one or both parents identify as LGBTQ. It usually runs for sixteen days and culminates on IDAHO day. Last year, 67 cities across 32 countries had celebrations to honor their local “Rainbow Families” and this year, hopefully more do so.

Jamaica parents as guardians or as persons with children from a previous relationships anecdotally have been doing pretty well, a couple cases over the year parents coming out to their children sometimes while disucssing the 'birds and the beez' have worked out well as the children seem to understand.

Though each community can throw its own event or party, some LGBTQ families celebrate on a smaller scale with a private family dinner. Regardless of how International Family Equality Day is celebrated across the world, LGBTQ families deserve recognition and a day to be proud of their families and the progress we have made.

Here’s why:

Brings awareness to LGBTQ family rights.

Only 24 countries allow for same-sex marriage with Colombia being the most recent to legalize gay marriage. With 195 countries in the world – 24 is not a significant number. Though LGBTQ couples don’t necessarily have to be married to have children in all countries, marriage allows for certain rights and protections for their family and kids. By celebrating International Family Equality, it’s bringing awareness to the many countries across the world who don’t recognize LGBTQ families or provide them with basic rights, such as marriage, that their straight counterparts receive. Rights include the ability to marry, adopt, equal healthcare access, birth certificate recognition, access to fertility treatments or surrogacy, and many more.

It is often harder for LGBTQ parents to create their families.

As an LGBTQ parent, you understand the time, commitment, and financial struggle it took to create your family. LGBTQ parents have to go through countless fertility treatments, rigorous adoption or surrogacy processes, step parent and second parent adoptions, and much more to have a child. Because of this, LGBTQ parents deserve a day in which they can be reminded how all that time, possible stress, and hard work was totally worth it.

Visibility can bring positive results.

Though the numbers of LGBTQ families are increasing, there are still many communities and aspects of the media in which LGBTQ families are not represented. With International Family Equality Day, there’s a focus on LGBTQ families on social media, in the media, and out in public during public events. Visibility fosters so many positive results such as acceptance and education, as well as making it clear to the world: LGBTQ families are here.

Children deserve a day to celebrate their parents and their family.

The great thing about the events surrounding International Family Equality Day is that these events usually involve fun, interactive activities for children. When children are taken to these events by their LGBTQ parents, they are able to see other families like theirs being celebrated, thus creating a sense of pride for their family.

A chance to meet other LGBTQ families.

In some communities, it may be difficult to connect with other LGBTQ families. International Family Equality Day brings together a number of LGBTQ families at their celebratory events allowing for families to mix and mingle and hopefully, form new friendships.

Enjoy your Family Equality Day

Peace & tolerance

H

#IDAHOT2017 ...............

IDAHOT-IFED 2017: Celebrate Family Diversity

International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOT)

International Family Equality Day (IFED) 2017

“LOVE MAKES A FAMILY”

Families are at the heart of all of our lives. Whether it’s the family we grew up with or the families we have built as adults. Whether they are families of biology or families of choice. We are all part of “families”, and those families; however we define them, influence all aspects of our lives.

In 2017, the focus on “families” will particularly spotlight
- The role of families in the physical and emotional well-being of LGBTIQ people
- The social and legal recognition of Rainbow Families, the families where at least one parent is LGBTQI

Families of LGBTQI people

The situation

The family constitutes the very first environment of any person, including members of the LGBTQI community. This is the place where values are shaped and transmitted, where security and safety is provided, and the place where self-esteem and confidence are constructed. Families, therefore, have great powers … and great responsibilities in the moral and physical well being of their members.

Family is especially critical in environments where members face rejection, stigmatisation and sometimes bullying in the “outside” world, in which cases the family constitutes the only available “safe haven”.

This sense of family happens “naturally” when the cause of stigma is shared by all members, such as in instances of race or other ethnic identity and economic status. Unfortunately, when the sexual orientation and/or the gender identity of a family member differs from the rest of the family and/or their perceived “social norms”, the overall family experiences a conflict between the loyalty to the family member and the compliance of the norm.

When the balance strikes in favour of the norm, the family might become the first perpetrator of rejection and violence where members meet non-conformant gender expression or sexual orientation with rejection. Children are of course the prime victims of this violence. All too often parents become their children’s first bully, allow or even support bullying by siblings, and even expel young people from the family home, exposing them to homelessness and all the dangers a young person is confronted to on the streets.

In Canada for example, the association of Parents and Friends of LGBTQI people P-Flag reveals that 26% of LGBTQI youth were told to leave home. Locally the evidence of forcibly evicted persons especially youths aged as low as 14 is as clear as crystal. Groups such as JFLAG, Colour Pink, Dwayne’s House and others still cannot seem to get their act together or make themselves one to begin to properly address this growing problem.

Families, especially those under the influence of radical religious movements, might chose to impose so called ‘conversion therapies’, which not only constitute a human rights violation in themselves as they constitute forced treatment, but often include degrading and harmful practices, both psychologically (aversion therapies, humiliations, etc.) and physically (deprivation of food and sleep, electroshocks, etc.) Considerations for coming out so to speak to children of bisexual parents as well is crucial geared towards understanding, bearing in mind that many persons had relationships for varying reasons; persons entered in arrangements to normalise themselves in the eyes of other family members and siblings.

While children are of course the main targets of this family violence, exclusion also hits other members, for example when family members who come out are being excluded from family gatherings, denied contacts with other family members like nephews and nieces or grandchildren, expelled from family property, etc.

Elders who are LGBT are also particularly vulnerable to abandonment, mistreatment, isolation and abuse, a phenomenon I used to see oversees but as life expectancy in Jamaica continue to extend in the post HIV epidemic era boosted by sustained ARV/HAART/CHART treatment. Other lifestyle diseases are showing a slowing down of mortality rates such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease to name a few are a good sign as the choked health systems struggle to meet overwhelming demand based on the supposed ‘free’ healthcare systems and drugs as dispensed by outlets such as Drug-Serv. Families with progressive social values, while they will not display hostile attitudes directly, often lack the necessary tools to discuss sexual and gender diversity. The silence surrounding the issue contributes to creating a climate of exclusion and, in any case, does nothing to alleviate stigma and discrimination endured outside of the family setting.

Like anybody confronted with unknown or unusual circumstances, families who include members with non-conformant sexual orientation and/or gender identity need support, education and resources. Attention to the needs of families must be given by social and educational authorities, by LGBTQI organisations and their supporters, and by mainstream family organisations. Re-integration programs are so essential but seem not to be happening at the speed and urgency that are required. Families must be able to access correct and unbiased information, psychological support and adequate resources to help them deal with the situation in the respect of all their members.

The actions

For May 17 and definitely onwards, possible actions include:

For LGBTQI organisations to ensure that
· Voices of parents, friends and allies are given special attention
· Specific resources for parents, friends and allies are developed
For parents, friends and allies of LGBTQI people to
· Join an existing organisation
· Form an organisation of parents, friends and allies of sexual and gender minorities

For educational authorities to

· Develop a specific educational pamphlet on sexual and gender diversity for parents, or to include sexual and gender diversity in existing resources

· Provide adequate support to families in dealing with sexual and gender diversities.

For legislators, to
· Introduce bills that respond to the specific needs of families, friends, and allies of LGBTQI people.

Rainbow Families
The situation

In many countries, Rainbow Families, that is families where members are LGBTIQ, are faced with unsuitable domestic laws, if not a total legal void.

This lack of proper recognition of Rainbow Families exposes their members and especially their children to all sorts of legal risks. These families live with the thought that if a tragedy touches their life, for instance, the death or accident of the legal parent, the bond of the social parent to the child may not be recognised by the Law and basically their family life can be severely disrupted.

Children being raised in LGBTIQ families are denied legal ties to their parents, putting them at risk. For example, when LGBTIQ parents are prevented by law from creating legal ties to their children, these parents may be unable to pick up their children at day care, may be unable to advocate for their children at school, and can be denied the ability to make critical healthcare decisions for their children.

The lack of legal ties also creates undue financial burdens for LGBTIQ families, and can place children at economic risk when parents’ relationships dissolve, when a parent dies or becomes disabled or when seeking access to government safety net programs during times of economic crisis.

Formal recognition of same-sex relationships gives couples the tools and the security they need to build a life together. For committed same-sex couples with children, relationship recognition provides both legal and economic security for the entire family. Denying this recognition robs children of crucial support and stability, and ultimately leaves families unprotected, which makes creating and raising a family even more difficult.

Adoption is one of the primary ways that parents who are LGBTQI create families, whether through the public foster care system, a private agency, or simply a second-parent adoption of a partner or spouse’s child. However, in many countries LGBTQI individuals and couples still face barriers to adoption, making it difficult or sometimes impossible for these loving, qualified people to create families.

Studies show that alarming numbers of students with parents who are LGBTQI report experiencing bullying, harassment, and discrimination at school because of who their parents are and how their families were formed. As a result, these students are deprived of equal educational opportunities and are too often left with few or no avenues for recourse. Research shows that unchecked bullying and harassment negatively impact student achievement by decreasing interest in school, increasing absenteeism, and decreasing concentration levels for students. Leaders in the fields of education and child welfare agree that positive school climate and culture is a critical condition for promoting students’ academic success.

In addition, lack of recognition of LGBTIQ families leads to second parents often having to conceal their parenthood at work, creating untenable tensions between their careers and their parental life. In case of professional moving of a person in an LGBTIQ family, the needs of their family members will not be taken into account. Uniting LGBTIQ families is even more of a challenge when these families have been formed across borders. The lack of recognition leads to families being unable to unite, or having to leave existing homes, which means uprooting children from their schools, friends, communities, and extended families.

The non-recognition of LGBTIQ families also means that their housing needs cannot be properly addressed, especially in the case of families who are on welfare programmes. In the private sector, LGBTIQ families are prone to discrimination in access to rental or property, with hardly any protective measures effectively in place worldwide

Social stigmatization and legal discrimination of LGBTQ families forces children to stay in a closet that is not even their own. One of the greatest challenges reported by youth with LGBTQ parents is a sense of isolation, loneliness, or feeling that “they are the only one”. Furthermore, for Trans people, the family encompasses also other issues, like forced divorce that Trans people have to undergo to gain legal gender recognition in many countries. Another crucial issue is of course the forced sterilization still imposed by almost all countries in the world for legal gender recognition that takes away opportunity and choice to have biological children and family.

· Ensure that children with a same-sex parent have the same protections as children with married heterosexual parents, including the security of legal ties to both parents. The Child Care & Protection Act however limits what can be said indeed done for LGBT youth in Jamaica and fearmongering fanatics once such work is attempted go screaming claims of ‘grooming’ as if to suggest activists and organizations are trying to ‘homosexualise’ children in the ‘lifestyle’

· To remove existing barriers by defeating legislation, policies, and practices that restrict parenting by those who identify as LGBTQI; promoting and passing new laws that promote LGBTQI parenting such as second parent adoption; and promoting policies and practices that are inclusive of LGBTQI parents.

· To gain recognition of same-sex relationships and to fight off attempts to deny recognition to families who are LGBTQI.

· To ensure that all children have the same opportunity to thrive – which requires that they feel safe, supported and valued in school and are able to attend without fear of bullying, violence, harassment, and discrimination because of who their parents are or how their families were created.

May is also child’s month and the abuse of children is so frightening it boggles the mind while in the same breath children who are not gender conforming continue to find themselves the brunt or stigma, merciless teasing at school, forced evictions and feeling lost as to which way to turn.

Other reports continue to surface such as:

2 cases of forced evictions due to social media (mis)use

• Death threats in one of the inner city spaces of a young gender non-confirming male
• Man booted from church after sustained profiling church officials for not having a woman as a potential wife
• Parents continue to try to change their suspected gender conforming children in a bid to reshape their orientation
• Fallouts from poor or mistakes made from social media usage 
• Sex tapes gone viral which leads to verbal and physical abuse of the suspected parties involved

The struggle continues and it may feel a bit daunting sometimes but not pressing on is not an option.

Peace & tolerance

H

The International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, Biphobia (#IDAHOT) 2016

International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia truly deserves its title of “Global Celebration of Sexual and Gender Identities”

This year again, the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia truly deserves its title of “Global Celebration of Sexual and Gender Identities”. Beyond the rather narrow notions of “Homo”, “Trans”, “Bi”; the day offers a fantastic display of diversity, which mirrors the many facets of human sexualities and gender identities and expressions.

All over the world, advocates and their allies are fighting for what matters most to them: the right to be free from criminalisation, persecution, stigmatisation.

Sometimes the right to just live, as in many countries people have to fear for their lives.

This year specifically, we are seeing the “fault-line” deepening between places where activism is increasing and those where it is repression that is on the rise.

On the one hand, activism in some countries is definitely rising, with more and more visible events and strong support from institutions, which the Day has always been a good framework for and this year again many official buildings will be lit in Rainbow flag colors, such as the Chilean Presidency building.

Rainbow flags will be flying all over the UK and Australia, where this action has become a national IDAHOT favourite. Locally not much is planned except for a forum on love matters as marketed by JFLAG with Dr Karen Carpenter as one of the main panelists. Several disturbing reports continue to come in but mostly unconfirmed on some rather strange homophobic related matters.

In Albania, the now traditional “Bike (P)ride” has already been a huge success last week end. Brussels Pride, always celebrated on the Saturday closest to IDAHOT drew tens of thousands onto the streets. Trans activists in Canada are getting ready to crown years of advocacy as the Government announced it will introduce groundbreaking legislation on May 17th. In Cuba, the IDAHOT week is again celebrated throughout the country. All over the planet, from Moldova to Bhutan, campaigns will take it online and onto the streets to mark the Day. Concerts, flashmobs, film festivals, Transgender beauty pageants, same-sex wedding ceremonies, conferences, lectures, community events and many more have been announced and will be reported on on our social media channels.

On the other hand many activists have asked not to disclose information about their actions for fear of backlash, even in countries where conditions were relatively safe in previous years. In Lebanon for example, the public conference organised by Proud Lebanon had to be cancelled under pressure from opposition.

In some places, this reaction comes as a backlash against stronger visibility of sexual and gender diversities but in some other places, there is increased State and social repression even though the levels of activism have not seen any significant change.

This shows that highly visible recent victories, and some severe defeats, on LGBT issues on several fronts have certainly increased the focus of moral and religious fundamentalist movements on sexual and gender rights. Activists from the sexual and gender minorities movement now have to struggle against increasingly well funded, well organised movements, which are getting much better than before at occupying the ground of values that appeal even to otherwise socially progressive constituencies.

Luckily, international organisations and progressive States are more than ever showing support. Local activists in dozens of countries are supported by Embassies and representations from international organisations.

The United Nations’ Free and Equal campaign has released a special “Why we Fight” music video for the Day. European institutions have held their annual IDAHO Forum, hosted this year by the Danish Government. Unesco is about to open a two-day inter-ministerial meeting on Education sector responses to homophobic and transphobic bullying.

The United Nations have also taken a specific stand this year on the global IDAHOT focus issue on “Mental health and well-being”, as a large alliance of UN experts have issued a joint declaration toend the pathologization of LGBT people, highlighting the many harmful impacts of human rights violations. In over 30 countries, this issue of Mental health and well-being will be a central part of the IDAHOT discussions.

As we see all the fantastic energy and creativity which the activists deploy around May 17, it is more than ever urgent to increase the capacity and resources of activists to stand their ground and promote positive social change.

The IDAHOT was created in 2004 to draw the attention of policymakers, opinion leaders, social movements, the public and the media to the violence and discrimination experienced by LGBTI people internationally.

In under a decade, May 17 has established itself the single most important date for LGBTI communities to mobilise on a worldwide scale.

May 17 is now celebrated in more than 130 countries, including 37 where same-sex acts are illegal, with 1600 events reported by almost 3000 organizations in 2015. 

These mobilisations unite millions of people in support of the recognition of human rights for all, irrespective of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression.

The International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia is not one centralised campaign; rather it is a moment that everyone can take advantage of to take action.

The date of May 17th was specifically chosen to commemorate the World Health Organization’s decision in 1990 to declassify homosexuality as a mental disorder.

The International Day against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia has received official recognition from several States, international institutions as the European Parliament, and by countless local authorities. Most United Nations agencies also mark the Day with specific events.

The Day originated in 2005 with the acronym IDAHO, standing for International Day Against Homophobia. The T was added in 2009 to highlight the inclusion of Transphobia

Some organisations use other acronyms or denominations for this Day, such as IDAHOTB, IDAHOBIT, etc.

Peace & tolerance

H

International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia 2014: Freedom of Expression ......................

I received this release via email today and it struck me how ironic that next year's theme for IDAHO is Freedom of Expression but yet only in this year observance on May 17th our leading advocates JFLAG decided not include our homeless gay and bisexual youths so their voices could carry on such an important day, experts decided to speak supposedly on their behalf, have a read of the release firstly from IDAHO's website and also see the following: 

JFLAG excludes homeless MSM from IDAHO Symposium on guess what? .......... HOMELESSNESS!!!!!!!!

More MSM Homelessness Issues while agencies shift responsibilities

And MSM continue to be ready material for data collection ..... what about the interventions for the recurring issues

IDAHO PRESS RELEASE:

After months of outreach and consultation with LGBTI rights activists and allies around the world, as to what to focus on for the 10th Anniversary edition of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, 2014, we found that the most popular campaign call, in diverse country-settings, was Freedom of Expression.

Activists in countries including Turkey, Russia and Armenia highlighted a need to challenge anti-’propaganda’, ‘obscenity’ and ‘public morality’ laws which, in practice, are being used to close down spaces for public assembly, shut down LGBTI community websites, justify police actions targeting vulnerable communities, and to silence journalists and human rights defenders who speak out in favour of LGBTI rights.

In countries including Brazil and the United States, activists highlighted the use of right-wing religious arguments to curb diversity eduction and anti-bullying campaigns in schools, with the excuse of prohibiting the ‘promotion of homosexuality‘, providing ‘age-appropriate’ material, or ‘respecting the curriculum‘.

In countries such as Uganda and Kenya, LGBTI activists have highlighted the use of arguments that ‘homosexuality is not in our culture‘ to repress public expressions of LGBTI rights, in already very hostile contexts. Meanwhile, in the Philippines and Thailand, LGBTI rights advocates pointed to the absence of specific legal provisions targeting hate crimes and hate speech which, they argued, reflects the power of opponents of LGBTI rights to set the terms of debate.

Various activists, from all over the world, also highlighted freedom of expression as an effective way to promote trans* and gender non-conforming people’s rights to self-determine their gender identities and expressions, push for more accurate and positive representations of trans* people in the media, and to appeal for much-needed improvements in the scope, quality and human rights credentials of gender-identity recognition laws worldwide.

We have also received positive feedback from artists, performers, writers and educators who have highlighted the use of these laws not just to restrict LGBTI community voices, but to limit freedom of expression for all.

Activists in a number of countries also pointed out that, although these laws might be targeted at LGBTI communities on paper, in practice, they also interlock with the policing, and stigmatisation, of all different kinds of communities including sex workers, migrants, ethnic minorities, the socio-economically at risk, and women.

And even in countries where freedom of expression is legally guaranteed, and politically defended, LGBTI people encounter everyday limits on what they can, or feel able to express about who they really are, or to articulate their visions for social change.

In short, whilst freedom of expression might be articulated in different ways in different cultures, it is also – in part – a universal issue which sits in dialogue with many questions, across countless cultural and community contexts.

Issues such as LGBTI Aslyum and Migration, LGBTI-related Stigma in the Fight against HIV/AIDS, Biphobia and Mobilising City Spaces were also popular this year. The IDAHO Committee team will be producing campaign packs and other material on each of these themes, and emphasising them in our communications in the lead-up to, and on, May 17. We will also be maintaining some focus – as in previous years – on fighting LGBTI discrimination in and through education, and creating alliances with progressive faith voices.

This year is also going to be particularly special, because it’s the 10th Anniversary edition of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia !

Get involved !

We now have to think about how to structure the campaign, what protest tactics we could use, and what specific policy goals we should aim for. Everything is still very open, so now is a great time to get involved, and to help shape the campaign !
Should we launch global petition or statement and, if so, with what specific goal?
What sort of protest tactics should we call for and provide toolkits on?
Would you like to see new research appear for May 17, for example, a World Index on LGBTI Freedom of Expression?
What could be some great ways to involve artists, writers and musicians?
Could we organise a video campaign, competition or online film festival for May 17?

If you have any suggestions for what we could do on the day, no matter how unusual, wacky, adventurous or obscene (!), please send us them at our usual email address (contact@dayagainsthomophobia.org), where someone from the team will respond asap. Don’t censor yourself !

If you would like to be involved – as a partner organisation, as a group taking action, or as a volunteer – please also just drop us a line. We would love to hear from you !

You could also…

Tell us about freedom of expression where you are !

We are currently reaching out to activists, researchers etc. in various different countries to try and understand more about how freedom of expression restrictions, related to sexual orientation and gender identity, play out in different national, cultural and political contexts. If you have information or analysis which you would like to share with us please also feel free to drop us a line at the address at : contact@dayagainsthomophobia.org
Recommended reading :
European Parliament Intergroup on LGBT Rights: “Anti-propaganda laws”, the new criminalisation of homosexuality
Article 19: Traditional values? Attempts to censor sexuality: Homosexual propaganda bans, freedom of expression and equality.
Human Rights Watch: The Trouble With Tradition
PEN International: Resolution – The Russian Federation (79th World Congress in Reykjavik, Iceland, Sept 9-12, 2013)
Index on Censorship/Mathew Brown: Shut the Duck Up
American Civil Liberties Union: Banned Books Week 2013 – Books about LGBT Families Remain Targets of Censorship 

ENDS

Yvonne McCallah Sobers of Families Against State Terrorism makes a point during the symposium, apparently she was the one who asked the all important question as to the absence of the homeless men and Larry Chang whose legacy the symposium was held spoke to the presence of the men via Skype. We also see pretentious concerns being banded about by some privileged activists who are more concerned about image than about the welfare of the men even as a report came that last evening the police once again took action regarding some homeless men in New Kingston for the umpteenth time. Let us see how the spin doctoring will be done to report this one as there seems an urgency to deceptively carry out a skewed crisis reporting based on a feeling that Jamaica is the most homophobic place on earth oldie more so than commensurately assist in providing some meaningful redress even as JFLAG and others dither and try to pass responsibility on this on government by lumping general homelessness in their rhetoric but were glaringly silent during very public issues to do with same, anyone remember the street people dumping in Montego Bay some years ago? to name a few.

Where will it end? when some of us including myself watch almost helplessly in some respects as this plays out before our eyes our local efforts can even go very far as opening homes to assist can only go so far and even that comes with its own set of challenges.

Think on these things

Peace and tolerance

H

Unruly gays back with a vengeance says Jamaica Observer ..................

I have been watching this issue of MSM homelessness from the early 2000s just spiral out of control for so long and it is heartbreaking to note that some of us worked so hard and long to arrive at a solution (photo above) to the growing problem when things were far more manageable and the population was docile. Not even a CVM TV discussion on Gay Teens Homelessness earlier in May could stop the captioned from happening as if it were a bid to dress up the situation or damage control for a office-less JFLAG at the time. Now we see repeated spectacles, anti social and criminal behaviour becoming so normative with this group and a JFLAG trying its best to avoid taking responsibility for taking this on earlier than so late in the day. Myself and others who saw the monster coming up the hill from 2007 and even prior to that we warned yet the very shelter that existed was closed to supposedly accommodate JFLAG for an office now they too have found themselves office-less for two months as the men's behaviour and poor management overall led to the landlord taking action. Let us not forget JFLAG was silent when the ultimatum was given by JASL via a board decision to the 12 residents then of the now defunct Safe House Pilot then of the impending doom in 2009/10 hence the men were sent back on the streets and the problems followed from then to now. They never found it necessary to intervene or could not intervene as some persons who sit on JASL’s board then also sat on JFLAG’s Mgmt Cmt as well hence the then Programs Manager turned ED could not and dare not stand up to the authority as he would have probably found himself without a contract. The Executive Director of JASL at the time under whose watch the house was started also resigned or was forced to do so as there were no known infractions against her stewardship hence my reference to the bizarre or dubious decision shrouded in secrecy in previous posts/entries. The very space from which JFLAG was evicted lately was in fact the Safe House Pilot’s residence for the 12+ men and a woman who stayed by another space, the former spaces was taken over no sooner the men had moved.

Here is the 2009 post on the JASL Ultimatum for the closure of the Safe House Project: Homeless MSM to feel the pinch as JASL issues ultimatum

Here is the post I had done in 2010 on the dubious closure of the shelter: The Quietus ......... The Safe House Project Closes

The Safe House Project's background from the conceptualizer …………………

Also we must NOT forget or overlook JFLAG's own shocking exclusion of the homeless men outright from the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia symposium held at the Courtleigh Hotel on May 17, 2013, a decision that has left many wondering a lot of things.

HERE they blame abandonment only as the reason for the men behaving badly when we have the men on record blasting JFLAG for abandoning them prior to the escalation of this all while the agency deceptively issues statements and responses avoiding any responsibility in all of this ugly affair. Repeated stonings at JFLAG/JASL previous offices bear witness to the tense relationship between the men and the agencies yet it is kept quiet. Below are some posts that help to paint a historical timeline to this mess, see others at the end of the entry as well.

see: Street MSM Stone J-FLAG – After Being Cleared From Open Lot

1st Anniversary of the 2nd Homeless MSM Civil disodedience against JASL/JFLAG. (Aug 23/24 2012)

More HERE: JFLAG excludes homeless MSM from IDAHO Symposium 2013 on Homelessness.

I like many others had very high hopes on helping this troubled population to recover in some way and the community based or informal type crisis intervention is not nearly enough to handle the growing numbers of displaced men.

Today the Observer reported:

RESIDENTS of Millsborough Avenue in Barbican, St Andrew say a band of unruly gays who were forcibly removed from an abandoned premises in their community last Sunday, have returned with a vengeance and have upped the ante.

"They are now stealing water from people's properties as the house that they have taken over has been empty for a long while and there is no water or light there. I saw two of them coming out of a house. One of them had a five gallon bottle on his head while another had about four gallon bottles. We can't live like this much longer and again we call on the police to come to our assistance," one resident told the Jamaica Observer.

Despite a police operation two Sundays ago which saw all of the gay men being ordered to pack their bags and go, the defiant men were back by Tuesday, residents say, and have been taunting them and daring them to make them stay away from a community where former Prime Minister Bruce Golding, leading business moguls, the Cuban Ambassador to Jamaica and other well-heeled people call home.

The house at 16 Millsborough Avenue is presently unsecured, as vandals have sawn off the locks and busted open windows, rendering police efforts to remove them permanently useless.

"We would have to put some cops there permanently to ensure that they do not come back. That is unfeasible as we cannot have police at one location in the division indefinitely. The police are stretched beyond their limit. We understand the residents' plight and concerns and will be moving decisively to put an end to this soon. That is all I will say about that at this point. We are facing a serious challenge with these miscreants. We got them out of the golden triangle and now they have relocated and are causing other decent people headaches," one cop from the St Andrew Central Police Division said.But the explanation by the police was of little consolation to the concerned residents who are dying to see the backs of the rowdy gays permanently.

"These boys are very violent and they are not afraid to threaten you with violence when confronted about their unbecoming behaviour. Things are reaching to a boiling point and we are prepared to defend our homes from this invasion of termites. It is very uncomfortable," the resident complained.

A Jamaica Observer news team got a first-hand experience of the violent nature of the violent nature of the gays in question when they went to investigate reports that the police had ordered the squatting gays off the property, after last Sunday's publication of an article in the Observer highlighting the residents' concerns about the outlandish behaviour of the gay men, some of whom the residents say were seen bathing naked on the driveway of the now captured home.

The men, using expletives, attacked an Observer photographer who was taking pictures of the premises and flung bottles, stones and other missiles wildly, even as he beat a hasty retreat to a marked Observer vehicle.

They only retreated when the photographer managed to enter the vehicle which sped off.

The incident has drawn the ire of the Press Association of Jamaica (PAJ) which wrote to Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG) condemning the attack and dubbing it an attack on the free press.

However J-FLAG has distanced itself from the untoward behaviour of the homeless gays but not without attempting to explain the reason for their conduct.According to J-FLAG executive director Dane Lewis, there are claims that the particular set of rowdy gays are among some of the country's gays who come from the lower social strata and have been chased from their homes and communities and have always been the subjects of ridicule.

Lewis claims that the gay men have no earning skill and are desperate.

"This particular issue is part of the broader societal problem facing many persons who are affected by high levels of structural instability in communities across the island. The problem is further exacerbated not by the sexual or gender identities of the young men but by the absence of core functional skills that would have been inculcated had they been part of a family, school or community.

"Their abandonment by family and community is therefore most germane to the discourse, not the symptoms of their displacement. These are vulnerable young Jamaicans in desperate need of help and I would therefore urge your members not to see this event as one to deter them from pursuing their critical role in bringing to light these relevant issues and calling to task all those with responsibility to see to the needs of vulnerable Jamaicans," he said.

ENDS

Shame that the Press Association of Jamaica had to remind JFLAG what they are supposed to do and how to handle the representative populations but many won't see this as I objectively do.

Read and listen more below for the dithering and hypocrisies with the population over the years:

Men in house said occupied by gays allegedly attack Jamaica Observer staff

Residents say gays take over Barbican house …………………

Interfaith group pledges continued support for St Catherine homeless MSM

Homeless impatient with agencies over slow progress of promised shelter

Marauding homosexuals and J-FLAG (Observer Editorial) ……………………

A Neighbour's take on the Homeless MSM Matter

And we continue to reap the world-wind for not addressing homelessness when it was manageable

Homeless MSM make news again ....... for all the wrong reasons

Kingston Homeless MSM Evicted (yet again) ..........

Hypocrisy, Continued damage control via stands

Complaint of "Freaky Gays" Harassing New Kingston ...

MSM homelessness issues 2010 

More MSM teetering on homelessness

Some good news on the homeless front ..... guarded.

On homelessness, evictions, hypocrisy

MSM employ Civil Disobedience to get JASL Board's Attention

The Safe House Project background from the conceptualizer …………………

more from GLBTQJA on Wordpress HERE

Minister of Education says no to condoms in schools & grooming of children to see homosexuality as accepted

The last time I looked at this was via two podcasts entered on October 28, 2012 and September 18, 2012 and written entries as well on the withdrawal of a teachers’ manual on sex and sexuality. As today is also Children’s Day I decided to release this entry today although it was ready from the moment the story broke. On his feet in parliament on May 15, 2013 the Minister of Education Reverend Ronald Thwaites said that condoms will not be distributed in schools neither will children be “groomed” into seeing homosexuality as accepted in Jamaica. Coming just days before the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia, IDAHOT to be observed on May 17th his exact words were:

“This government led by this Prime Minister lifts up to our children the ideal of faithful love and marriage between a man and a woman as the basis of a family even as we insist on tolerance and love for those who are exposed to homosexuality but let it be clear Mr Speaker we will not be grooming children towards same sex unions and we will not be distributing condoms in schools. Guidance counsellors and their counterparts in the school and community health care systems they must know what to do when a student is in danger of sexual abuse but school is not a ramping shop, restraint must be taught by example and precepts, sex education yes, condoms no” 

He continued regarding the withdrawn yet forward thinking Home and Family Life Education manual that in part spoke to homosexuality, anal sex and a guided imagery exercise of role reversal which was to be conducted in a supervised environment by specially trained counsellors/teachers he said “ .... A positive value laidened age appropriate health and family life curriculum has been revised by a broad based working group for required use in all schools by September.”

Some lunacy here from the goodly minister or playing to the gallery seeing the party/administration has lost some major political capital post the IMF negotiations and confidence in the economy. It is not the first time of course we have seen the issue of homosexuality being made a platform for great pontificating and moral material while playing to the religious right’s imperative. What was also interesting is that the withdrawn HFLE manual is a voluminous document that spoke to several other wholesome developmental issues yet for one section it was removed out of fear.

Lasmay cartoonist from the Gleaner captures it best

So teaching children how to think on tolerance in regards to homosexuality is seen as grooming them to accept gay marriage? It is unbelievable the fear and paranoia coming from the powers that be in the education ministry, some people are gay, bisexual or the other variants we all have to come to that realization sooner or later. I am not surprised regarding the gay marriage bit and lumping all of that as a drive to homosexualize the nation as it were, it was in 2009 when the Bruce Golding administration rode the invented gay marriage discussion as a ploy to cloud the then Charter of Rights debate when the powerful religious lobby Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship, LCF also took part in seeing to it that certain key words were removed from the language in fear of any supposed loop holes for any rights or recognition of homosexuality in their eyes. Also at that time the then opposition leader who is now the Prime Minister referred to by Minister Thwaites sided with the Bruce Golding administration on not to gay marriage On October 20, 2009 where she said “Mr Speaker when we accepted the final report from the committee that looked at the bill we were completely satisfied with their recommendation of a provision to restrict marriage and liked relationships to one man and one woman within Jamaica and that the provision should specifically spelt out so that there could be no ambiguity (applause) yes! One man one woman and if you are Jamaican and you go overseas the same applies.” (applause) she continued that on highly sensitive matters such as these overseas supporters and governments must recognize the voice of the majority, she also continued that if same sex marriage was legalized it will lead to chaos in the country. The same charter also spoke to non-discrimination in terms of class, moving about and association but apparently certain things must not apply to some minorities;

The tyranny of the majority?

Red herrings here as per usual? ...... Of course to get everyone worked up

Scared or coward politicians who can’t make the bold decisions needed?

Where is the real tolerance in all of this?

We seem to have a different sense for human rights as it is not universal as is espoused prior to that as well during the P. J. Patterson administration in 2006 the then Minister of Justice A. J Nicholson prepared a statement on No To Gay Marriage at the time and given the recent dodge by the present administration now on the suggested buggery review by Mrs Simpson Miller during the last leadership debate prior to the December 2011 election it is clear that the issues of homosexuality and condoms are being lumped to make it into a political football for mileage. Let us also not forget that at no time was there any agitation for gay marriage rights or state benefits for same sex couples in Jamaica when we can’t even get passed just privacy, consensual sex and more progressive legislation alongside the deep seated cultural rejection so engrained in our psyche. I was not fooled from the start as was some advocates who hailed Mrs Simpson Miller’s suggestion as a promise only to have their hopes dashed, we must get used to Jamaican politicians by now and how they operate and with a powerful religious group and churches right behind them they will feel justified to take the so called higher ground yet look at the hypocrisy where children in lockups, the indigent and other afflicted groups are treated and silence from those same churches not to mention the politically skewed Jamaica Council of Churches who only seem to be very vocal when the Jamaica Labour Party is in power. 

Besides the law as in the marriage act in Jamaica presently will not allow gay marriages in the first place as it clearly states it is between a man and a woman and will take major amendments to include same gender loving persons. In 2001 there was a presentation made to the committee deliberating the Charter at the time with regards to discrimination but it was avoided via intellectual gymnastics as per usual. 

The avenue of challenging the marriage act has not been used even though the avenue exists and the reason why the discrimination clause was overlooked was due to a fear that such a challenge would come in the future counter to the charter. In other words no loopholes must be left for gays to get any rights now and in the future, a principle that was used also in the Sexual Offences Bill debate and the parliamentary submission regarding the buggery law in 1998.


Teenage pregnancies are up as much as 18%; HIV/AIDS rates are of concern with teenage girls in particular as the trends suggest older men are having sexual contact quite regularly. Initiation is also a challenge and withholding information and instilling an abstinence only messaging is not practical in today’s world. I will admit I was not pleased with the way the discourse on the suggestion of condom distribution in schools was handled properly by the press, the church (who owns and runs several high schools) the respective stake holders including the Ministry of Health’s and related national HIV programs and the public, what should have been made clear is distribution from a certain age upwards with the relevant information and skill sets provided and shared. Schools would not just become a condom slot machine where teens can simply get condoms as they please, there will have to be monitoring, counselling, information dissemination and other alternative activities presented as options for sexually active teens.

If we were to follow the authorities one would walk away thinking that the present set of adults were not young once with urges and desires, attractions and indeed initiation and experimentation and as the austerity measures take effect of sorts all kinds of methods are now being found to cut where possible and this cop out from handling sex and sexuality matters even as the minister himself recognises initiation and despite the finding that 60% girls of one class at a Kingston school were mothers, he also said in his presentation, “The education system in Jamaica recognizes that many children are initiated into sexual activity during their classroom years, some of the mass media, the carnival culture and confused family values are among forces who weaken the truth that premature sex is seat if true love”

As he imputes motive in the line with the word “forces” his continued belief that some invisible hand somewhere is trying to force homosexuality on the nation’s children during the preparation of the previous version of the HFLE manual that he now says is revised and now our kids will get a sanitized version and yet again we hide the real truth from them when they themselves know more about sex than the adults who teach them. He however encouraged school administrators to re-engage pregnant teens and not to shun them. The occasional preachy scripture related lines must be noted as well in his presentation.

And what about prevention of HIV and other sexually transmitted infection in the face of the fact that many teens are not going to remain sexless or virgins by thirteen years of age? Many students during the waiting period of the review of the withdrawn HFLE manual were not attending related classes according a small check I did. My neighbour’s grand daughter who attends Alpha Academy has the textbook equivalent to the manual at level 3 and when I quizzed her about the classes she said that no classes has happened and the students welcomed the free period on that given day on the time table. So valuable time has been lost, God knows what mistakes have been made or what could have been avoided.

Fear is a hell of a thing why is there the conflation with same gender sex and abuse or homo-paedophilia so pronounced and how can it be addressed? The teaching of same sex couples as a form of the newer family unit is not precluding the traditional heterosexual unit or taking away rights from such persons. Of course the gay lobby predominantly JFLAG whose stewardship by now you my readers realize am not pleased with will be relying on the law suit coming up in May and June by two persons on the ad rejection by both television stations and the challenge to the buggery law in a sense by activist/blogger Javed Jaghai. Very little came from the aforementioned persons/groups when the HFLE manual was withdrawn earlier this year possible showing how out of touch they are with how connected all of this is to the homophobia we have faced over the decades. I have long concluded that it is because of the lack of the proper curriculum on sex and sexuality over generations why we are at the chronic homophobic position. If we were taught not to fear sex, see homosexuality as orientation and not to hate but seek to understand the issues, abstinence as well as sexual negotiations with safer sex, self esteem and sexuality we would not have the psyche of fear and hate of the feminine and the unknown.

The latter mentioned fears has made homophobia well grounded in our nation and is going to take generations to change the thinking despite persons well travelled or exposed to other cultures. The so called family values that are used as reasons to avoid discussing difference and sexualities but the pathologies of said family life issues in a Christian sense are hidden or driven from a pulpit without any room for engagement for persons who have issues in their lives, marriage for example a discussion on Love 101FM on May 16, 2013 openly spoke to this in a very rare occasion marriage is pushed forward as if once one gets married in the church with God as its centre then all is well when this could not be further from the truth as the same issues of discovered incompatibilities show up after the ring is on, domestic violence, cheating, high rates of divorces within the church itself and down low issues as well where persons struggling with homosexual or bisexual urges marry to avoid, try to change or suppress such feelings and orientation.

Even as May is observed as Family month in certain church denominations it is clear that the very family values that more and more seem to be adopting very exclusionary ideologies is going against the very word of God and he sent his son to embrace the outcast yet homosexuals are supposedly viewed as poisoned individuals where even some anti gay voices have gone as far as creating “others” by using very degrading description to make scapegoats for their hate, what about the basic premise of judge not and not be judged or do unto others? Misplaced aggression hidden under a platform of religiosity here is at work I think and it reminds me of the fact that it was the Scribes (similar to modern day theologians) and Pharisees who were Jesus’ strongest opponents simply because he reached the poor and the ordinary yet it was Rome’s intellectual, political and legal systems that were made as weapons to crucify him with deception becoming a major tool for this new type of theocracy in other words enemies and fraudsters within who pontificate on virtuous platforms. 

The theology is in the sociology basically, if the church or religiosity is not willing to step into the present reality or become accommodative to difference then how long can it survive being insular and holding fast to some older ideologies that do not make sense in today’s world?

And if winning souls for the kingdom is supposed to be the work involved here for the church on earth then using derogatory terms, separatists ideology hidden in theological mumbo jumbo and hypocrisy in the name of Christ to create “others” so they can be made infectious, then where is the witness component here, is it only preaching to the converted and keeping themselves to themselves the ultimate goal here is that what Christian witness has come to or where is the leadership by example?

So we remain at a standstill as the education ministry decides to remain in the old ages regarding sex and sexuality at the expense of our young.

In a follow up press briefing the minister made it clear he was not afraid of a backlash from the gay lobby, “Fear is not an issue in this it’s a question of what is right” he continued that advocating the homosexual lifestyle is not in line with the mood of the Jamaican people or what is right and moral, “We must be very careful that in the interest of tolerance we do not allow minority groups to defeat majority sentiments.” In other words I interpret that as stay in your place as minority voices and protection are unimportant in his eyes.

Peace and tolerance

H 

Some background:

Urgent need to discuss Sex & sexuality nationally

Urgent need to discuss Sex & sexuality nationally part 2

from the earlier HFLE Fiasco in 2012

Flashback to 2012

The IDAHO 2012 Report is out .....

With mobilization stretching across all continents and over 100 countries, the 2012 edition of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia broke new records. Several countries joined the celebrations for the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia for the first time, including countries among those which keep 1,5 BILLION people under laws that criminalize same sex relationships. Hundreds of millions of people reached by anti-homophobia and transphobia messages, as media massively covers IDAHO mobilizations worldwide. A short list of highlights include : Activists flew the rainbow flag on the hills above Tehran - Iran First-ever LGBT events were held in 7 cities across Burma, one of which hosted a 105 year old Transgender woman who addressed the young generations with a message of hope and love Organizations in Saint Petersburg defied the recently passed law prohibiting any form of LGBT activism, flying hundreds of balloons in the city skies as part of the global ’Rainbow Flash-mob’ action. Unesco convened an international conference to launch their first ever publication focusing solely on the issue of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, consisting of a collection of best-practice cases from around the world. As part of the Pride action week held for IDAHO in Cambodia, a float of ’tuktuk’ (local three-wheeler scooter taxi) raced under heavy monsoon rains, and included the participation of the British Ambassador. The IDAHO Committee held with the OECD and the World Bank an international conference reflecting on the economical cost which homophobic and transphobic policies bear on developing countries, and announced a research project on this issue. More than 50 EU politicians collectively recorded a video to support LGBT young people, on the mode of the ‘It Gets Better’ campaign. At UN level, the heads of UNAIDS and UNDP marked the day and added their voices to the High Commissioner for Human Right who recorded a video ahead of the day in support of activists’ mobilizations. In several countries in Latin America, organizations pursued, with the support of the World Health Organization, last year’s IDAHO ’Cures that Kill’ campaign which aims at fighting against so-called reparative ’cures’ In Cuba, the President’s daughter, Mariela Castro, once again lead the annual IDAHO street parade. In other places, people were invited to get a ’vaccine against homophobia’, by activists dressed as doctors. In high school, colleges and universities, students held ’IDAHO classes’, to teach the teachers how to confront homophobia and transphobia in the class. In many countries like Brazil, the United Kingdom, France, China, Canada, and others, the Day is being celebrated across the whole nation, including in places where ’traditional’ LGBT celebrations like Pride marches are not possible. As an activist from the Unites Arab Emirates wrote : "‘Days like IDAHO help to remind us all, not only the LGBT community, but every individual that basic human rights are still being fought for. LGBT rights are not special rights, they are Human rights!" This sentence surely resonates in all of us as the one overarching vision that binds us all together, beyond our diversities, which we should celebrate. All in all, once again, a vibrant, diverse and imaginative IDAHO. A celebration of courage, determination and creativity ! The annual report brings many more stories and pictures from around the world. The IDAHO team wishes you an inspiring reading ! The IDAHO Committee team Document to download IDAHO - ANNUAL REPORT 2012 In Jamaica the report mentioned: More than 80 representatives from government, civil society, the diplomatic corps and various educational institutions joined Jamaican activists for a public forum in Kingston themed “Right The Wrong: Encouraging Respect for Safer Schools and Better Learning Environments.” The forum sought to highlight the urgent need to address issue of bullying in schools. Pity this was not highlighted nationally save and except for CVM TV very little was mentioned of this by JFLAG

Charter Breaches Human Rights says former Bar Ass. head

THE EDITOR, Sir:

ONE DAY after the world observed International Day Against Homophobia, Jamaica has found itself with a supposedly 'improved' Constitution that preserves discrimination based on sexual orientation.

The recently passed Charter of Rights does an extremely illiberal thing: it ensures that there can be no constitutional interpretation that challenges gay male laws which criminalise male homosexual sex. The charter preserves all that existed before.

We find ourselves at this place through the action of both major political parties. Popular resentment towards gays and lesbians means that politicians felt the need to pander to homophobia, said to exist among the majority of us, to win or maintain votes. Moral courage and objective leadership on this issue have been absent from within our Parliament.

We are now left with the consequences of this institutionalised discrimination. Our refusal to address homophobia will continue to make us a target for international criticism. Laws criminalising homosexual sex fly in the face ofour international human-rights obligations.

Our motto, 'Out of Many, One People', embraces all. This means that the Constitution ought to protect diversity and plurality. The fact that Parliament has voted to keep a legal regime in place, to keep gay people as second-class citizens, means we are content to have an unequal and unjust society.

I am, etc.,

ARLENE HARRISON HENRY

Attorney-at-law

"Cures that Kill" - a regional IDAHO petition campaign against Reparative Therapies

A pan-American campaign against "reparative" therapies

In May 17th 1990, the World Health Organization (WHO) wrote homosexuality out of its International Diseases and Other Health Problems Statistics Manual” (DSM). For this reason, this date was chosen to celebrate the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO). Although transgenderism still figures in the DSM, medical consensus in many countries affirm that treatment must be available for Trans people to have their bodies adjusted to their gender perception. In line with these orientations, the WHO and the international human rights system oppose all kinds of treatment that aim at “curing” homosexuality.Despite this, all over the world and in various social and cultural contexts all over Latin America and the Caribbean, cases are reported each year of people who are locked up in so called “psychiatric wards” endorsed and/or managed by certain religious institutions or even public ones, in order to be “cured”. Same-sex attraction or gender variance are considered by these institutions and those who endorse them as a “diversion of personality” that may be “corrected” through pardon and religious beliefs, accompanied with punishment, anguish and physical and psychological torture.

Unable to "cure" their desire, LGBT people in many cases develop feelings of guilt and low self-esteem and self-destructive behaviors. They may even attempt to commit suicide, a phenomenon that is growing particularly among youth and adolescents. Furthermore, such misguided and misleading initiatives, usually based on religious premises, encourage and foster verbal and physical abuse, and even the killing of persons because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. All these are preventable deaths, to which the State must pay attention and take preventive measures.

Homosexuality and transsexualism are naturally occurring expressions of human diversity and are protected by the principles of liberty, equality and human dignity enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international instruments. Still, besides being systematically spread in religious spaces, intolerant fundamentalist discourses are increasingly spilling over into spaces where the principle of secularism should prevail, such as the legislative, executive and judicial sectors, thus influencing the decisions that should be informed by wide scientific consensus and treaties and agreements signed by the States at the international, national and local levels, rather than by the sacred books of any religion, no matter how mainstream they may be.

Those who support the campaign "CURES THAT KILL" oppose the so called “therapies” which aim to “repair,” or “correct,” or “cure” homosexuality and transgenderism. We recognize the positive existence of religious voices in favor of acceptance and respect for all forms of life and unite our voices in a call to religious leaders to be consistent with the principles and rights regarding life, equality, dignity and diversity, and to refrain from promoting lesbophobia, homophobia and transphobia.

We DEMAND that governments in Latin American and Caribbean countries adhere to the principle of secularism and take concrete measures to combat “reparative” practices targeting homosexuality and transgenderism, including the disruption of any public funding to institutions or individuals that have not clearly distanced themselves from such practices.

We DEMAND that the national or local public health systems exclude all practitioners who practice or promote “reparative” approaches.

We URGE private donors to make the explicit opposition to “reparative” therapy a criterion for approval of grants.

We REQUEST that the religious authorities strongly condemn the use of discourses that suggest and / or promote “reparative” processes, and instead promote acceptance of sexual and gender diversity as natural, normal, and health variables of human nature.

SIGN THE PETITION HERE