Working against discrimination - Caribbean IRN Update May 2016

Cuba celebrated their 9th IDAHOT , keeping the theme of ending discrimination in the work place. Blogger Warhol P writes about the parade on Saturday 14 May, and his concerns about the politics mixed with the event.
Bermuda will be holding a referendum on Same Sex Marriage on 23 June.

Huffington Post publishes an article "The Struggle for Transgender Rights in the Caribbean"

In Barbados, there was outrage against an article in the Nation which called rape 'male medicine'. The Nation apologised.

The new Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality calls on the political parties in the St Lucia elections to talk about issues relating to the LGBT community. They question the inclusion of candidates who have pursued homophobic agendas.

Jessica St Rose from St Lucia shares her story.

In the Bahamas, activist Erin Greene, and Alex Marco head of Bahamas Transgender Intersex United condemned the homophobic comments of Deputy Prime Minister Phillip Davis. Activists also had to condemn the comments of Bahamian MP Leslie Miller. May did not only see homophobic comments from politicians. In Antigua & Barbuda, Minister of Social Transformation Samantha Marshall says she would recommend decriminalization of buggery. In Trinidad & Tobago, former Senator Nicole Dyer Griffith also called for repeal of discriminatory laws.

May 2016 was the 50th Anniversary month of Guyana's Independence and the European Union and the British High Commission called on Guyana to decriminalise consensual same-sex relations and cross dressing. The Country Co-ordinator of the US PEPFAR also did the same thing.
Meanwhile , the Ministry of Public Health reports that the number of HIV cases is rising.

In Jamaica, the Jamaica Gleaner reports about an incident in which men armed with guns shot a house, killing two men. After the shooting , there were disparaging comments 'fish get fry'. There were no follow up stories about arrests.
J-FLAG shares the report on the "Awareness, Attitude & Perception Survey About Issues Related to Same Sex Relationships" Jamaican authors Nicole Dennis-Benn and Marlon James talk about being 'queer and Jamaican' . Suzanne Persaud writes Stop Calling Jamaica the Most Homophobic Place on Earth.

You can hear Colin Robinson read from his book of poems - "You have Your Father Hard Head", at the 2016 Bocas Lit Fest.

If you are in Guyana during June 2016, check out Painting the Spectrum 12 - SASOD's LGBT Film Festival.

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