Homophobia in Jamaica, A vicious intoleranceThe politicians seem unperturbed by hate crimes
IT MAY have a laid-back image of reggae and Rastas, sun and sand. But for gays, Jamaica is closer to hell. The latest apparent victim of homophobia on the island was Britain’s honorary consul in Montego Bay, the tourist centre, strangled in bed at home on September 9th. A note denounced him as homosexual.
Openly gay people must contend with the constant fear of violence. The Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG), a pressure group, reports 33 cases of serious injuries from mob attacks on gays in 18 months. Two female couples were attacked and raped by men in recent weeks. Many attacks go unreported, partly because police do not always investigate them. In court a murder charge is likely to be reduced to manslaughter if the victim was gay and the defendant claims provocation, as happened with the killer of an Anglican priest stabbed in his vicarage in 2006.
Some Jamaican gays say the police are becoming more helpful. Lyrics threatening death to gays by popular dance-hall artists have become much less common since the Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica, a regulator, decided in February to block all “lewd” and violent content. These lyrics also attracted bans and fines abroad.
But this does not herald a serious outbreak of tolerance. What Jamaican law calls “the abominable crime of buggery” is punishable with up to ten years of hard labour; “gross indecency” merits up to two years. A reform of sex legislation is now before parliament. But under pressure from the churches, both government and opposition have taken pains to weed out any wording that might weaken the ban on gay sex.
The prime minister, Bruce Golding, told parliament that he would not yield to foreign pressure to liberalise the law. One of his backbenchers Ernest Smith called for J-FLAG to be outlawed, and gave warning that gays were infiltrating the police.
The violence is feeding a gay “brain drain”, with some of the brightest Jamaicans leaving for the United States or Canada. Even if they do not care about human rights, Jamaica’s politicians and its government might spare a thought for the impact of their intolerance on a chronically stagnant economy.
IT MAY have a laid-back image of reggae and Rastas, sun and sand. But for gays, Jamaica is closer to hell. The latest apparent victim of homophobia on the island was Britain’s honorary consul in Montego Bay, the tourist centre, strangled in bed at home on September 9th. A note denounced him as homosexual.
Openly gay people must contend with the constant fear of violence. The Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG), a pressure group, reports 33 cases of serious injuries from mob attacks on gays in 18 months. Two female couples were attacked and raped by men in recent weeks. Many attacks go unreported, partly because police do not always investigate them. In court a murder charge is likely to be reduced to manslaughter if the victim was gay and the defendant claims provocation, as happened with the killer of an Anglican priest stabbed in his vicarage in 2006.
Some Jamaican gays say the police are becoming more helpful. Lyrics threatening death to gays by popular dance-hall artists have become much less common since the Broadcasting Commission of Jamaica, a regulator, decided in February to block all “lewd” and violent content. These lyrics also attracted bans and fines abroad.
But this does not herald a serious outbreak of tolerance. What Jamaican law calls “the abominable crime of buggery” is punishable with up to ten years of hard labour; “gross indecency” merits up to two years. A reform of sex legislation is now before parliament. But under pressure from the churches, both government and opposition have taken pains to weed out any wording that might weaken the ban on gay sex.
The prime minister, Bruce Golding, told parliament that he would not yield to foreign pressure to liberalise the law. One of his backbenchers Ernest Smith called for J-FLAG to be outlawed, and gave warning that gays were infiltrating the police.
The violence is feeding a gay “brain drain”, with some of the brightest Jamaicans leaving for the United States or Canada. Even if they do not care about human rights, Jamaica’s politicians and its government might spare a thought for the impact of their intolerance on a chronically stagnant economy.
my two cents: The legislation that is written of here has already been passed in the sexual offences bill 2009 (see post below or or glbtqjamaica with links to the document) I do wish the authors of these types of articles give a more accurate and up to date account by checking thoroughly.
H
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1 comments:
Ok, but the Economist is hugely influential and read all over the world.
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