Caribbean IRN Blog

Image taken from DWTOnline Suriname saw the celebration of Coming Out Week organised by LGBT Platform of Suriname . Suriname was the venue for the S econd Women and Sexual Diversity Conference For LBT Activists  .  Paige Andrew writes about her experience at the conference. The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, LGBT Platform Suriname, and LGBTI Aware Caribbean conducted a  4 day "train the trainer" LGBTI sensitization training programme for Suriname police in October. There is an  announcement that US NGO Human Rights Watch will be visiting Suriname in 2015   though not for Coming Out Week. Human Rights Watch also releases a film " Unchecked Homophobic Violence in Jamaica". How are Caribbean men dealing with diverse sexualities?  Richie Maitland from Grenada talks about being a straight man involved in LGBT activism; and UNAIDS in the Caribbean releases the results of the Caribbean Men's Internet Survey The UNAIDS Caribbean Vimeo channe...

Image from  http://www.thecubanhistory.com/  : IDAHO march in Cuba  Cuba voted Yes along with 24 other countries  of the UN Human Rights Council  in favour of a resolution against homophobic violence and discrimination. Guyana's neighbours, Venezuela and Brazil also voted in favour of the resolution. Meanwhile, Prime Minister of Trinidad & Tobago, Kamla Persaud-Bissessar indicated that it was not legally possible  to deal with gay rights. This revelation generated responses from activists and organisations  including CAISO and included comments from the  the Inter-Religious Organisation  and the Catholic Church . This post on Global Voices describes the reactions. In Jamaica, Father Sean Major-Campbell of the Anglican Church writes about the criminalisation of sex. In Trinidad & Tobago, the TT Film Festival awarded  its inaugural Amnesty International Human Rights Prize to the Abominable Crime. The film is desc...

Special Collection by the Caribbean IRN & Sargasso Title: Love | Hope | Community: Sexualities and Social Justice in the Caribbean Sexualities in the Tent, Wall Mural, Bohemia, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, July 2013" photo credit: Angelique V. Nixon. Call for Submissions Please click here to Download the PDF Movements for sexual citizenship and equal rights for sexual minorities across the region (particularly in the Anglophone and Hispanophone Caribbean) are growing and have garnered local and international media attention. With recent court cases challenging discriminatory laws and the backlash and frenzy over a so-called “gay lobby” in the region, we are at a crucial juncture of visibility, misrepresentation, anti-sexual minority violence, increased activism, lawsuits, and ongoing survival. It is a vital time to respond to recent events critically and from myriad perspectives, as well as to reflect on these movements, make interventions, figh...