Sexual Offences Bill Debate - Senator Hyacinth Benneth's Summary Remarks 26.06.09 Part 2

See part1 below

Ms Bennett contined by asking:

"Can you really keep buggery between consenting male adults in the bedroom? she also stressed that granting homosexual rights would cause agitation for new penalties to address offences against same rights, she went on to say that Americans are grappling with whether to impose the controversial "hate crimes" legislation which would criminalize even a minister of religion saying that homosexual conduct is immoral.

"My observations are not in the least bit discriminatory, such labels cannot help us here."

She went on to address the matter of incest briefly pointing out that she feared that groups in the name of "inclusion" may also demand rights such as a group promoting carnal knowledge if grown men with female children in high school.

"Would we craft our laws to suit them just because they demand inclusion?"

"We must again be driven by higher ideals and maintain values and standards that are in keeping with the common good. Anything else will eventually take us down the road to oral chaos where anything goes and everything will be relative except, of course, the concept of relativity itself. I think you get my point.

She then listed figures for Buggery and Rape for the years 2000 - 2008

.......although there has been a slight dip in cases of rape since 2000 from 870 to 849 in 2008 there have been increases and decreases over the period which indicate that we are not really getting rid of the problem. The total number of rapes during the period is 7,463. This is alarming.
In the case of buggery there has been a slight increase. Between 2000 and 2008, the number of cases has risen from 33 to 36 with a high of 47 in 2006, making total of 316 cases over the period.

Peter Tatchell's Response to Hyacinth Bennett's representation of his comments

please see Sexual Offences Bill Debate - Senator Hyacinth Benneth's Summary Remarks 26.06.09 for the remarks.

British gay human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell of the London-based gay group OutRage! said:

Jamaican MPs are misrepresenting my views on the causes of homosexuality.

"The scientific evidence on the cause of sexual orientation is set out in the book Born Gay. It demonstrates that genes and hormonal influences in the womb are major factors that cause people to be gay or straight. It is simply not true that people choose to be homosexual or bisexual.

“I dispute the claim that a gay gene causes homosexuality. In my view,genetic and hormonal explanations of gayness are important and significant, but they are not adequate and sufficient. Homosexuality is definitely not a conscious choice.

“A person's sexuality is largely influenced before their birth and is firmly established by the age of six. It cannot be changed by so-called treatments and cures. This opinion is supported by the world's leading biological and psychological authorities. I am dismayed the way some Jamaican MPs have misrepresented my views in defence of the country's anti-gay laws."

"The fundamental truth is that it does not matter whether people are born gay or not. Gay people are human beings and therefore we deserve

equal human rights. A person chooses their religion and politics, but that does not mean that persecuting them because of their beliefs is justified.

“It is time the heterosexual majority stopped fretting over the causes of homosexuality and ceased victimising the gay minority. Live and let live is the best policy. Love for gay people is the true Christian response, " he said.

LINK

Senatorial idiocy (Gleaner Letter to The Editor) 29.06.09

(I agree that the presentations lacked understanding) see post below

The Editor, Sir:

I often wonder if good sense is a prerequisite for serving in either House of the Jamaican parliament. The most recent example of why I would ask this question are the statements attributed to senators Sandrea Falconer and Hyacinth Bennett. These statements are in relation to the proposed sexual offences law.

Among the proposals of Senator Falconer is to have the men who engage in homosexual relationship outside of their heterosexual relationships, be specifically punished. These statements are not what would be expected from someone who is supposedly educated. I wonder how the Senator would propose we enforce this? Are the police to be expected to conduct investigations into who men who cheat are sleeping with? What about men who cheat with other women; no special punishment for them? How about women who cheat on their men with other women is that acceptable in the eyes of the senator?

Lack of understanding

The other statement by Senator Bennett, shows a complete lack of understanding of gender and sexuality. Senator Bennett would like the law only to recognise sexual intercourse as covering penis and vagina that are defined at birth. So a woman who has had gender re-assignment surgery could rape a man who has had gender reassignment surgery and it would not be classified as such under Senator Bennett's law.

Similarly, transgender women could be raped at will and would have no recourse under these laws. I would venture further and ask Senator Bennett about intersex individuals. What if neither organ is explicitly present at birth and later one is constructed, does that individual not deserve coverage under these rape laws?

The hatred of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in Jamaica is so strong, even among the leadership that it leads to propo-sals that can only be described as occupying the 'lunatic fringe'. It is particularly telling that these two individuals are black women who 100 years ago would have had as much right as a cow, yet they seem to be oblivious to the fact that the strides that they have been able to make were because others fought for their rights to fair and equal treatment under the law, and now persist to advocate for discrimination and what would amount to inhumane treatment of many of their fellow citizens.

I am, etc.,

RICARDO SMALLING
rsmalling@sympatico.ca

Sexual Offences Bill Debate - Senator Hyacinth Bennett's Summary Remarks 26.06.09

She opened with

" .....steps are being taken to have legislation in place to address sexual offences. Clearly the reason why we are going through this process is to update our laws to make our country safer. Safer for every woman, boy and girl, regardless of age or station in life.

This bill is the people's bill.

It belongs to the Jamaican and we must always remember that.

Background:

Laws that deal with what can be viewed as the sensitive area of sex do not exist in the abstract. Sex ans sexual relations have a social and moral context. One may have to take into account the views and values of groups and sub-cultures within the general population as well as the common good of the people as a whole. However in going forward, it is very important that one adopts a wholistic and not a position that places focus on one segment or segments of the population over another. I think is very important that while we do everything to bring sex offenders to justice that their fundamental rights are protected. Some of these persons did not set out to become criminals. However for reasons that perhaps the psychologists can best explain many of these persons end up using sex as a means to hurt others or to address what they think are their own needs much to the detriment of society as a whole.

Many grown men continue to engage in carnal abuse of under aged girls. These girls should be focusing their attentions on passing their exams, preparing for their careers and starting a family when they are financially, mentally and emotionally capable of doing so.

Values and Philosophy:

Mr. President, my focus today is on certain aspects of this bill that concern morality and natural sexual relations. We know that this is the early 21st century. We know that is has become accepted in certain countries that once had colonies in this part of the world to implement new laws and incorporate new thinking that include a liberal approach to sexual relations. What was once considered unnatural has now been redefined in some places as being natural for a particular group or groups. However we are no longer a colony. We must develop our own thinking on these issues. The liberal values or ideology of one culture should not be imposed on another whether by external influence or even by importation.

The debate on aspects of this bill is more about values and philosophy than it is about the individual provisions. Liberal ideology has no difficulty with laws that for example could lead to to the overturning of our existing anti-buggery laws that criminalize, among other things, anal sex between consenting adults. Other persons with a judeo-christian worldview would however have a difficulty with that.

For many persons that push a radical homosexual agenda it is claimed that homosexual behaviour is natural for them. That particuar group has been quite successful in advancing their cause by using the rights based approach. I am not a psychologist or a psychiatrist but I have not seen where homosexual behaviour has been conclusively shown to be natural.

In fact the dominant scientific opinion has been that no one can conclusively show that homosexuality is natural. Clearly I am not here today to win popularity from certain quarters, but I have to speak the truth. The founder of the United Kingdom's homosexual lobby group outrage, Mr Peter Tatchell admitted that you will not find that anyone is born homosexual. I found this admission very revealing and whilst I am not here to bash anyone I do believe that radical homosexual elements may need to look within themselves before advancing positions that can affect the common good. Advancing causes or including thinking that can implicitly or explicitly include what we call gay rights can eventually lead to several repercussions, some of which we may not have envisaged.

It can have negative effects on raising of children who need to have clear gender roles of males and females modeled before them. It can affect how families are defined such as whether a child can have two daddies or two mommies.

It can also affect how we should conduct our every day social relations as the holding of hands in public and even how invitations to social functions are addressed."

end of part 1

Look for more parts to this what I call a ridiculous presentation in the people's senate.

Homeless MSM in Jamaica

In a forum recently planned for Gay homeless young men organised by a concerned group many of the young men's plights were discussed and possible solutions to begin to address the problem.

In a frank and open discussion the men mostly aged in their early to mid twenties explained in detail their day to day ways of surviving the streets:

1). securing food by begging or shared purchases

2). hiding from would be predators (usually other more powerful homeless males)

3). harassment from police

4). harassment and ridicule from members of the public

5). physical attacks by security guards on nearby premises

6). homophobic attacks from other homeless boys and bikers who roam the streets at night

7). Older, more powerful and experienced bisexual and gay gangstas on the street prey on them for sexual favours, relieving them of money or gifts

Most of the MSMs were displaced because of their sexual preference becoming public knowledge hence they are chased from their homes by family or community members sometimes under threat of death if they should return.

Others lose their jobs for the same reasons and end up struggling to rebuild their lives mostly in fear of being discovered while doing so. The goals and ambitions are laudable with some already possessing skills in the arts and trades (chefs etc).

The men however support each other by way of sharing food and clothing when they receive gifts and money or just emotional kind by talking and making each other aware of their whereabouts.

Emotional development was a factor that was discussed at length which was found to be too heavy at first but it got more simplistic as the exchange continued.

It is hoped that from this first step would be the birth of a continued exercise to rescue these young men and make them into productive and confident human beings.

H

AJ Still at it

This old cartoon that appeared in the Gleaner on January 19, 2007 still rings true, looks like Senator A. J. Nicholson, former Attorney General of the previous People's National Party (PNP)Administration is intent on keeping us in the closet (see the post below) in relation to the Sexual Offences Bill 2009 being debated in the Senate.

Let's watch this one closely folks, after all it's not about forcing our lifestyle on the nation as some would like to grandstand on but securing our freedom of choice as citizens to private actions without church and state intrusion.

Plain and simple.

H

here is a flashback to a statement he made while he was Attorney General on Same Sex Unions:

There is no intention whatsoever on the part of the Government or the Joint Select Committee of Parliament that any door should be opened by provisions in the proposed Charter of Rights and Freedoms, or otherwise, to decriminalize homosexuality or to pave the way for same-sex marriages to be accepted as lawful in Jamaica.

In seeking to make submissions to the Joint Select Committee at this eleventh hour, the church representatives and the group of lawyers who complain about certain provisions of the Charter, concerning the protection of the right to privacy, need to be reminded of the history and purport of those provisions as they were developed.

First, those provisions are to the same effect as those that are contained in the recommendations of the Constitutional Commission of the early 1990s, under the chairmanship of Dr. Lloyd Barnett, in their draft Bill on the Charter

Second, the Joint Select Committee that sat for a long time to consider the Charter provisions, in the late 1990s, heard presentations from groups who take a completely opposite view to that taken by the church representatives and group of lawyers. Those entities, including J-FLAG, even though approaching the matter from the base of a different provision in the Bill, were of the view that the Charter should move away from the recommendations of the Constitutional Commission on this score and that there should be no discrimination on the ground of sexual orientation.

The Joint Select Committee did not agree that such a recommendation should be made to Parliament since it saw such a measure as opening the door to the legalization, or at least, the decriminalization of homosexuality.

Third, the Parliamentary Opposition tabled a Charter of Rights Bill in the name of its former leader, in which the provisions of which the church representatives and group of lawyers now complain are in the same terms as those recommended by the Constitutional Commission that was chaired by Dr. Barnett.

The church representatives and group of lawyers ought to be mindful of the following:

• It is not possible to have a policeman placed in every bedroom in Jamaica. So that, within the confines of a person’s home, this particular mischief cannot be prevented or punished except, of course, someone complains.

• Every provision in a law or a constitution is subject to interpretation by judges. Interpretation of laws, however narrowly or broadly drafted, is always coloured by the experience, culture and prevailing circumstances by which the interpreter is guided in coming to a conclusion. That is one of the reasons why the final interpreter of a country’s laws and constitutional provisions should be exposed to and be keenly aware of the socio-cultural imperatives that must guide his decision.

Senator A.J. Nicholson, Q.C.

ENDS

After all nobody asked for marriage equality when we cannot get passed basic tolerance and understanding.

Peace & tolerance

H

Legalising buggery provision in the Sexual Offences bill – Opposition

Source: RJR

The Opposition on Friday warned that the Government might end up legalising buggery through the back door because of a provision in the new Sexual Offences Bill.


Opposition Senator Navel Clarke who was making his contribution to debate on the bill in the Senate Friday morning, pointed to a clause in the bill which introduces into law a new crime called grievous sexual assault.


The bill sets out specific circumstances in which grievous sexual assault can be committed to include the penetration of the anus and vagina without consent.


However Senator Clarke argued that the inclusion of the phrase 'without consent' implies that buggery would be perfectly legal where there is consent.

"In my opinion, this has been a slight of hand (where) somebody seemed to have slipped in the matter which abolishes the (offence of buggery) as we know it," he said.


The Opposition Senator was backed by Leader of Opposition Business in the Senate, AJ Nicholson who argued that the bill was littered with unresolved issues because the Government had failed to follow proper procedure and had rushed the process.


"The route that has been taken has caused avoidable delays, a meandering and a troubled journey through the houses ... different days be appointed for the start of different provisions. Even after our deliberations here in the Senate, there will requirements for the House of Representatives to consider future amendments recommended in this chamber," said Senator Nicholson.


The controversial bill, which was also subject to extensive and heated debate in the Lower House, is likely to continue to stir up a firestorm of reactions among several Senators yet to make their contribution.


Charging women for raping men

In the meantime, Government Senator Dennis Meadows wants the Sexual Offences Bill to be amended to allow women to be charged for raping men.


Senator Meadows elicited giggles from some Government and Opposition Members of the Senate as he argued for the section of the bill which recognises marital rape, to be made gender neutral.


Previously, the law did not recognize that a man could rape his wife.


But the Sexual Offences Bill sets out five circumstances in which a husband can be charged for raping his spouse.


The bill now says that marital rape can only be committed where the spouses have separated under law, are seeking a divorce or trying to annul their marriage, where there is an injunction ousting the husband from the marital home or if the husband knows himself to be infected with a sexually transmitted illness.


However making his contribution to debate on the bill in the Senate Friday afternoon, Senator Meadows argued that that section of the bill should not only address husbands raping their wives but wives raping their husbands.


According to him, the change would also address date rape.


"I'm man to say that I can be raped by a woman ... I may not cry rape but it is possible. A woman who drugs a man with a date rape drug for example and has sex with him without his consent has committed rape or in this case grievous sexual assault," said Mr. Meadows.

Married women left out in the cold - Mark Golding (right)


He was not the only Senator who took issue with the section of the bill dealing with marital rape.


Opposition Senator Mark Golding argued that by restricting marital rape to only five specific circumstances, the new bill would unwittingly end up offering less protection to married women than the law now offers to unwed women.


"The unmarried woman who lives with her man in long term relation will actually now enjoy superior rights than a lawfully married wife since if her man has sex with her without her consent he would have committed rape but that is not so in the case of a lawfully wedded wife unless one of the five circumstances is also present," said Senator Golding.


The Senate will continue to debate the Sexual Offences bill next Friday.

Photography for Understanding Project Update

(SAMPLES from the US)

while Jamaican Red Stripe Beer and Rum is poured into the streets of New York and San Fransisco in support of a seemingly fledgling boycott Jamaica Campaign a resident of the Detroit area who has links to both States previously mentioned is here in Jamaica conducting a photo project to bring to bear the voices of those on the ground who have been affected by homophobic abuse.

The project as exampled above in pictures seeks to use photos with the words of the subjects to show what they want to have in their own lives. When I first heard about the intended work I was sceptical as I thought many here are afraid of being exposed through whatever medium to the world, I soon quickly learnt in enlisting participants that attitudes are changing and refreshingly so.

There has been an overwhelming response to the project I think partly because of the covering of faces in the photos and the messages that persons are allowed to convey in their own handwritten words, simple and effective.

The works may be available in the US shortly in selected galleries, I will keep you abreast and post permitted samples soon.

H

Gay Party DVD Reveller on the run

The recently publicised DVD of a gay party that was held in Jamaica in 2007 has another gay person on the run and in hiding. The 22 year old young man (we call him John for this post) has been in hiding since last year as he was "discovered" by citizens in his community in St. James.

John has since tried to seek refuge in other parts of the island but has to be in disguise wearing hats and keeping a low profile so as to avoid attacks, jumping from house to house and friend to friend to avoid getting them into trouble as well.

The first attack happened in St. James in late 2007 just after the disc went public when he was pointed out by thugs in his community who then ordered him to leave or be killed. He has sought solace by his close friend (Bob) in Kingston but was recognised and both men were attacked one evening as they ventured home. The would be victims defended themselves thus holding off their attackers but have had to resort to travelling under cover of darkness to secure clothes and food and have even slept in parks and on the road just to avoid detection.

No one can ascertain how the recording ended up in the public domain for sale however it has been sold for double and triple the price of a regular DVD in the initial release. "The Tape" as it is known is still the source of ridicule and derogatory comments by the public to this day.

Bob in question who was assisting John now finds himself in the same predicament as he cannot venture to his house as he is accused of harbouring "the boy on the DVD" and that he is a "battyman" he has been told to leave the area as well or he will be killed. His family is somewhat aloof since the incident at the home.

The matter has not been reported to the police out of fear of reprisals and the non interest in the case.

One of the problems the boys face is a lack of understanding from other GLBTQ persons as most tend to shy from helping brothas in trouble due to the negative outcomes of previous cases where persons try to intervene to help only to be harmed themselves by thugs or unruly behaviour by the persons seeking to be assisted.

How can we begin to deal with this set of issues, they have approached the FLAG but there is no available resources at this time as with many other NGOs the financial problems are plaguing as well but with their elitist and corporatist attitudes he may never get the help he really deserves.

Stay tuned for updates as I follow this case.

Luv

Cuba to resume transgender surgery

(Havana) Cuba will reinstate sex-change operations previously banned on the island, President Raul Castro’s daughter Mariela said recently.

The Health Ministry authorized the operations last year, but none has been performed since. It was unclear when the surgeries would begin.

Mariela Castro, a sexologist and gay-rights advocate, announced the return of sex-change procedures in comments aired on state television. She runs the Center for Sex Education, which prepares transsexuals for sex-change operations and has identified 19 transsexuals it deems ready to undergo the procedure.

Castro also said she backs efforts to allow lesbians to be artificially inseminated, a procedure currently barred.

The first successful sex-change operation was performed on the island in 1988, but subsequent procedures were prohibited, Mariela Castro told an international congress on assisted reproduction meeting in Havana.

Some Cubans protested the decision last year to allow the operations, either because of general opposition to the procedure or for its high costs for a developing country with economic problems.

The government would bear the cost of the operations because Cuba has a universal health care system.
Tags: currentissues

Drag, Eve & CFW, Lawd!

American rap star Eve injected some life into the final night of what was at times a dull Caribbean Fashionweek (CFW), which ended at the National Indoor Sports Centre on Sunday. The event got off to a late start - one and a half hours after the scheduled 7 p.m. starting time. By the second presentation of designs, many persons in the audience had red, watery eyes and were yawning. There were even a few dozing during the sometimes long breaks between segments. The fact that food and drink were not allowed in the show area did not help either.

Remarkable appearance

Amid all this, when Eve stepped on to the runway, there were scores of people standing and singing along to her songs. And those who did not know them simply waved. In a little black dress and studded silver heels, she sang Who's That Girl, Let Me Blow Your Mind and Tambourine.

design by Kahnami

But before Eve, D'Angel blazed the stage with a relatively strong performance. She strutted her stuff doing First Lady and was very passionate during Stronger.

Prior to the performances, there was a bit of a shocker during Claudia Pegus' first set. Wearing a bee-like metal mask, a full-figured model made some heavy steps on to the runway wearing high wedge heels, a dress with interesting cuts, and a messy wig. The model was followed by thinner models, who walked gracefully, wearing similar masks. As the display of the collection was about to end, the first model returned and removed the mask. It was at this point that everyone realised that it was, in fact, a man.
A male model dressed as a woman wears a Claudia Pegus design at Caribbean Fashionweek at the National Indoor Sports Centre on Sunday. - photos by Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

After the awe, and in some cases disgust, there were designs from Minka, Trefle, Pret A Porter and Rebel Clothing.

During the second set, Sushma Patel had some bright-coloured designs with sequins. A pleasant child brought a 'cute' element to the programme as she strutted gracefully.

Fifth Element provided a mix of fabrics, as well as bright and basic colours.

Male collection

Millhouse and Sandra Kennedy were on the more relaxed side of things. Millhouse, a male collection, had smooth finishes and a few edgy designs. Sandra Kennedy had white flowing outfits that were made of 100 per cent sea-island cotton.

Zadd and Eastman started with brown and khaki outfits. Then there was a big dash of colours - orange, green, aqua, blue, yellow and pink.

Moncrieffe, known for using mostly black and white, used bright and vibrant colours this year. There were also some models wearing masks.

Afterwards, there were collections from Mantsho, Simon Parchment and The Cloth.

Pegus ended CFW with a tribute to Michelle Obama. These designs were sophisticated and the bold accessories went well with the outfits. With one model lip-synching At Last, two other models waltzed, mimicking Barack and Michelle Obama at their inauguration ball after he was sworn in as the United States of America's 44th president earlier this year.

Flawed Sexual Offences Bill (Letter to The Gleaner Editor)

Editor, Sir:

Unprotected heterosexual sex is the main route to HIV/AIDS transmission in the Caribbean, with unprotected homosexual sex a critical factor.

According to a 2007 report on HIV/AIDS in Jamaica, cultural factors are fuelling the epidemic in high-risk groups (prostitutes and men who have sex with men). In addition, a 2008 study commissioned by the Ministry of Health showed that about one-third of men who have sex with men were also having sex with multiple female partners.

Shortcomings in the laws
The Ministry of Health cannot now deliver services to these high-risk groups under current laws, let alone the even more stringent laws about to be introduced under the Sexual Offences Bill. For example, under this new bill:
A man who is convicted of buggery (having consensual anal sex with a man or a woman) may now be listed as a sex offender after his 10-year prison sentence ends.

A woman who is convicted of prostitution (having consensual commercial sex) may be fined up to $500,000 and be imprisoned for up to five years. Anyone who lives with a prostitute, or is seen in her company, can be arrested and suffer the same penalties as the prostitute.

It is certainly in our interest as a society to avoid introducing laws almost guaranteed to worsen a potential epidemic.

I am, etc.,
YVONNE MCCALLA SOBERS
sobersy@yahoo.com

Speculation Over Lawyer's Death

Since the discovery of the decomposing body of attorney-at-law Berriston 'Berry' Bryan at his Stony Hill, St Andrew, home on Monday, there have been unconfirmed claims that his demise was linked to the homosexual tapes that belonged to former trade ambassador Peter King.
While the St Andrew North police, who are investigating the matter, say they have not established any link between the lawyer's murder and the tapes, sources are claiming otherwise.


leaked by someone

Information reaching THE STAR is that certain individuals believed that the content of the tapes, which was reported by the media during the murder trial, was leaked by someone, possibly Bryan, who had viewed the tapes.

"They had to shut him up because nobody was sure if or when he would begin to name persons on those tapes," the sources said.

Bryan, who represented Sheldon Pusey, the man sentenced to 15 years for the 2006 murder of King, was among the few non-state individuals who had officially viewed the tapes taken from King's house.


460 videotapes

The viewing of the 460 videotapes by Bryan was done in his preparation for Pusey's defence.

They allegedly depicted persons from all sectors of Jamaican society carrying out homosexual activities. Since word of the tapes got out, there have been widespread speculations about the persons featured on it.

Bryan's body was found with multiple stab wounds and appeared to have been beaten with a blunt instrument.

OTHER BLOG POST

Remembering Brian Williamson - September 4 1945 - June 9, 2004

a special post outside of the October History month but relevant non the less

the good days with his dog Tessa at home

Brian Williamson (September 4 1945 - June 9, 2004) was a Jamaican Gay rights activist and co-founder of the Jamaican forum for lesbians and gays, J-Flag. He was known for personally housing and looking after gay people in Jamaica.

members of the public then were cheering his demise at some instances and singing anti gay songs as police process the crime scene then and his body was removed by the undertakers

He was murdered with a machete, suffering multiple stab wounds to neck and face.Williamson's confessed murderer, Dwight Hayden, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after fifteen years

Other posts and articles on Brian:

Remembering Brian Williamson

http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20040620/focus/focus4.html

More related posts that named Brian: HERE

More from Gay Jamaica Watch: HERE

More from GLOBALGAYZ: HERE

Sadly missed

Peace

Musings: Re-ordering society by treaty

6/7/2009

By Jeff Cumberbatch

WHETHER owed to our Judaeo-Christian background; our colonial status, which engendered a sometime legislative dependency on Britain; the popular will or, maybe, a combination of these, all sexual acts between males are criminalised under our law. Indeed, in 1992, when we enacted a new sexual offences statute, not only did we reiterate this illegality, but we also criminalised, perhaps inadvertently, identical acts between males and females, even if they are married, even if the acts are consensual, and even if they are committed in private. This anomaly remains.

Not that this is a universal position. England, from whom we would have taken our original legislation, has long ago changed its law to decriminalise sexual acts between males, provided the participants are above the age of consent, the act occurs in private and is consensual. And in the State of Texas, the US Supreme Court has struck down a statute which made it a crime for two persons of the same sex to engage in sexual practices common to a homosexual lifestyle, on the twin bases of the entitlement of such persons to respect for their privacy – “…it is a promise of the Constitution that there is a realm of personal liberty which the government may not enter…”; and their right to equal protection under the law – “…moral disapproval of a group cannot be a legitimate governmental interest under the Equal Protection clause because legal classifications must not be drawn for the purpose of disadvantaging the group burdened by the law…”

Indeed, several of our regional neighbours, who are similarly situated to us societally, have departed from our current stance. In the case of the Bahamas, by virtue of statute, intimate homosexual acts are only outlawed if one adult male has sexual intercourse with another male who is a minor or has sexual intercourse in a public place with another male whether with or without the consent of that other male. And in the British Overseas Territories, specifically Anguilla, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat, the Turks and Caicos Islands and the British Virgin Islands, the Caribbean Territories (Criminal Law) Order 2000 issued by Her Majesty provides that notwithstanding any statutory or common law provision in Force in the Territory to the contrary, a homosexual act (defined as buggery or gross indecency between two males) in private shall not be an offence “provided that the parties consent thereto and have attained the age of eighteen years”.

Of course, these positions are not binding on Barbados and, as a sovereign jurisdiction, we are free to follow our own democratic sentiments in this regard; free, that is, to the extent that, in the exercise of that sovereignty, we have not bound ourselves by treaty to act in a prescribed manner. In recent times, we have encountered more than a few instances in which the local populist or statutory view clashes with the spirit or letter of our treaty obligations of one kind or another – the death penalty itself, its mandatory nature, the corporal punishment of prisoners, the corporal punishment of children, the provision of imprisonment for certain strikes under the Better Security Act – and unless we are prepared to withdraw from the specific treaty and the community of nations which endorse it, then we may be forced to change our laws in order to conform.

In this regard, Barbados ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) on March 23, 1976. This covenant provides, inter alia, for protection from discrimination on a variety of grounds; protection which Barbados, as a state party to the treaty, undertook to respect and to ensure to all individuals within its territories and subject to its jurisdiction. Now one of these grounds is sex, which ordinarily relates to distinction between male and female but, in 1994, the Human Rights Committee, charged with the interpretation of the Covenant, considered that the criminalisation of private sexual activity between consenting same-sex adults violated the anti-discrimination Articles of the Covenant, including that of discrimination on the basis of sex.

In a March 2007 report prepared by Global Rights and the International Human Rights Advocacy Seminar at the University of Virginia School of Law, which only recently became available online (http://www.globalrights.org/site/DocServer/Shadow_Report_Barbados.pdf?docID=9863) and which is provocatively entitled “Violation of the Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Persons in Barbados”, this country is excoriated for its non-compliance with the Articles of the ICCPR with respect to these individuals. There has not been, to put it mildly, an abundance of public comment on it, but this does not surprise.

The entire document repays reading, but what is intriguing to this writer is its position on same sex marriages and the law in Barbados. Conceding that the right to same-sex marriage is not officially recognised under the ICCPR, it nevertheless refers to the decision in Young v. Australia where the Human Rights Committee held that a failure of the state to grant de facto same-sex couples benefits available to de facto couples of opposite sexes violates Article 26 of the Treaty which guarantees to all persons equality and equal protection of the law without discrimination.

Given that under our Family Law Act, so called “common-law” unions, but only between a man and a woman, are recognised as “unions other than marriage” for certain purposes, the report argues that Barbados thereby provides against equal benefits for unmarried same-sex and heterosexual couples. In other words, we discriminate against same-sex unmarried couples by according different treatment to them from that accorded to heterosexual unmarried couples, based solely on their sex.

This argument appears irrefutable.

OAS approves second resolution on “Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity”

At its 39th General Assembly convened in San Pedro Sula , Honduras , from June 1 – 3, 2009 , the Organisation of American States (OAS) approved its second resolution on “Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity”.
This resolution is the result of the advocacy and coordination activities realized in the past three years by 24 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Travesti, Transgender, Transsexual and Intersex (LGBTTTI) groups of 17 countries forming a Coalition of Latin America and the Caribbean, that meets every year before the General Assembly to coordinate its advocacy work within the OAS.

• RESOLUTION - AG/RES. 2504 (XXXIX-O/09)
  HUMAN RIGHTS, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, AND GENDER IDENTITY
  
  (Adopted at the fourth plenary session, held on June 4, 2009)
  
  THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY,
  BEARING IN MIND resolution AG/RES. 2435 (XXXVIII-O/08), entitled “Human rights, sexual orientation, and gender identity”;
  
  REAFFIRMING:
  That the Universal Declaration of Human Rights affirms that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in that Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth, or other status; and
  
  That the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man establishes that every human being has the right to life, liberty, and the security of the person;
  
  CONSIDERING that the Charter of the Organization of American States (OAS) proclaims that the historic mission of America is to offer to man a land of liberty and a favorable environment for the development of his personality and the realization of his just aspirations;
  
  REAFFIRMING the principles of universality, indivisibility, and interdependence of human rights;
  
  TAKING NOTE of the Declaration on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity presented to the United Nations General Assembly on December 18, 2008; and
  
  NOTING WITH CONCERN acts of violence and related human rights violations perpetrated against individuals because of their sexual orientation and gender identity,
  
  
  RESOLVES:
  1. To condemn acts of violence and related human rights violations committed against individuals because of their sexual orientation and gender identity.
  
  
  2. To urge states to ensure that acts of violence and human rights violations committed against individuals because of sexual orientation and gender identity are investigated and their perpetrators brought to justice.
  
  
  3. To urge states to ensure adequate protection for human rights defenders who work on the issue of acts of violence and human rights violations committed against individuals because of sexual orientation and gender identity.
  
  
  4. To request the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the other organs of the inter-American system to continue to pay sufficient attention to this issue.
  
  
  5. To reiterate its request for the Committee on Juridical and Political Affairs (CAJP) to include on its agenda, before the fortieth regular session of the General Assembly, the topic of “Human rights, sexual orientation, and gender identity.”
  
  
  6. To request the Permanent Council to report to the General Assembly at its fortieth regular session on the implementation of this resolution, the execution of which shall be subject to the availability of financial resources in the program-budget of the Organization and other resources.
  SAN PEDRO SULA DECLARATION OF THE COALITION OF LESBIANS, GAYS, BISEXUALS, TRAVESTI, TRANSSEXUALS, TRANSGENDERS AND INTERSEX OF THE AMERICAS.
  
  Mister Secretary General, Ministers, Members of the Official Delegations, Civil Society Representatives,
  
  We, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Travesti, Transsexual, Transgender and Intersex organizations, convened in San Pedro Sula, Honduras on May 29, 30 and 31, 2009, in accordance with the directives established by the General Assembly of the OAS in its resolutions AG/RES.2092( XXXV-O/05) ; CP/RES.759(1217/ 99); 840(1361/03) ; AG/RES.1707( XXX-O/00) and AG/RES.1915( XXXIII-O/ 03), which determine a regulatory framework to enhance and strengthen civil society participation in OAS activities and in the Summit of the Americas process, highlighting the importance of the resolution AG/RES. 2435 (XXXVIII-O/08) , express our concern for the omission of the concept of gender identity and expression from paragraph 5 of the draft declaration of San Pedro Sula, which makes reference to violence generated by discrimination. Gender identity and expression of travestis, transgenders and transsexuals are fundamental elements of the exercise of our cultural freedom and self-construction.
  
  In the American hemisphere the atrocities committed have been documented over a decade. Several reports mostly drafted by non governmental organizations highlight the existence of countless extrajudicial executions, arbitrary detentions, tortures and killings as a consequence of the so-called “social cleansing” campaigns or by extermination groups, such as in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador.
  
  However, it should be noted that these identified forms of discriminatory acts and violence are the most evident and extreme kinds of rights violations, those which essentially affect the rights to life and personal integrity.
  
  These are not only limited to physical attacks, police mistreatment, abuse by authorities and hate crimes. Within families and the community, practices of private violence, like forced marriages, submission to stereotypes and gender roles that limit the free development of the personality and sexuality, forced segregation and torture in “rehabilitation” clinics, that often end with suicide. Violence within the judicial system, manifested by the legal process for sex and name change, implies humiliating clinical exams, forced surgery and mutilation.
  
  
  Being Afro-descendant, woman, indigenous, youth, migrant, elderly, or living with disability, among other reasons for marginalization, are factors that aggravate violence against individuals because of their sexual orientation and gender identity and expression.
  
  We believe it is fundamental that discrimination is combated with appropriate and effective legal instruments that moreover promote a culture of non violence.
  
  
  In this context we should draw attention to the situation in the eight English-speaking Caribbean countries that still keep in force the so-called “sodomy laws” which are used by the state, security forces and private actors to harass, intimidate and persecute us. These laws which have been consistently classified as human rights violations, create a climate of violence which has been identified by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights during their recent visit to Jamaica.
  
  The countless cases of killings, tortures, sexual violence, arbitrary detentions, public humiliations to which travesti, trangender, transsexual, lesbianas, gay, bisexuals and intersex people, as well as sex workers, are daily subjected in Central America and the Caribbean, and particularly in Honduras, perpetuate a context of hate and impunity with complete indifference by the state.
  
  For these reasons, we demand that States, and particularly the government of Honduras, to develop transparent and serious investigations that should take place with full respect for the law, as well as to severely punish those actors that commit felonies covered by impunity and moral values that feed and justify hate and prejudices.
  
  Therefore, we demand:
  
  That the OAS includes gender identity in its program on the right to identity in order to give States the possibility to develop the necessary legal framework to eliminate social exclusion through the legal recognition of trans persons.
  
  That member states of the English-speaking Caribbean repeal laws that criminalize sexual intercourse between consenting adults of the same sex and all other laws that limit the free development of personality or incite to social violence.
  
  That Member states commit to defining national comprehensive policies aimed at implementing good practices in all social, educational and professional contexts and the creation of bodies that monitor the existing situation on human rights violations.
  
  
  That the General Assembly approves the draft Resolution AG/doc. 4962/09 “Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity” presented by the Brazilian Delegation, whose initiative we fully endorse.
  
  
  That the General Assembly approves the draft Resolution AG/doc. 4959/09 “Draft Inter-American Convention against Racism and all Forms of Discrimination and Intolerance” and that Member States commit themselves to finalize the negotiation of the draft accepting the substantive progress achieved during the past years.
  
  
  Given this situation of war against our desire, our bodies and our identities, we advocate for a culture of peace.
  
  AIREANA - Camila Zabala – Paraguay, C TTT- Claudia Sosa - Honduras, COLECTIVA MUJER y SALUD, Julie Betances – República Dominicana, COMUNICACIÓN MUJER, Soledad Varela - Ecuador, CORPORACION OPCION, Diana Navarro - Colombia, ENTRE-TRANSITOS - Camilo Andrés Rojas - Colombia, GREEN CHOP - Kimany Parke - Grenada, HUMANA NACION TRANS-Hazel Gloria Davenport - México, IGLHRC-LAC - Marcelo Ferreyra – Argentina, INSTITUTO RUNA-Belissa Andia – Perú, LIDERES EN ACCION-Germán Rincón - Colombia, MEN UNITED - Keneth Van Emdem - Suriname, MULABI, ESPACIO LATINOAMERICANO EN SEXUALIDADES Y DERECHOS, Marina Bernal, México-Colombia, ORGANIZACIÓN DE TRANSEXUALES POR LA DIGNIDAD Andrés Rivera –Chile, RED AFRO LGBTI - Edmilson Medeiros BRASIL, RED J-FLAG - Maurice Tomilson – Jamaica, RED LACTRANS - Marcela Romero- Argentina, RED TRANS Nicaragua - Silvia Martínez – Nicaragua, SASOD- Namela Baynes Henry - Guyana,UNIBAM - Devon Gabourel - Belize, VELVET UNDERGROUND Angela Francis - Trinidad and Tobago.
  As a Coalition partner: Stefano Fabeni-Global Rights
  

Face of HIV/AIDS improves - health official

There has been a significant shift in the face and image of HIV/AIDS in Jamaica from one of persons being ill, losing a lot of weight, and hardly being able to help themselves, to one of an image of being a regular Jamaican.

JAMAICA HAS come a far way as it relates to the treatment of persons living with HIV/AIDS, according to Dr Kevin Harvey, senior medical officer in the Ministry of Health's HIV/STI Control Programme.

Addressing a recent Gleaner Editor's Forum, Harvey disclosed that there had been significant gains in the last five years in the management and care of persons who are HIV-infected.

"We find that most people are willing to sit beside, hold hands, talk to, and even take care of somebody who is HIV-infected, particularly family members. This has been a significant shift we are seeing now," Harvey told the forum, which was held at the newspaper's, central Kingston head offices.

Harvey added: "We still have a challenge where persons refuse or have difficulties buying food or eating from somebody who they know to be HIV-infected; but they are more willing to allow their children to go to school with HIV-infected individuals and work alongside them."

Ministry of Health estimates indicate that of the 27,000 persons who are living with the disease, 18,000 are unaware of their status.

IMAGE SHIFT

Harvey said that there had also been a significant shift in the face and image of HIV/AIDS in Jamaica from one of persons being ill, losing a lot of weight, hardly being able to help themselves, to one of an image of being a regular Jamaican.

"We are saying you cannot tell by looking; anybody sitting beside you or working with you can be HIV-infected and you don't know," said Harvey.

He attributed this to the affordable treatments that were now available.

Harvey told the gathering that in 2003, it cost somewhere between $20,000 to $30,000 each month for anti-retroviral drugs.

Now, the most expensive regime costs approximately $9,000 per month, and is free in the public sector.

Harvey also revealed that the test to monitor persons who were HIV-infected had been reduced from $10,000 to $3,000.

Persons living with HIV are now living longer, Harvey also revealed. He said before the introduction of anti-retroviral drugs, the average life span after being diagnosed with the disease was one year.

"Now, we have people who are diagnosed with AIDS up to five years, and some people who have been on, before our major programme up to 14 years of anti-retroviral drugs and are living healthy, happy lives," Harvey reported.

The cartoons say it all ..... the church getting in the way?

Well the cartoon says it all as I interpret it Mr. Golding is clearly pandering to the gallery as he just won the elections when he made this not in my cabinet statement on The BBC's Program Hardtalk.

Now the Seventh Day Adventist church is insisting that cops who are of that faith must not work, when religion gets into the way of doing day to day business especially the business of the nation's security and safety of citizens, so what about the rest of us while they are in church the sinners who the church is entrusted to reach is on the outside protecting them. How hypocritical we see here.

Here we go again folks now we see why we need the separation of church and state.

Peace and tolerance.

H

The Torturer's Wife Thomas Glave

Author of the acclaimed story collection Whose Song?, award-winning Thomas Glave is known for his stylistic brio and courageous explorations into the heavily mined territories of race and sexuality. Here he expands and deepens his lyrical experimentation in stories that focus—explicitly and allegorically—on the horrors of dictatorships, war, anti-gay violence, the weight of traumatized memory, secret fetishes, erotic longing, desire and intimacy.

THOMAS GLAVE is an O. Henry award-winning author and was named a Village Voice Writer on the Verge in 2001. He is the author of Whose Song? and Other Stories, Words to Our Now:Imagination and Dissent (winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Nonfiction), and editor of Our Caribbean: A Gathering of Lesbian and Gay Writing from the Antilles. He is the 2008-2009 Martin Luther King Jr. Visiting Professor in the Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Praise for The Torturer's Wife:"The Torturer's Wife is one of the most interesting American books I [have] read in the last years. It is not the usual publisher's product, but a literary text that incites the reader to become a conscious and seduced re-reader."—Juan Goytisolo, author of State of Siege and A Cock-Eyed Comedy

Praise for Thomas Glave: "Glave's disruption of form is a powerful metaphor for sexual, racial and geopolitical disjunctions. Glave is a gifted stylist . . . blessed with ambition, his own voice and an impressive willingness to dissect how individuals actually think and behave."—New York Times Book Review"

Thomas Glave walks the path of such greats in American literature as Richard Wright and James Baldwin . . . He cuts to the bone of what it means to be black in America, white in America, gay in America, and human in the world at large."—Gloria Naylor, author of The Women of Brewster Place"

What a writer! What a book! Glave is a brilliant writer of startlingly fresh prose . . . His stories are intricate tapestries of life rendered through a triumphant act of the imagination."—Clarence Major, author of One Flesh

Watch a fan's tribute to Thomas Glave here

Publisher City Lights Publishers
ISBN-10 0872864669
ISBN-13 9780872864665
Publication Date December 2008
List Price $15.95

G.L.A.B.C.O.M now named G.M.A.J (Meeting happenings 02.06.09)

At the bi weekly meeting for Gays Lesbians & bisexuals led by a lesbian Executive member of GLABCOM and members of the previous Steering Committee structure sought to enlist support from the attendees on the new direction of GLABCOM (Gay Lesbian Allsexual and Bisexual Community) to have it become GMAJ - Gay Mens Association of Jamaica.

The concerns raised included the lack of support from the women (lesbians) who do not attend the meetings. regularly.

Other points raised included:

1). The men were too dominating in the meetings hence the reluctance of the women attending

2). Availability of funds for scholarships for interested persons - many were not aware of it

3). The confidentiality issue of the organization, HIV AIDS test results allegedly banded about by community members

4). The need for more training programs for LGBT cohort

5). The lack of proper role models - "Sketel imagery is too rampant in the behaviour of many of the men"

6). The availability of Heavens Nightclub for a night for a fundraising party on behalf of GLAB - Macy (Mgr)

7). Suggestions of a workshop/retreat to deal with self esteem, anger management and other personal issues

8). Skills training for persons who display a propensity for talent - barbering, hairdressing, tailoring etc

Among the guests present were CFLAG personnel from St. Lucia, Grenada & Curacao who briefly described their various jurisdictions' LGBT issues and concerns. They all pointed out however that there are no sustained meetings similar to GLABCOM where issues are fleshed out and they hailed the achievements of JASL/JFLAG in functioning in a hostile environment.

The new organisational structure was proposed by the Executive Director of Jamaica AIDS Support for Life Miss Stacy Ann Jarrett, guest speaker implored that testing and other interventions were necessary for the MSM population, she then instructed the persons in attendance to "run with it" as we are to form our own strategies in reaching the desired targets.

Targets include, High knowledge level of HIV/AIDS issues, sustained social marketing and behaviour change concepts, proper condom usage, adherence to anti retroviral regime for HIVers, easier access to medications and Counseling and testing.

As usual the unease of some of the attendants was visible as persons kept entering and exiting the room.

Let's see what this new dispensation will bring to the fore but I am concerned however that the focus originally of GLABCOM has been missed, HIV intervention in the MSM population was the primary reason for its formation as it was a creature of Targeted Inteventions of Jamaica AIDS Support for Life. JFLAG was formed out of GLABCOM to address the Advocacy, Social Support, Legal Reform, Referrals and Crisis Intervention needs of the community that JASL couldn't and wasn't funded and equipped so to do.

Is it therefore that GLABCOM/GMAJ is struggling in the void of inactivity to find a place or foothold in between HIV/AIDS intervention and Self Efficacious/Advocacy strategies in engaging the vulnerable groups?.

As a former Steering Committee member I am just baffled at what is happening, the loss of many of the younger newly joined members of the cmt for no apparent reasons and now a change of focus without any proper lead time into sorting out what are the objectives of each organization serving the same marginalised groups, i.e. Jamaica AIDS Support for Life (GLABCOM. GMAJ), Jamaica Forum for Lesbians Allsexuals and Gays (including Women for Women). I think a serious education drive to include committee and general MSM persons is required to put things in perspective.

The Women for Women Chairperson who also happens to be the Co-Chair for JFLAG spoke in her capacity as Chair for WFW justified the reasons for the separation of the groups (men and women in GLABCOM) she explained that the women have their own set of issues to handle so both groups would have to in a structured way handle their own affairs before a meeting of the minds.

One of JFLAG's founders and JASL stalwart who was present reiterated that line and went on to say that most gay men are too busy waiting for a female type lead to be their role model, men needed to take the initiative and be bold with our own development despite how we present ourselves to the world (effeminate)
He also reminded us that GLABCOM meetings are not meant to be toyed with.

The WFW Chair continued to outline their intended representation at the World Gay Games in 2010.

End

Mr. H