Insensitive parents & Displaced MSMs part 2

In part 1 way back in 2009 we looked at some cases and reports that came to light then and a flashback story that was disturbing where a father outed his son at a prominent high school only to watch other students beat him mercilessly fortunately he was rescued by some staff members present and a few well thinking students who literally used their bodies to block or absorb some of the blows.

See more Here: Father encourages students to maul 'gay' son at Dunoon Tech

Also Here: Insensitive Parents & Displaced MSMs part 1

In recent weeks a series of complaints and expressions have been forthcoming from mostly early male teens and a couple of same gender loving females as well with one case reaching a drastic point where a nineteen year old woman was forced to leave under the watchful eye of her stepfather, others have not gotten so bad in the ladies department but persons are uncomfortable in their family homes or places of shelter with other siblings. The age old problem of improper monitoring and securing of cellphones, personal computers/laptops and blackberries have also contributed to unwarranted outings and exposures with one male being prayed for in earnest by a weeping mother and the good book thrown at him while she insists his life is all wrong and he must accept God or burn in hell.

Hope remains while company is true and another 20 year old has been fortunate to have a good circle of friends who offered temporary crisis shelter as he makes the transition from a "bitter" set of parents while fortunately landing a job recently, he was outed due to prying eyes on his computer where his brother glanced male images scantily clad and made a report to their mother. He said he has been meeting hell ever since and was glad when he reached out he got the response from "true" friends, a type he said was hard to find in times of trouble. Privacy is a major problem even in the family home and as previous posts have brought to bear it is an issue of protection of ones space and equipment and others around are questioning,

"why don't you have a girlfriend (boyfriend)?" as the case may be

"why are you always on your computer?"

"when you on your phone why are you whispering?"

One other male was unfortunate as he was caught in the act of a version of phone sex which led to a heated argument and hence the rest of the family having him off as the "nasty battyman" or black sheep of the brood. At some point I believe we all have our "outing" moments but for some it comes pretty early and they do not know how to cope in most instances. Another new entity in advocacy is already seeing it's fair share of displacement drama as it is not only lower to middle income homes that have this perennial problem although the outcomes maybe less dire than those of their lower socio economic counterparts, exclusion from a will, trust found or funding for a car or tertiary education maybe removed or given with great hesitation are miles away from an embarrassing community move in full view of onlookers jeering or a full homophobic attack with persons suffering blows.

Some sort of sensitization program must be in the works either through JFLAG albeit their stewardship is under serious criticism or the new entity The Underlined Response which seems more geared towards grassroots work in seriously marginalised populations. Outlining how persons can cope with displacement, networking, psycho social support and other avenues where persons can turn to must be in the back of the community's mind where stuff hits the fan.

So far as hinted above the informal community crisis interventions response works well but I still say we need a fixed residential typed space for temporary sheltering for individuals displaced or made full on homeless with the proper amenities, staff and support systems for rehabilitation and assimilation to general society. There was once a short lived group of Parents for Lesbians Allsexuals and Gays PFLAG Jamaican chapter/version where it has gone we may never know, it was designed to include supportive parents and guardians for LGBT children and adolescents with some outreach to parents who engage in displacing their own children due to Stigma, homophobia, intolerance of suspected orientations and perceived lifestyles, there was also a small mentorship idea that was floated during the former life of the GLABCOM, Gay Lesbian, Bisexual, Community steering committee as forming part of the peer education drive under targeted interventions division of Jamaica AIDS Support for Life, whether such programs still exist they must be a secret.

Talk therapy was also suggested by a Psychologist when the matter of interventions for this group was raised some years ago in the PFLAG/GLABCOM talks specifically on a pro bono basis as recovering displaced persons may not have the financial resources to offset private sessions. These are ideas that can be floated again either in existing structures if they are willing to accommodate them or new entities seeking solutions. Let's continue to watch and thanks to the persons for contributing to this post. through sharing aspects of their stories.

Peace and tolerance

H