In a closely watched case transgender in Guyana a new development has come to the fore, also see a previous entry as prepared by SASOD: Cross-Dressing Appeal Case for Judgment in 2017
Starbroek News carried a more balanced nuance to the matter. After coming under fire in the past by members and supporters of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community for not allowing transgender persons to enter his courtroom while cross-dressed, Magistrate Dylon Bess yesterday appeared to back down from his previous stand.
The complainant, Petronella (second from right) in conversation with SASOD Director Joel Simpson and other supporters.
“Today we saw a number of transgender women presenting completely in female attire. Twinkle was in a dress. Some of them were dressed, I would say in a unisex manner—pants and t-shirt—but still wearing long hair, earrings and makeup in some instances and so on [and] were allowed to enter court,” Joel Simpson, Managing Director of the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) commented yesterday.
According to a statement sent out by the three groups, Petronella was allegedly physically assaulted on January 26, 2017 by an acquaintance and the matter was reported to the Brickdam police station. It went on to state that on January 31, she made an appearance at the city court dressed in female attire but Magistrate Bess had refused to address the matter.
It was further stated that the magistrate asked that on Petronella’s return to court on the next occasion, she do so dressed in pants and a shirt and without earrings. Failing to do so would result in her being dealt with accordingly.
At yesterday’s court hearing, Petronella wore unisex clothing—a pair of jeans and t-shirt. Her alleged assailant was granted a reduction in bail from $50,000 to $40,000 and the matter was adjourned to February 27 for commencement of trial.
Simpson noted that there were three incidents in March, 2016, involving transgender women where Magistrate Bess denied them the opportunity to enter the courtroom. “We don’t think it’s enough to only facilitate and tolerate access when there’s media attention or when activists are in attendance in court. Magistrate Bess needs to understand that the Guyana constitution guarantees the right to equality before the law for all persons regardless of who you are,” Simpson said.
In April, 2016, the LGBT community held a talk in observance of International Transgender day of Visibility during which this very issue was addressed.
At the talk, organised by SASOD and the USAID’s Advancing Partners and Communities (APC) Guyana Project, it was noted that the litigant, David Bissoon, known as “Twinkle,” had been disallowed from entering Magistrate Bess’ courtroom on three separate occasions, and on the third occurrence, she, along with other members of the LGBT community took to the streets to protest what is purported to be a discriminatory stance taken by the magistrate. The matter was subsequently dismissed.
Simpson had agreed that the issue goes deeper than simply a matter of cross-dressing. For him, the deeper issue is the denial of a more specific kind of access to trans-people, whom he said tend to face a high degree of hate crimes and violence. “…Now we have a situation where an officer of the court is saying you can’t come to court as who you are. For me, the issue there is not even about cross-dressing, it’s about accessing justice.”
At yesterday’s court hearing, Petronella wore unisex clothing—a pair of jeans and t-shirt. Her alleged assailant was granted a reduction in bail from $50,000 to $40,000 and the matter was adjourned to February 27 for commencement of trial.
Simpson noted that there were three incidents in March, 2016, involving transgender women where Magistrate Bess denied them the opportunity to enter the courtroom. “We don’t think it’s enough to only facilitate and tolerate access when there’s media attention or when activists are in attendance in court. Magistrate Bess needs to understand that the Guyana constitution guarantees the right to equality before the law for all persons regardless of who you are,” Simpson said.
In April, 2016, the LGBT community held a talk in observance of International Transgender day of Visibility during which this very issue was addressed.
At the talk, organised by SASOD and the USAID’s Advancing Partners and Communities (APC) Guyana Project, it was noted that the litigant, David Bissoon, known as “Twinkle,” had been disallowed from entering Magistrate Bess’ courtroom on three separate occasions, and on the third occurrence, she, along with other members of the LGBT community took to the streets to protest what is purported to be a discriminatory stance taken by the magistrate. The matter was subsequently dismissed.
Simpson had agreed that the issue goes deeper than simply a matter of cross-dressing. For him, the deeper issue is the denial of a more specific kind of access to trans-people, whom he said tend to face a high degree of hate crimes and violence. “…Now we have a situation where an officer of the court is saying you can’t come to court as who you are. For me, the issue there is not even about cross-dressing, it’s about accessing justice.”
The Demarara Wave seemed to take a different spin on the case:
Petronella was physically assaulted by a known acquaintance last year. The matter was reported at the Brickdam Police Station and the perpetrator was charged for assault.
The case was heard before Bess on January 31, but according to Petronella, she was admonished for attending court dressed in female attire, consistent with her gender identity.
“I am only aware of two types of genders; that is male and female. I don’t know about any transgender,” Magistrate Bess reportedly told Petronella in January.
He reportedly admonished Petronella that she must attend his court on the next scheduled date (February 7) dressed in pants, a shirt and without any earrings. Petronella complied today with the request.
Petronella had said Bess warned if she failed to comply with his instructions, he will deal with her accordingly.
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