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Celebration, culture wars, violence - Caribbean IRN Update June 2013

There was celebration in Martinique as Rosemonde Zébo and Myriam Jourdan became the first same-sex couple to be married there.

There was celebration in Guyana as SASOD commemorated its 10th Annversary with a range of events including the launch of their documentary video.



In Guyana as well, the arguments on the Constitutional challenge to the cross-dressing laws conclude.
In the midst of the celebrations though, the violence against Sandy Jackman who was a target of an acid attack is reminder of the hatred which exists.


The Guyana Rainbow Foundation also issued a statement to condemn the sections of reporting on the media which intimated.

Caribbean media though, showed its diversity.  The US Supreme Court ruling on DOMA resulted in editorials in the Jamaica Gleaner and Stabroek News which spoke to the reforms necessary in Jamaica and Guyana respectively.

The Atlantic Magazine carries an interesting article about the "culture wars" as they related to the issues of legal challenges. In Dominica, the Prime Minister reports that there will be no change to the laws. The churches plan a march. However, in another forum , retired Chief Justice Sir Brian Alleyne delivered a lecture in Dominica on law and faith as part of the Roman Catholic Church's "Year of Faith" celebrations and he questioned the illegality of the private acts.  The full text of his presentation explores this view of faith, immorality and illegality of private acts (shared through Maurice Tomlinson).
The religious positions are also challenged in Belize in an oped in the Belize Star by Asa DeMatteo

In Jamaica, JFLAG joins the constitutional challenge by Javed Jaghai. The TVJ challenge is reported on by a Jamaican blogger,

June also saw regional advocacy from Caribbean activists at the OAS. In this OAS video of the 2013 Informal Dialogue with Civil Society,  the OAS  Secretary General Jorge Insulza is engaged by Zenita Nicholson of Guyana (01;54:04 to 01:36:04) and  Colin Robinson of Trinidad & Tobago (02:42:36 to 02:44:05)




AIDSFree World reports on training of police in Suriname.

A reflection on 10 years of LGBT activism in Guyana is published in two parts in the Stabroek News on 27 June and 1 July, 2013.

A new book "Human Rights, Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in The Commonwealth: Struggles for Decriminalisation and Change" published by the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London contains discussions about the issues in the Caribbean. The book is available free for download.

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