Proceed with caution, there is extortion

Proceed with caution, there is extortion

In recent times we have heard of reports in the media of organized crime groups targeting certain agencies, wholesalers and business in geographical zones for weekly monthly and even special holiday extortion payments under pain of threats of arson, kidnapping or even death by the gun. Downtown Kingston comes readily to mind as over the decades western region crime lords have developed an awful reputation of carrying out this practice and there is proof to this effect with one major kingpin serving time, these crime bosses also have legitimate business/assets as well under the guise of conducting legal trade while they profit largely from the practice. So pronounced this cancer had become that we were furnished with reports through media again of it spreading to unexpected parts of the business district in the up-scale New Kingston a surprising revelation. It was only recently that a certain West Kingston personality had his eighteen million dollars returned to him after much legal ramblings over its legality; of course loop holes were found to make it happen following his other asset forfeiture court battles linked to crime.

We also know of this practice in Spanish Town as well as politically aligned gangs do so to finance their survival and operations and supposed schooling of community kids, holiday and special children’s treats alongside so called community assistance by dons is used to normalize the practice in the eyes of their followers, apologists and even residents who do not support the practice in principle are forced sometimes to keep it quiet as the “informer will die” (informa fi dead) or the snitch ethos takes effect. The face of extortion has been changing as criminal groups and individuals seem to have adopted a Trinidadianized practice where more individuals especially their children at schools or day care are now being targeted especially from upper middle income to high income brackets, Central Jamaica seems a prime target with places like Mandeville since many returning residents reside there, an infamous case comes to mind. The evidence shows of the fear caused by the racket as several shops in a recently built plaza in St Catherine remain empty as persons refuse to rent them fearing a visit from thugs armed with receipt books in some instances (guns hidden or threats made) demanding wads of cash weekly or monthly, in downtown Kingston and indeed other vending/market areas it is a known secret that the practice abounds with higglers and vendors(mobile or stationary) having to set aside money for the collectors who come openly with books as well while their “protection” lurk in the shadows. Even hand cart men I am told cannot escape the “tax” as it were as the hand carts are owned by persons who rent them out and the storage areas have instituted a pound fee for overnight housing. Now comes the city regulation as well compounding the rates that must be charges by these operators to eke out a living.

A recent case with persons were hiding and living in my very housing scheme made news and shocked residents as well myself as the men who were arrested after a very public and massive police raid revealed that the “decent looking” individuals were actually criminals in an intricate kidnap for ransom network and a car stealing ring spanning some three parishes. No one can be trusted these days as one just never knows who your neighbour might be and with individualism becoming a major construct of Jamaican society socialization I am expecting more surprises such as this. The individual targeting kidnap and extortion practice is more so heard of as a problem in Trinidad hence my connection to it previously but what brings me to the reason for creating this entry is that there is a lesbian twist to it that was brought to my attention by two such cases separately but very similar in nature over a five month span. Also there is the business of alleged gay lotto scammers who are also being targeted in Kingston & St Andrew as a practice that has migrated from Western Jamaica where it once thrived prior to the intervention of the state agencies of course under severe diplomatic pressure from the United States as recent activities brought to bear though the authorities refuse to admit it. The recently highly publicised concluded sex tape and blogger case where digital files such as video clips and photos were illegally lifted from the devices of the female owners or computers that were hacked into and the possession of the items used as the bartering tool in exchange for thousands of dollars proved that the practice is on the rise and is getting more complicated with a cyber crimes twist. As I have warned in a precious entry on Gay Jamaica Watch one needs to be careful about Facebook pages, use of smart phones devices and what materials you store and share even privately without the necessary password and other security protection, one just never knows.

Lesbophobic twists

Three same gender loving females in total were victims of a kidnap, armed robbery and stalking, with two being a couple who went shopping in the upper St Andrew area they were held for several hours, they were pounced upon as they almost neared their apartment on foot, the other woman was trailed as she walked to her flat as well where she was attacked and dragged in a car, several calls were made to her phone contacts demanding some three hundred thousand dollars in ransom. The three men in the latter case also allegedly fondled the woman for several hours threatening to rape her as they suspected she was a lesbian. In the couple’s case however one was shot sustaining a bullet to the left leg and laid up several days in the hospital for same. Their bank cards and other items were stolen and a price tag of three hundred thousand was also demanded by a series of phone calls for several days by the men or persons believed to be linked to the robbers the case is said to be still under investigation as the women contemplate their next move, relocation and asylum included.

A lesbian in her late twenties is said to have been missing since September 22, 2012 and to date no positive word on her whereabouts, many are now worried she may be already deceased or at least captured in some sick twisted ring or extortion or racketeering. Not to be divorced from all this is the forced prostitution ring and sex trade overseas where unsuspecting women are drawn into the web on behalf of pimps who employ all kinds of methods to sell or barter the victims in a worldwide trade.

Other reports

Unconfirmed reports suggest that gay men of a certain lotto scamming group have been targeted by thugs who make regular visits to rotating meeting spots to collect part proceeds as the cash rich illegal activity continues despite the new legislation and clamp downs as the National Security Minister was forced to act as United States authorities stepped up the pressure diplomatically and other wise. One popular diva in the Western region of St James said to have been made to part with just under some five thousand United States currency recently as a spat between themselves and a thug (non homosexual issue) led to a raid by his friends on the diva’s home while she was away. Heterosexual thugs also involved in the activity do not seem to mind working with cross dressers or drag queens or homosexuals for that matter and in fact it has become practice to target gay men for the active part of the activity as it is said we speak far better than the average person on the phone so recruitment is targeted for oratorical skills. The relationship is so good that hardly any "homophobicly" based incidents occur reportedly between the groups but more so issues to do with jealousy, payments and as this entry highlights, extortion. Let us not forget the car chasing case I carried on one of my blogs some time ago and another blog post on kidnap for ransom some years ago.

A particular member of parliament is also rumoured (yes I am going there) to be paying a significant amount of money to contain certain damning photographs of himself and other men in a most compromising position making their way to the public domain, allegations are his phone was taken by thugs who he has been friendly with and they decided to capitalise upon the discovery of the raunchy shots. So it seems even with the MSM umbrella we have this phenomenon creeping up.

Disturbing homeless MSM twist

Now that the New Kingston homeless MSM have been scattered as the two major agencies they have come to have a dependency syndrome challenge with due to those agencies dithering on developing and operationalizing the requisite programs to address the exploding problem the men are now targeting other MSM who have to traverse the streets and even in populated areas especially at nights, so pronounced is this extortion cancer growing as some within the population try to justify their action that they need food that outside LGBT parties in Kingston or within them certain weaker personalities are bum-rushed for money with aggressive tactics employed such as physical threats. This is not new I might add as years ago there were some characters who for the most part have either died or moved on who also did this and it never really went away altogether but it is certainly on the rise. An unconfirmed report in recent days suggest a community person who allegedly tried to engage some of the homeless men was given a fine thrashing as he could not cough up the money the men were demanding and the rage they exhibited after having to relocate from the aforementioned agencies former offices since they were given eviction notices. The community person sustained injuries of a fractured arm, cuts and bruises. I too have met with some hostility from some of the men to a certain extent especially the younger group but they tend to tread carefully with me as my temper is not that nice and I can assure you I am not afraid to block it publicly if I have to, besides one has to time the engagement periods, now is not a proper time to do so even if to extend some olive branch of some sort.

Not all the men were being reached by the limited paltry feeding program one agency was offering them albeit without the urgently needed supporting psycho social interventions and agencies simply expect the men to suddenly change their anti social dispositions on the mere delivery of a Styrofoam box of cooked food and a promise of a phantom shelter that is yet to be seen? Then it is no wonder why the men now angered by their forced re-displacement by the new property owners despite the illegality of occupying the vacated offices of the aforementioned agencies. In this case the monster has been self made and fed in part, created by the failure of leadership and the needed systems to address a long standing MSM problem, one of the most visible forms of fallout from profiling due to homophobia. Now comes extortion of and by our own.

A more entrenched form of extortion that has transcended homeless generations is the proverbial pimp tax practice linked to commercial sex work and intimidation by hyper-masculine types with robbery in some cases the June 13, 2012 double murder in the Trafalgar area was indeed as a consequence of this internal rivalry and cross fertilization if you will since gay for pay/down-low men occasionally clash with the street men for varying reasons.

I offer a word of caution to those out there be on the lookout where ever you go even LGBT entertainment events as they are not immune to this problem bearing in mind that an increasing number of non gay personnel are now working in the arena of providing services to party promoters and some coming in under this guise as well.

Social media these days is also a concern as ones general media presence must be monitored with regards electronic tattoos and footprints left on line (outside of the epidermal electronic systems), activities on sites as Facebook, NING, SocialGo, Blogger and Instagram can leave one open to being stalked or monitored by persons with ulterior motives. The seemingly popular practice of updating statuses with geographical location and typed status messages of where one is and actually doing may not only been seen by friends on ones acquaintance list but if the correct privacy settings are not activated can leave one very exposed. These inadvertent notices while cute or socially acceptable maybe pieces to make up a CSI crime investigation scene after the fact. Photos and other data can be manipulated if done proper to implicate you or someone else with all kinds of scenarios and only a highly trained expert can extirpate one from such an matter.

Tracking by persons of a potential victim is made far too easy by these actions on social media, one has to literally behave as if you are being watched and anonymity is basically dead in the water these days. Not even the best codes written for software on social media sites such as Facebook can protect one as a simple bug or glitch can lead to disastrous consequences but seeing Facebook has been forced for example to tighten security features for profiles following series of breaches and lawsuits, they may be the safest site just now but do not take it for granted. BlackBerry and other devices with associated software also MUST be monitored as hinted before. A segway of sorts here is that what one also puts on social media or on-line can affect how one even gets a job, many employers now check potential applicants’ on-line footprints or tattoos for any infraction which may lead to someone becoming ineligible for an interview or being shortlisted.

Updates to come where available as you may know by now follow up is a bit difficult and investigations tend to fade into obscurity of several cases in the formal systems. 

also see: Kidnap for Ransom ring thwarted from 2011

Peace and tolerance

H

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

United Belize Advocacy Movement homosexuality case raps ......... judgement to come

 

After 3 years of anticipation, and 4 long days of legal back and forth, the Caleb Orozco United Belize Advocacy Movement head's challenge to Section 53 of the criminal code in his country has finally been argued to completion, and tonight or until about December, it is in the hands of the Chief Justice to make a decision.

Eamon Courtney, the lead attorney for the Churches, finished his presentation this morning. His argument explained why the Orozco challenge should be struck out of court.

After a 5 hour presentation, Courtenay briefly explained that thrust of his argument: that Orozco could not prove that any of his constitutional rights were violated because he’s never been prosecuted, and will likely never be prosecuted for his sexual preference.

Eamon Courtenay - SC - Attorney for the Churches

 

"Once UNIBAM was struck out as a claimant then it left Mr. Orozco's affidavit with very little evidence about a personal prejudice that he was being affected by and in the absence of that - the cases are very clear that you cannot bring a claim under the constitution. We relied on cases and I heard Mr. Hamel-Smith in reply criticizing me for the submission for making it late but I think he will understand that that is the law. Whether I make it now or yesterday - that is the law. He has no standing in this claim. I don't want the impression to be given as I understand it has been given in some quarters of the media that the church is insensitive or intolerance to the rights of gay people, lesbians or transgender people. I submitted quite carefully and clearly to the court that in face one of the most tolerant entities in our democracy is in fact, the church.

We are understanding of Mr. Orozco's position and in fact - Mr. Orozco should be praised for having raised this issue. The point is that he has raised it in the wrong forum. The court is not an academic institution, it is not a place where you come and ask for advisory opinions for example the International Court of Justice. You have to suffer a right, you have to suffer a prejudice and when that happens to you then you come to court. All the cases that were relied on by my learned friends except the ones that come from Singapore - I distinguish that because they don't have an equivalent to our section 20. They said that in that case the mere existence of the provision on the law is enough - they don't have section 20. Our section 20 says - very carefully that you have to have a right that is being contravene, is likely to be contravene, or has been contravened in relation to you. So it is not an academic question and if Mr. Orozco cannot prove that the police has threatened him, that they have arrested him, that there's a likelihood that he's going to be prosecuted or arrested or somehow prejudiced by this law then he cannot have standing. The proper place for him to seek redress is in the National Assembly - seeking to get the legislators to change the law on the matter. I made the submission to the court this morning that all the evidence from Mr. Orozco, all the evidence - document after document shows representations to the National Assembly asking them and the government to change the law. 

We sited responses from the government saying that they are not prepared to do it and so what I told the court is that the claimants are upset about that and have come to the Chief Justice and asking him to lash and discipline the legislatures because they are not doing what Mr. Orozco wants. That has no place in our democracy - when it comes to law making and when it comes to defining what is a criminal offense in Belize - that is determined by the National Assembly and not by the Supreme Court." But as we showed you, there are members of the church who have the impression that if the 3 words that Orozco says are offensive to his rights are removed, it deflates Section 53 of the criminal code, and makes it ineffective against perpetrators of male on male rape, and child molestation.

Courtney told us that he can understand why that concern has arisen. According to him, it partly because the claimant’s case is unclear; it is not applying the strength it needs to qualify for a proper challenge in court.

Eamon Courtenay
"There case isn't clear. I pointed it out to the Chief Justice, in fact they have presented the court with four options. The one option they have not presented the court is striking down Section 53 completely so once that is off the table, the question is what type of sexual practices are constitutional and what are not? That is why they have to give the court four options to choose from. The point that we're making is once you move away from an absolute challenge to Section 53 and say to the court 'I am giving you a menu' and as an example I gave to the court - 'this is a very nice steak and how do you want it? Rare, medium rare, medium well or you want it well done?' They are giving four options to the chief justice asking him to choose how he likes his 'steak'. The constitution precludes that type of operation by a court. They should take those four options to the government, to the legislature and say 'we advocate for one or two or whichever' and have the legislature choose it."

And in relation to this issue, UNIBAM sent out a release yesterday in which it condemned all of abusive sexual behaviour, including all forms of rape and child molestation.

According to the organization, Section 53 is not the answer to male on male rape, and that there needs to be legislative reform on the rape laws to make them gender-neutral.

In relation to the challenge in court, Chief Justice Benjamin has reserved judgement for a date to be later announced.

Some content from Belize 7 news and videos by Brian Paul Welsh, to see more UNIBAM stories click the tag immediately below.

A mother’s hateful letter, a lesbian’s suicide attempt

A twenty three year old Jamaican lesbian residing in New York is still recovering in a medical facility in the United States following an attempted suicide at the end of February 2013 after a series of hateful written correspondences over a four year period after she left Jamaica to take up studies between the aggrieved lesbian and her mother. The letters according to a well respected source close to the matter who asked that I share this and who was willing to have certain aspects of the ordeal known were quite fine during the first few exchanges but as time progressed the young woman who had been contemplating coming out way before her departure from Jamaica was worried about the reaction from her mother and other sister at that time. She has been having some difficulty swallowing and so her time in the hospital has been extended as news spread of this case many including myself are still in shock after learning of this as she is personally known to me.

Born and raised as a church going sibling she did all the expected activities that well behaved and obedient child should do but felt something apparently gnawing at her inner core, the source continued. It was not until in her teens that she soon realised that her same sex attractions grew far stronger than she could ever imagine and even went as far as praying to seek remedy and a healing cure for this scourge as it were. I can remember my own attempt literally hours on my knees in my bedroom praying to God to be rid of this desire for men and my feeling of shame and guilt as well. I went as far as subscribing to the early ex gay notions of homosexuality being caused by an absentee father (even physically present in the home) and so it was also with this young lady, she at one point bought into the idea in her search for reasons that it was because she did not have a strong father figure hence her desire for women.

Finally the struggle was too much to bear and as most do come to the realization that this is me and I cannot change who I am. Her mother’s hounding of why she did not have a boyfriend soon cropped up and the other predictable condemnations including the use of passages to instruct her that it was her job to reproduce or to procreate (excluding the lesbian knowledge bit) her mother even went as far as to suggest pastoral intervention to supposedly preselect a man for her in the church as she was to remain in the church as her mother’s insistence even in adult life. It was a relationship however with a female music teacher that became rather close in her nineteenth year that caught the attention of some who in term somehow got word to her mother where the descent began. While she resided with her she eventually moved out to attend a tertiary institution and soon found herself receiving late night phone calls with an angry mother on the line demanding to know if she was a lesbian and the whole nine yards. Time passed and the relationship between the mother and the young woman grew tense but they kept contact non the less though becoming more infrequent.

Her departure to the states was eminent and her mother made it known that she knew she was about to go overseas and live her so called “dirty” life which was where the source claimed the real hurt began. Instead of encouraging her daughter to be successful a mother decides to instil shame and hurt on a daughter who was carving out her life and career goals. The letter exchanges commenced along with emails and phone calls and without fail the young lady would be reminded of the Sodom and Gomorrah story, the abominations and so on.

Reparative therapy at one point was also hinted to and that was where the estrangement and withdrawal begin with the young woman who felt she could no longer carry this burden of trying to please her mother. The damning written piece however came in Christmas of 2011 where her mother in a lengthy hand written piece which suggested motive and time to gather her thoughts on what she wanted to express made it clear that she did not support her lesbian lifestyle and that God was going to punish her and other damaging condemnations. Judging by the outcome here the road to the young lady’s decision to end her own life had been paved but what came through also from the source is that she hardly sought any assistance on the face of it from anyone, not even her close circle of friends who are reeling from the shock of the news that she would take such a route of finality. Her return letter just before the suicide attempt was typed, printed and mailed to her mother a copy of which was seen by the source who paraphrased that the young woman said she was hurt by her mother’s shaming words and she wanted nothing more to do with her as she was only her mother by blood, nothing more.

She attempted to use a leather belt she had in her closet tied to a ceiling fan and a chair as support for deliberately kicking the chair from under her however the attempt failed as she had a visitor some ten minutes after the fact who entered her flat and made the shocking discovery and called for help to take her down where she was rushed to the hospital. Her mother upon hearing the news sounded a bit indifferent according to my source but has been keeping in touch non the less. Question is how many other LGBT people, Jamaican and otherwise who are going through this kind of rejection and have gone as far as self mutilation or suicide as a solution? To think also presently we have no serious permanent systems in place of psycho social interventions within the advocacy structures to address the specific LGBT rejection fallout similar to this case. It in November 2012 that a case was brought to my attention of an attempted wrist slitting by a young man who had reported became fed up with his own issues as well.

With signs of trouble hard to detect the experts however tell us that we can still see them if we pay very close attention to ones behaviour but who has time to be scrutinizing every move another makes? Ironically the son of American self help guru Rick Warren the man who influenced the world with his book and speeches took his own life earlier this year Matthew Warren ended his life by the gun yet Mr Warren Sr. did not see it coming. Words do can hurt as this case points to especially when it comes from relative as a mother who we seek validation in who we are even as adults. I am wondering if her mother is now considering more improper words by now condemning her that she committed another sin especially one that is deemed unpardonable in scripture. Samson’s suicide as it were where he destroyed the temple is not a sin in my eyes that’s a more a case of martyrdom or a form of heroism to me, after all he was protecting his nation on the face of it. Also in a mental sense or diminished responsibility ones state can also be a determinant factor one cannot be held responsible for an act such as that given the state they may have been at the time of the attempt. The other family members seem not to have factored post the attempt, at no point was her sister mentioned in any detail which suggest there could be possible estrangement between them as well. The woman’s father had passed away some years ago.

Hope is what is needed overall as I asked it is just worrisome as to how many others out there are suffering in silence and that is preventable or at least some intervention be brought to the fore. We have had no serious forumatic activity in this regard to help community members get over this hurdle, the expectations that many of us had of a matured LGBT positive social activities and interventions after some thirty plus years in total of agitation we would have seen systems put in place to respond to immediate service needs for cases such as this. No suicidal hotline for things like this locally either which makes me ask where does one go for answers and help?

Fingers crossed, prayers going up and high hopes abound and we hope she pulls through and reach some resolve, reconciliation and reunification with her mother on this matter, I hope her mother evolves at least on her thinking towards rejection of homosexuality and realises her words have power. Thanks to her friend who shared aspects of this story and hence the approved post you now see. There are so many stories out there to tell by so many of us to bring some reality to bear.

Hope remains while company is true.

Peace and tolerance

H

PrEP doesn't lead to increases in risky sex among gay men in the US

Michael Carter
Published: 15 April 2013

Taking HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) does not lead to increased levels of sexual risk behaviour among gay men, investigators from the United States report in the online edition of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes. Numbers of sexual partners fell, as did the proportion of men reporting unprotected anal sex.

“We found no evidence of risk compensation among at-risk MSM [men who have sex with men] initiating PrEP,” comment the authors. “Mean numbers of partners and the proportion of men reporting UAS [unprotected anal sex] decreased significantly from baseline during 24 months of follow-up.”

PrEP is an emerging HIV prevention technology. It involves HIV-negative individuals taking daily antiretroviral therapy to reduce their risk of infection with the virus. In 2010, results of the iPrEx trial involving gay and other MSM showed that daily PrEP with Truvada (FTC and tenofovir) reduced the risk of infection with HIV by 44% overall, with high efficacy seen in people with the best treatment adherence. Although the results of PrEP studies involving heterosexuals have been mixed, the United States Food and Drug Administration approvedTruvada for use as PrEP by adults with a high risk of HIV infection.

However, there is concern in some quarters that use of PrEP may lead to increases in sexual risk behaviour. Mathematical models suggest that even modest increases in the proportion of gay men reporting unprotected sex could wipe out the beneficial effect of PrEP at a community level. However, the precise impact of PrEP on sexual risk taking is highly controversial.

Data gathered during a PrEP safety study allowed investigators to explore the impact of PrEP on the sexual risk behaviour of HIV-negative gay men with a high risk of infection with HIV.

A total of 400 men were recruited to the study between 2005 and 2007. All reported anal sex with another man in the preceding twelve months. The study was double blind and placebo controlled. Participants were randomised either to start treatment immediately or to wait for nine months. The men were interviewed at baseline and then every three months about their sexual risk behaviour and use of recreational and erectile dysfunction drugs. The study lasted 24 months.

At baseline, the men reported a mean of 7.25 sexual partners in the previous three months. This fell significantly during follow-up to a mean of 6 partners between months 3 and 9 and a mean of 5.71 partners between months 12 and 24 (p < 0.001). These declines were similar in the immediate- and delayed-treatment arms.

The mean number of reported HIV-positive partners or partners of an unknown status fell from 4.17 at baseline to 3.51 partners between months 3 and 9 and 3.37 partners between months 12 and 24 (p = 0.01). There was also a significant fall in the number of reported partners believed to be HIV negative.

Use of poppers (p < 0.001), erectile dysfunction drugs (p < 0.001) and a higher perception of the efficacy of PrEP (p = 0.04) were all associated with reporting higher numbers of sexual partners during follow-up.

At the start of the study, 57% of men reported unprotected anal sex in the previous three months. The proportion fell to 48% between months 3 and 9 (p = 0.001) and to 52% between months 12 and 24 (p = 0.03).

The proportion of men reporting unprotected sex between months 3 and 9 was similar between the immediate- and delayed-treatment arms.

There was also a fall in the proportion of men reporting unprotected sex with an HIV-positive partner, from 29% at baseline to 21% between months 3 and 9 and 22% between months 12 and 24 (p < 0.001). Declines in unprotected sex with HIV-positive partners were seen in both the immediate- and delayed-treatment arms.

Factors associated with reporting unprotected sex during follow-up included younger age (p = 0.01), use of poppers (p = 0.02), erectile dysfunction treatments (p < 0.001) and methamphetamine (p < 0.001).

Participation in the study did not lead to an increase in the number of reported episodes of unprotected anal sex, which remained steady between months 3 and 9 and months 12 and 24 in both the immediate- and delayed-treatment arms.

There was a fall in reported episodes of unprotected sex with HIV-positive partners from two in the previous three-month period at baseline to 1.37 between months 12 and 24 (p = 0.05). This was the case for both the immediate- and delayed-treatment study arms.

In contrast, the number of episodes of unprotected anal sex with partners thought to be HIV negative increased between baseline and months 12 and 24 (2.75 Vs. 4; p = 0.01).

“These changes may represent a possible increase in seroadaptive practices, in which men preferentially have more episodes of UAS with assumed HIV-negative partners,” comment the authors.

They also note “men in this study received risk-reduction counseling, condoms and lubricants, regular HIV/STI testing, and linkage to prevention services…which may explain the observed risk reduction and could explain the observed risk declines and could mitigate any potential for risk compensation.”

Despite this, the investigators were encouraged by their results, which they believe “provide important information on changes in risk practices among MSM in the US initiating PrEP in a clinical trial setting”.

Reference

Liu AY et al. Sexual risk behavior among HIV-uninfected men who have sex with men (MSM) participating in a tenofovir pre-exposure prophylaxis randomized trial in the United States. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr, online edition, DOI: 10.1097/QAI.0b013e31828fo97a, 2013.

Sexual Assault of a same sex nature ............

To think that the post just prior to this one dealt with assault directed at our female same gender lovers now comes confirmed news that a male same gender lover was abused on the last day of Sexual Assault Month April 30 and thanks to the readers who keep me abreast of this story that occurred in St Ann by four men but it started out as a one on one meeting when a hookup built on the strength of six months of online conversations via Adam4Adam gay chat/linkup site with BB and telephone connections as well to boot moved forward to the next stage.

Long term conversation and e-lationships with persons who you may think you know do not necessarily means that the parties on the other end can be trusted as previous incidents similar to this has brought to bear one can check my previous entries on tips to do a hookup and fallout from such via Facebook on my sister blog Gay Jamaica Watch. There were also three cases of hookups via Adam for Adam that went terribly wrong as well in Portmore, Ocho Rios and Kingston now this case is the first as far as I can confirm but it shows a propensity for this sort of fallout to occur. My own experience has taught me this too but my strategy as I am from the old school is to change you agreed recognizing attire before the actual face to face meeting and I prefer to meet in a park or so where if it is suspicious I can beat a hasty retreat in terms of online e-lations as for my more gangster type meetings which I prefer I have my unique strategy which I won't reveal via this entry. Here are some tips (edited) I shared on an old post from GJW linked at the bottom of the post on Facebook outings:

1. Decide on what clothing and colour or change colours previously agreed to if you are not sure of the individual you are going to meet
2. Study your surroundings when there and get there early 
3. Find an open area such as a park at first preferably instead of a home or hotel so as to avoid any untoward attack and that too can avoid the need to get into the sack too quickly
4. Plan your possible route(s) of escape if necessary
5. Have a weapon of some sort or maze that can create a distraction then escape as quickly as possible
6. Have a trusted friend accompany you if possible and have them away from the actual meeting spot but make sure they can see you
7. Make a call if needed to the person(s) who followed you and keep the line open so they can hear your conversation and call for help elsewhere if needed
8. If possible and where necessary have this TRUSTED third party/witness capture the moment via video or stream so as to make sure it is an authentic meeting/hookup

With the increased online presence of younger gay and bisexual Jamaican men in particular they have been making use of the covert identities it can allow persons to operate under but that same covertness can hide lurkers who have ulterior motives as this case has brought to bear. Some of the activities associated with this case are to ghastly to present here and I will not attempt to upset you my readers but suffice it to say there were the following:

1) Penile activity involving forced oral sex on the part of the victim on all four perpetrators

2) The illusion of the victim going to meet one person but ended up being set upon by three other persons unannounced

3) The four perpetrators (including the persons who lured the victim to the entrapment) used typical Jamaican anti homosexual terms to launch their attack on their victim but ended up forcing him to perform related activities

4) The perpetrators reportedly recorded sections of the abuse and has threatened the life of the victim who is in his late twenties

5) The men robbed the victim of his Blackberry, cash and jewelry

Fortunately he did not disclose his whereabouts or where he resides directly so no immediate harm could or should befall him post this attack however he would be wise to be circumspect when travelling just in case. He is said to be in calm spirits given the ordeal and thankfully there was no penetrative activity to create any major physiological damage but mentally I am certain though showing signs of calm on the outside he must be reeling from the fact that he never bargained for this to happen. 

A similar robbery occurred last year (barring the sexual assault bit) as well of a male teacher whose BB was also stolen and a blackmail attempt was carried out where the perpetrators demanded $150,000 or else an erotic video of the phone's former owner was the dangling carrot in this matter which was similar to any assault as it was personal assault, it took months for him via a professional counselor along with family and friends to get him just to talk about it and move on as literally every car horn would make him go crazy fearing the men were coming for him. 

For months on end the gentleman was stalked. (thanks to the gentlemen in these cases for allowing me to share aspects of the sensitive information)

I can give countless scenarios but the point is that we have weird community challenges out there for MSM and to think the whole homophobic psyche presented itself yet the men carried out this act with full erections suggest we have some serious psychiatric concerns here. Is this similar to the male rape that takes place in prisons where psychological control is the motivator with overtones of macho-ism or machismo and sex is used to belittle or imprison the victim? Bearing in mind this was a consensual up to when the visit to the space where the Adam4Adam profile owner had set up this meeting and invited his guest turned victim was joined by unannounced company.

The notion as well of gay men having more material wealth thus they are ripe for the picking seems to be included in this case as the conversations surrounding the ordeal tended towards what the victim supposedly had on hi persons of value included his bank cards which were demanded. This kind of gay on gay violence and extortion in my view is becoming an issue as other such cases though involving ill gotten gains via the alleged lotto scamming ring have also seen similar demands placed on suspected scammers who it is thought still have wealth even after the legislation has been passed recently to clamp down on the practice. A car and other electrical items were reported stolen from a house of a prominent queen just two months ago which have many persons concerned despite her brothers and other male relatives being protective of her but at the time of the heist no one was home which many speculated the house was being watched and was targeted.

All in all the main point of this case though is for persons to be very aware be they males or females as sexual assault is not a respecter of persons. In 2010 it was on this blog also I carried an entry on a rape ring that was eventually smashed in St Catherine and parts of Clarendon and while the victims were female they were "lured" to a now defunct Rainbowvibes site via a profile proporting to be owned by a female, a long standing conversation ensued both on the site's chatbox as well as on other chat platforms such as the now defunct MSN Chat where I was privy to the automatically saved exchanges by the one of the women who was smart enough to do so by adjusting her settings to save interactions. All this trust building led to a meeting which in the end led to the trap that was set where two women were sexually assaulted in the St. Catherine area, the case fizzled in court as one of the accused did not follow up on her report although the identification parade nabbed the main suspect, he got 29 years in total as previous charges on which he was on bail caught up with him. One of the challenges in tracking such crimes is that lesbians and bisexual women who fall prey to this scourge continue to under-report their issues as they feel for the most part the male dominated LGBT or GLBT entities will not address their needs. Also see the "Corrective Rape" tab below this post for all previous entries on the matter thus far as documented on this blog. I surmise that there are similar unreported cases in male committed assaults on other males too, we may never have a true handle on these matters even the more formal systems for that matter.

Keeping our friend in my prayers and hope he is able to rebuild quickly and move on learning from this episode and is able to educate others on navigating social media and possible dangers.

also see: Facebook unintentional outings to family members and Another young gay man is outed via Facebook from Gay Jamaica Watch. There are several unconfirmed reports of other challenges, outings and even forced evictions caused by or regarding navigating social media such as Facebook most persons simply absorb the ordeal as a mistake and move on keeping it secret as it were for fear of ridicule by others and also a feeling that their issue won't be addressed by the powers that be.

Be vigilant be safe

Peace and tolerance 

H

Sexual Assault Awareness Month .................

As Sexual Assault Awareness Month draws to a close and no other source locally seems to have taken on the issue frontally on as same gender loving women's issues get overlooked for other matters as usual over these many years I decided to do a list of tips to remind our SGL sisters in particular and their children perhaps to be on the look out for. These are not hard and fast rules but just a guide as one can fill in the rest easily based on ones own defence mechanism and monitoring of personal space etc. 

Vigilance is key these days and with several reports of missing sisters who are said to be part of the community concerns are rising by a few especially a new group called Quality Citizenship Jamaica who say their main focus is on older lesbian and bisexual women.

A short online survey they recently conducted suggested that there are many under-reported issues of sexual assault by women from their representative community. In a recent comment on Facebook by one of its founders claimed that 42% of those who participated experienced some sort of sexual violence. They are yet to publish the full results to substantiate this claim but I would not doubt it altogether.

My early years with other organizations I observed a steady rise in corrective rape (lesbians raped in a supposed bid to heterosexualize them) and other non penetrative acts they are forced to perform on their abusers as so called punishment for not wanting a man via Jamaican standards.

Two women were also featured in a documentary shot over a year ago by Selena Blake where one recounted her episode where she was forced to perform lewd acts on her attacker. The hush about this problem is not helping any and we must call it out in the open but with a male dominated LGBT advocacy or in this scenario GLBT still insensitive to the SGL female community needs fully what is one to do. A rape/sexual assault victim who is lesbian or bisexual might not want to sit in an incident report taking session and rehash her horrific experience done by other men to another man, sometimes the gender of the crisis intervention professional is crucial in service delivery.

Wonderful that a "We are Jamaicans Video Campaign" is on now but how is that going to help the women who do not see themselves being fully represented especially those from the lower socio economic strata? The figures for female Same Gender Loving persons being assaulted is indeterminate as many asborb the pain and recover very slowly over time without ever sharing the information and with a stigma surrounding rape on a whole as with victims many just clam up and are afraid to find a trusted professional or friend to share and seek help.

With the main advocacy group itself going through its bouts of internal challenges including its reeling from being evicted from its offices earlier this month along with its parent entity how are the programs going to be executed? when it is all about manipulating the foreign LGBT support to cover up the ineptitude and lack of good leadership.

Here are some tips however one could consider to be on the safe side:

No woman wants to be raped. 

Yet we live in a society in which the myth of "she’s asking for it" still exists. Avoiding rape and sexual assault is a concern for many women, especially college-aged students; they're the group at highest risk of being sexually assaulted. The belief that most rapes occur at the hands of a faceless stranger in a dark alley couldn't be further from the truth.. Most rapes involve someone the victim knows.

But these common sense tips offer practical advice for everyone. They can help any woman or girl minimize risk, improve safety and protect herself from situations that have the potential to become dangerous. Awareness of possible risks goes a long way in keeping women safe.

Trust your instincts and go with your gut. If a situation makes you feel uncomfortable or unsafe, do what you need to do to get yourself out of there. Don't worry about what others may think or try to be polite so as not to offend others. Your safety is top priority.

Carry your cell phone and make sure it's charged.

Plan ahead and use your phone as an extra measure of safety. Know who you'd contact if a situation makes you uncomfortable; have their number programmed so you can send a quick text for backup or help. If you're going out with friends, decide in advance where you'll meet at the end and at what time, so if your phone dies you'll still be able to connect with them.

Think twice about what you put on Facebook or Foursquare. 

When you use social media to share where you are or where you're going, friends can find you but others may be able to track you as well. Use common sense and ask yourself -- would you give this information to a stranger? If not, then don't share it online.

Your safety takes priority over someone else's hurt feelings. 

You're with someone or you're in a situation that makes you feel unsafe. There's nothing wrong with lying to extricate yourself from what's going on. Make up an excuse as to why you have to leave and get yourself to a safer place. It's easier to patch up someone's hurt feelings (if you've misinterpreted the situation) later on than deal with the aftermath of rape or sexual assault.

Don't keep quiet if you see something happening. 

Perpetrators are much less likely to act if their actions are being observed. If you see something questionable or believe another woman's safety is at risk, speak up, step in, draw others' attention to what's happening, or call for help. If you speak up and intervene, you've prevented one sexual assault crime from occurring and reduced the possibility of five other women being victimized in the future.

Friends don't let friends leave alone. 

If you and your friends are going out for the evening or headed to a party, go together. Arrive as a group, keep in contact with each other throughout the night (either face to face or by texting) and leave together. There's safety in numbers, so avoid going off alone. If you do decide to leave your friends, tell them where you're going and who you're going with.

Watch that drink and stay within limits. 

Whether you're consuming wine, beer, liquor or sipping non-alcoholic beverages, keep your hand on your drink and be aware of it at all times. Drink tampering has become all too common and often leads to sexual assault. Don't accept a drink or open can or bottle from someone you don't know or trust. If you end up leaving your drink unattended for some reason, throw it out and get a new one. In a bar, watch your drink being prepared. At a party, get your drink yourself or prepare it yourself and open up your own can or bottle; don't let somebody else do it. Don't drink from common open containers like punch bowls. If you're drinking alcohol, know your limits and how much you can consume without losing control or awareness of what's going on around you.

Make sure you've got your friends' backs and vice versa. 

Watching out for your friends -- and knowing that you can trust them to watch out for you -- is a key factor in preventing rape and sexual assault. If a friend seems out of it, is acting completely different from her normal behaviour  or appears much more intoxicated than she should be based on the amount of alcohol she's consumed, take care of her and get her to a safe place. If you think she's been drugged -- or you feel you've been drugged -- call the police. Don't hesitate or think that because alcohol was involved, no one will believe you or that you'll be blamed. When you see a medical professional, explain exactly what happened and any apparent symptoms or behaviours so that they can administer the correct tests.

One has to be also mindful of who one lets into your circle persons can present themselves as friendly with ulterior motives as I always say via this blog "Be Vigilant, Be Safe"

Peace and tolerance

H

(includes sections from women's issues on About.com)

French Gay Marriage Happenings - French President Calls For Calm

There were many celebrations in France during the evening of Tuesday 23rd April and that date will go down in history as the day that the large European country became the 14th nation in the world to legalize marriage laws for same-sex couples.

The French National Assembly in Paris passed the equal marriage bill on Tuesday afternoon with 331 MP’s voting in favour of the bill, 225 against and there were 10 abstentions. According to many, the country could see the first gay marriages taking place towards the end of June.

The new legislation also awards adoption rights for same-sex couples, is expected to be approved by the Constitutional Council and then rapidly signed into law by President Francois Hollande, who made it a manifesto pledge whilst he was trying to become president and is a keen supporter of equality.

“I hope people across the country will celebrate this moment,” marriage equality campaigner Martin Gaillard told the media.

Justice Minister Christiane Taubira told legislators on Tuesday evening the law was “very beautiful reform.”

The good news from Paris has been welcomed by many gay groups throughout Europe, Evelyne Paradis, executive director of ILGA-Europe, said: “We congratulate the French parliamentarians and the French nation for this historic step. The country whose motto is ‘Liberté, égalité, fraternité’ has finally fully applied it to all citizens when it comes to marriage.

“We also hope that this latest development in France will inspire other European countries to take concrete steps to eliminate discrimination and to ensure equal rights to same-sex partners and their families.”

“Equality cannot be partial, if a country is serious about equality for same-sex partners and their families, it means removing all legal obstacles and differences, it means equal access to marriage and adoption entitlement.”

I am delighted for my French brothers and sisters that will now have the opportunity to tie the knot in public, in front of their friends and family. It is a great step forward, not just for the gay population of France, but also for gay people all around the world. Slowly and surly marriage equality is coming to many countries and the more nations that legalize same-sex marriage the easier it will be to campaign in favour of equality. No longer can those that oppose marriage equality be able to say it will destabilise and cause the destruction of traditional marriage values, as just even a courtesy glance at the 14 nations that allow same-sex marriage, prove otherwise. Change is coming, marriage equality is coming, one nation at a time!

President Francois Hollande of France has publicly condemned the displays of homophobic violence that have occurred in the country over the recent days and weeks at an alarming rate.

“Homophobic acts, violent acts have been committed. The right to protest is recognised by our constitution and accepted by the French. But no protest must degenerate,” said President Hollande on Thursday 18th April, speaking after France’s Interior Ministry had confirmed that four people had been detained on suspicion of carrying out a vicious attack at a gay bar in Lille. The bar owner blamed the incident on the mounting “tensions” in the country over the same-sex marriage bill currently going through the French National Assembly.

There is growing concern over the levels and ferocity of an increased number of homophobic attacks and abuse in France over the last two weeks. Several anti-gay protests have turned violent in many cities across the country. A protest on Wednesday turned ugly when several thousand anti-gay protesters damaged cars, vandalised public property and attacked police officers and journalists.

Many gay activists and pro marriage equality supporters have reported threats of violence directed at them and according to gay groups monitoring the situation, reports of anti-gay and homophobic violence has gone up by a staggering and shocking 30% this year alone.

Manuel Valls, the Interior Minister is believed to have held meetings with representatives of security forces in order to “reinforce security measures surrounding protests following the excesses of the past days”. He has also verbally pledged to prevent further homophobic assaults.

French Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault has also condemned the violence and has called for calm. “These protests have a right to take place, we are in a republic. But calls for violence, calls to hate, must be condemned,” he said earlier last week.

Legal Notes - Homophobia and human rights abuses

Malene Alleyne

NOT in this Cabinet. Not in this Charter. Not in this country. This seems to be the sentiment in Jamaica towards Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) persons. Indeed, LGBTs continue to experience discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity; intolerance is tolerated and discrimination seems to receive mild justification.

Sentiment aside, however, there can be no justification in law for this treatment. Jamaica has a positive obligation under applicable international human rights instruments to respect and ensure the human rights of all persons, including LGBTs. These obligations include, among other things, adopting laws that protect against discrimination and prevent or change discriminatory practices. Below is an overview of how LGBT discrimination is treated under national laws and of how these laws compare to international standards. This overview should be of importance to all Jamaicans since it concerns the subject of human rights, which is everyone's business.

The Constitution, as revised by the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms ("Charter"), guarantees the right to freedom from discrimination on the grounds of "being male and female" as well as "race, place of origin, social class, colour, religion or political opinions". This language is problematic in that it does not explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. This is a significant departure from relevant international human rights instruments, which contain wider and more inclusive language.

Under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ("ICCPR"), for example, each State Party has an obligation to ensure to all individuals the rights recognised in the ICCPR, without distinction of any kind such as "sex". The ICCPR also requires that national laws prohibit any discrimination and guarantee to all persons equal and effective protection against discrimination on any ground such as "sex".

This category of "sex" has been interpreted by relevant jurisprudence as including gender identity and sexual orientation. The inclusion of this category is therefore legally significant. In fact, when Jamaica was revising its Constitution, the Constitutional Commission recommended that the revised Bill of Rights explicitly refer to discrimination on the ground of sex. The United Nations Human Rights Committee also expressed a hope that this recommendation would be implemented. The subsequent exclusion of this category in the revised Constitution therefore seems to be less of an oversight and more of a deliberate statement — not in this Charter.

Another constitutional guarantee of relevance to this discussion is the right to equality before the law. Equality is also enshrined in applicable international human rights instruments and is a fundamental principle in international law. In Jamaica, however, there are laws which are arguably discriminatory in their treatment of same-sex couples. An example that has received widespread attention is the Offences Against the Persons Act which criminalises the "abominable act of buggery." This law also punishes men who commit any "act of gross indecency" with another male in public or private.

Another example is the Property Rights of Spouses Act which effectively denies same-sex couples the property rights afforded to heterosexual couples due to the limited definition of "Spouse". Spouse, under this act, is defined as including "a single woman who has cohabited with a single man as if she were in law his wife for a period of not less than five years" and vice versa.

Based on the above, it seems that some of Jamaica's laws not only fail to guarantee to LGBTs equal and effective protection against discrimination, but also actively perpetuate discriminatory practices. Even if these laws can stand under the scrutiny of the limited language of the Constitution, they are still in breach of Jamaica's obligations under applicable international human rights instruments such as the ICCPR. It is important to state in this regard that, under international law, Jamaica has a legal duty to honour its treaty obligations in good faith. It should also be noted that under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, a State cannot use domestic law, including the Constitution, as an excuse for failing to honour its treaty obligations. Lastly, I would argue that the principle of non-discrimination is a norm of jus cogens under international law from which no derogation is permitted.

In conclusion, it is recognised that the scope of LGBT rights is a very sensitive topic in Jamaican society and that religious, cultural and moral views have played a central role in the debate. In fact, the beauty of living in a free and democratic society is that each person is free to form his/her own views on this controversial topic. However, from a legal standpoint, these views cannot be allowed to translate into actions that violate the human rights of any person. While cultural sensitivity is important, Jamaica is nonetheless bound by international human rights obligations which must be honoured as a matter of law. Most importantly, despite our fears or feelings, it must be remembered that human rights are fundamental, indivisible, universal and inherent to all human beings. In this sense, the human rights of LGBTs should be defended, not only because international law requires it, but also because human dignity demands it — in this Cabinet; in this Charter; in this country.

Malene Alleyne is an Associate at Myers, Fletcher & Gordon and is a member of the firm's Commercial Department. 

Malene may be contacted via malene.alleyne@mfg.com.jm or www.myersfletcher.com. 

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice

France becomes the 14th country in the world to formalize gay marriage

Yes you must have heard the news by now as it's all over the place but what is wrong with adding my support by blogging about it too?

Mi happy fi dem doh

The French National Assembly has finally adopts the laws for marriage equality. The law was passed with 331 votes in favor and 225 against. "It's a historic moment" was the comment of the Minister of Justice, Christiane Taubira, who had said before the vote that first marriages may be celebrated as early as June.

The vote went down shortly after a protest in the gallery. The chairman of the ordered 'off these enemies of democracy outside parliament!'

France joins the New Zealand, Uruguay, Holland, Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway, Sweden, Portugal, Iceland, Argentina and Denmark as the 14th country that offered to its citizens marriage equality throughout the nation. Brazil, Mexico, and, of course, the United States offer it in some parts of the country. 's response to the French Minister of Justice, Christiane Taubira, which has strongly defended the National Assembly the draft law on marriage and the ' adoption by homosexual couples, explaining that "guarantee legal certainty for all the children of France." His response to a Member of the right-wing anti gay marriage.

"Mr. Congressman, do not want us to believe that you live in an igloo and that you have no knowledge of the diversity of families in this country, which completely ignored the existence of families omogenitoriali, you do not know that there is the same love in couples heterosexual and homosexual in those who have the same love for their children and that their children are the children of France. 

Mr. Congressman, the government presented a bill of great progress, great generosity, fraternity and equality to ensure legal certainty for all the children of France.And I can say that I am particularly proud. "

The opponents of gay marriage are the movements CATHOLICS, THE RIGHT. CONTRARY to the equality of rights, CONTRARY TO AMOR, CONTRARY TO OTHER HUMAN BEING, LIKE ALL THEIR CITIZENS WHO HAVE THE RIGHT TO BE BORN SUPREME HETEROSEXUAL AND BELONGING TO RELIGION (as are many, the religion, do not list here). Reflection ... where is the love, brotherhood. 

Love your neighbor as yourself? 

I guess I had to first learn to love yourself. 

Perhaps this is why the world does that suck?. 

Vanessa Mazza