Marriage, adoption, lovers at war : Caribbean IRN Update December 2015

Participants of the Police LGBTI Sensitization Training in Antigua conducted by Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network November 24–27, 2015.Image from http://76crimes.com/2015/12/05/progress-for-lgbti-people-and-rights-in-the-caribbean/

In probably the first case in the English speaking/Anglo Caribbean , a notice of marriage was filed for a gay couple in Bermuda. In February 2016 , same sex partners of Bermudans will get the same rights to live and work as different sex partners.

In Guyana, the Director of the Childcare and Protection Agency Ann Greene has confirmed that "Homosexuals can adopt and foster children" .

In Guyana, the story of same-sex love is told unfortunately through violence in this report that "Gay lover remanded on attempted murder charge". There are no reports of any other charges, even though the police seemed to be "aware of the intimate relationship"

Guyana born Edgar Mittelholzer in 1965 did fictionalise same sex love Archie Cliffer and Finey in his novel The Aloneness of Mrs Chatham - story set in England though.

Cut from Page 1

Cut from Page 10

Maurice Tomlinson reports on the police training in Antigua & Barbuda conducted by Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and the launching of Barbados Pride. Maurice Tomlinson filed a constitutional case in Jamaica against the sodomy law. He gets editorial support from the Jamaica Gleaner.

In Barbados, the survey "Examining Stigma and Discrimination Experienced by Gay Men" reports on the experience of discrimination by gay Barbadians.

The American Chamber of Commerce of Trinidad & Tobago endorses equality for LGBTI citizens. In October 2015, the Vereniging van Surinaamse Bedrijfsleven (VSB) (Association of Suriname Businesses) joined in celebrating Coming out Week with LGBT Platform - Suriname.

In St Lucia, the Miss Gay Universe Pageant went ahead even though a pastor said he "received a direct command from God" that it should be cancelled

And in Cuba, American television company HBO launched the documentary Mariela Castro's March : Cuba's LGBT Revolution"

Happy New Year from the Caribbean IRN Team

Comments

Queer Archives TT - Caribbean IRN Update July to December 2024

Queer Archives TT The Queer Archives of Trinidad and Tobago is a project to develop a repository of Trinidad and Tobago's queer history. The archives feature two collections - The Cyrus Sylvester Digital Collection ; and the Timeline of LGBTQI+ Westory . The lead organisation is CAISO: Sex & Gender Justice and there is an interdisciplinary project team The archives were launched in October 2024 and will continue to grow. Caribbean LGBTQI+ Citizenship and rights Dr Nastassia Rambarran's PhD Thesis "A comparative analysis of Barbados and Guyana with respect to colonial legacies, transnational processes and decolonizing activities involved in queer activism " is available In Haiti, Erasing 76 Crimes reports that evangelical Christians block protections of the rights of LGBTQ+ Haitians La Joven Cuba has a story " Travestismo-transformismo en Cuba: una historia intermitente " about the history of travestismo and transformismo in Cuba....

British Guiana 1898 : Punishment for Sodomy meted out to Nabi Baksh and Mohangoo on the Mersey

Between 1838 and 1917, the British brought indentured labour from India to the then British Guiana. An 1898 report from the Governor of British Guiana to the Colonial Office in England reports on the punishment meted out by the Surgeon Superintendent of the Mersey against two men Nabi Baksh and Mohangoo for committing sodomy. "Nobibux was put in irons and Mohangu, after blistering his penis, was made to holystone from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. " The Surgeon Superintendent said that he had "known of cases where the penis had been blistered, as a prevention treatment, in cases of Masturbation with boys" When the ship docked in British Guiana, there was an investigation which included testimony from others on the ship. This report was donated by author Gaiutra Bahadur. Ms Bahadur got the report from the Colonial Office Correspondence books at the UK National Archives at Kew, United Kingdom while doing research for her soon to be...

Lashes, Living and loving - Caribbean IRN Update October, November, December 2023

Extract from "Copies or Extracts of Despatches relating to Chinese Immigrants recently introduced into the colonies of British Guiana and Trinidad - c1853 " Lashes.. There are references to "unnatural intercourse" and 'unnatural crime" on board the ship Samuel Boddington coming from China to Demerara in 1853. The crime was punished by lashes and "pitching" . Punishments were meted out to Nabi Baksh and Mohangoo in 1898 as part of the colonial justice. The Caribbean is referenced in a report by the Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, Victor Madrigal Borloz who " explores the impact of colonialism and decolonization on the continued formation and perpetuation of harmful social mores associated with sexual orientation and gender identity, and how these relate to the enjoyment of human rights." Jamaican activist Maurice Tomlinson writes his resignat...

Caribbean IRN Blog

Search This Blog