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Lesbian , Gay , Bisexual and Transgender persons living in Jamaica face being the victim of bias-motivated crimes and criminal sanctions from the government. LGBT people should take great care before traveling to Jamaica. CRIMINAL CODE Section 76 of the Jamaica criminal code punishes "acts of gross indecency" and " Buggery " with up to ten years imprisonment with hard labor. The law has been interpreted to include male homosexual conduct between consenting adults in private. While the law is technically silent on the subject of female homosexuality, a person's real or perceived Sexual Orientation , be it Gay or Lesbian , is often seen as a justification for discrimination, harassment, theft and even murder. HOMOPHOBIA WIDESPREAD AND PROMOTED In 2004 the Human Rights Watch issued a report on the status of LGBT people in Jamaica and documented widespread Homophobia and argued that the high level of intolerance was harming public efforts to combat violence and the AIDS - HIV pandemic In February 2005, the report was discussed in America, by Jamaican activists, health experts and governmental officials via a panel discussion [http://www.sodomylaws.org/world/jamaica/janews050.htm . The social and legal stigma that surround homosexality and cross-dressing in Jamaica have prevented the creation of a visible LGBT Community . Jamaican Reggae and Dancehall singers, such as Buju Banton , Beenie Man , Vybz Kartel , Elephant Man , Sizzla and Shabba Ranks , write and perform songs that advocate violence against homosexuals, and as a result of the controversy several of their concerts in western Europe and the US have been cancelled. Buju Banton's hit song "Boom Bye Bye" threatens gay men with a "gunshot in ah head" {Link without Title} One of Beenie Man's songs contains the lyrics: "I'm a dreaming of a new Jamaica, come to execute all the gays." {Link without Title} Lyrics from Sizzla’s songs include: “Shot Batty Boy , my big gun boom” (Shoot queers, my big gun goes boom). "A Nuh Fi Wi Fault" by Elephant Man boasts: "Battyman fi dead!/Please mark we word/Gimme tha tech-nine/Shoot dem like bird".[http://www.365gay.com/NewsContent/091703tatchellRap.htm Shabba Ranks 's reputation was badly damaged by his explicitly Homophobic views and lyrics. This was evidenced by a notorious incident on the Channel 4 programme ' The Word ' where he appeared to advocate the Crucifixion of Homosexuals . This view was also aired, for example, on his track "No Mama Man", where the following lyrics can he heard: "If jamaica would a legalize gun / to kill battyboy would be the greatest fun" An international campaign against homophobia by reggae singers has been launched by Outrage! , UK-based gay human rights group. the UK-based Stop Murder Music Coalition (SMM) and others. An agreement to stop anti-gay lyrics during live performances and to not produce any new anti-gay material or re-release offending songs was reached in February 2005 between dancehall record labels and organizations opposed to anti-gay murder lyrics.[http://www.fradical.com/Homophobia_bad_sexism_good1.htm The Canadian High Commission in Jamaica is also requiring performers who wish to tour in Canada to sign an Entertainer Declaration that states that they have read and fully understand excerpts from the Canadian Criminal Code , Charter Of Rights and Human Rights Act and "will not engage in or advocate hatred against persons because of their… sexual orientation." {Link without Title} VIOLENCE AGAINST GAYS In 1997 a suggestion by a government health minister to distribute condoms to prisoners as a means of prevention the spread of AIDS - HIV , caused a riot and murder of several suspected gay prisoners. At least 30 gay men were believed to have been murdered between 1997 and 2004, according to J-FLAG, the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays. {Link without Title} In June 2004 the nation's leading gay rights activist, Brian Williamson , was found dead in what many LGBT Jamaicans feel was a bias-motivated murder The Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG), which Williamson founded, branded his murder a "hate-related crime"[http://www.365gay.com/newscon04/06/061004jamaicaMurder.htm . Four people have been charged with the killing of Lenford "Steve" Harvey in 2005. Harvey was openly gay and ran Jamaica AIDS Support for Life. He was shot to death on the eve of World AIDS Day in 2005. Gunmen reportedly burst into his home and demanded money, yelling "We hear that you are gay." {Link without Title} Reggae star Buju Banton and two other men were charged in September 2005 in relation to an attack on six gay men in Kingston in 2004. Banton is one of Jamaica's most famous singers. Police alleged that he was one of about a dozen armed men who forced their way into a house and beat up the occupants while shouting homophobic insults. Banton was reportedly identified by several witnesses, but he was not arrested until 15 months after the warrant was issued, and was acquitted in January 2006. There are reports that the investigation and prosecution were poorly conducted. [http://www.petertatchell.net/international/bujubanton.htm In January 2006, a young Jamaican man plunged to his death off a pier in Kingston after reportedly being chased through the streets by a mob yelling homophobic epithets. {Link without Title} In April 2006, students at University Of The West Indies rioted as police attempted to protect a gay man who had been chased across the campus because another student had claimed the man had propositioned him in a washroom. The mob demanded that the man be turned over to them. It only dispersed when riot police were called in and one officer fired a shot in the air. {Link without Title} {Link without Title} According to Human Rights Watch , "Police actively support homophobic violence, fail to investigate complaints of abuse, and arrest and detain men based on their alleged homosexual conduct." {Link without Title} The violence has prompted hundreds of LGBT Jamaicans to seek Asylum in nations such as Great Britain {Link without Title} . POLITICAL ACTIVISM LGBT Jamaicans who speak about their situation to the local or international press often fear reprisals from being "outed." There is good reason to be afraid. In June 2004 the nation's leading gay rights activist, Brian Williamson , was killed in what many LGBT Jamaicans feel was a bias-motivated murder {Link without Title} Lenford "Steve" Harvey , an openly gay who ran Jamaica AIDS Support for Life, was also shot to death on the eve of World AIDS Day in 2005. {Link without Title} The only LGBT rights orgnization in Jamaica is the Jamaican Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG). The organization was created in 1998 , and has thus far been unsuccessful in its attempts to persuade the government to address gay rights concerns. Neither one of the two major political parties in Jamaica have expressed any official support for Gay Rights . The ruling Peoples National Party views international criticism of its Human Rights record as meddling, and either claims that homophobia is not a serious problem or that gay rights violate the conservative social values of the Jamaican people. The Jamaican Labour Party has likewise avoided the issue, although in 2004 , the former Jamaican Attorney General and Justice Minister, Dr Oswald Hardider, stated that he felt that Wolfden Committee in Britain and decriminalize Homosexuality and Prostitution when it occurred between consenting adults in private. None of the other minor political parties have endorsed Gay Rights . In February 2006, a coalition of church leaders and members of the Lawyers' Christian Fellowship declared their opposition to a privacy provisions of a proposed Charter of Rights that would form the basis of an amended Jamaican Constitution. Chief among the concerns is that homosexuality could be made legal.The Justice Minister AJ Nicholson and the Leader of the Opposition Bruce Golding have denied this; both oppose legalizing homosexuality. {Link without Title} EXTERNAL LINKS |
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