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Introduction Relevance of Topic Discrimination against sexual orientation, particularly gays and lesbians has been widely reported In the newspapers, In books and even on the television. This research is geared towards finding out how discrimination against sexual orientation is handled in the eyes of the law versus that of societies in the Caribbean region.
In all regions of the Caribbean, people experience violence and discrimination because of their sexual orientation. In many cases, even the thought of homosexual identity puts people at risk. Repercussion for homosexual acts may sometimes include lining, rape and physical attacks, torture, arbitrary detention, the denial of rights to assembly, expression and information, and discrimination in employment, health and education.
This growing problem has attracted attention from the Organization of American States (AS), Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SODAS Guyana), The Jamaican Forum of Lesbians, All-sexual and Gays (J-FLAG), Inter American Court of Human Rights (ATTACH) and many more organizations in the fight for equality and human rights, Many Citizens of Jamaica have already voiced their pinions on the subject matter pertaining to discrimination against sexual orientation but observation of the situation in the community of Flanker in Montage Bay.
Jamaica Is the mall factor that Influenced the conduct of this study, problem Statement Gays and lesbians have been over the history of time and are still victims of persecution. Discrimination and other abuse. Many factors contribute to this situation, including ignorance and intolerance that lead to stigma and denial of equal rights by individuals, groups and societies in the Caribbean as a whole.
This research epic which Is “Discrimination on the grounds Sexual Orientation in the community of Flanker” seeks to examine the impacts of discrimination against sexual orientation of gays and lesbians in the community, to determine the reasons for the discrimination of sexual orientation and to explore the nature of the Caribbean Justice system In implementing laws to protect persons being discriminated against. Along the way the researcher also intends to ascertain answers to questions such as: What are the Impacts of discrimination against sexual orientation In the community of Flanker?
What are the reasons for the discrimination against sexual orientation? How are the Caribbean Legal Systems protecting people against sexual discrimination? How are organizations for human rights aiding In the fight against discrimination on the grounds sexual orientation? This study can be seen as one that has immense educational value. Homosexuality has become a topic of great interest over the changing and modernizing new world. People continue to be at odds over this controversial subject which seems to be getting more and more popular in this new day and age compared to that of about a decade ago.
Gaining knowledge about homosexuality and the struggles as well as abuse they undergo due to discrimination based solely on their sexual orientation will give insight pertaining to its contribution towards criminal activities, laws Caribbean governments have in protecting people from discrimination against sexual orientation and knowledge of activists as well as major organizations who are in the fight against discrimination on the grounds of sexual My study will therefore benefit Psychology, Law, Sociology and orientation.
Business students. Human rights organizations such as J-FLAG, AS and ATTACH loud also use my study to understand why there is a major problem in the Caribbean region pertaining to discrimination based on sexual orientation. The study can also aid in developing plans to eradicate or fix the problem. Definition of Terms Sexual Orientation – A person’s capacity for profound emotional, affection and sexual attraction to, and intimate and sexual relations with, individuals of a different gender or the same gender or more than one gender.
Homosexuality – A term used to make reference to a person’s capacity for profound emotional, affection and sexual attraction to a person of the same gender and to the capacity to maintain intimate and sexual relations with that other person. It is preferred to use the term lesbian to make reference to female homosexuality and gay [or gag in Spanish] to make reference to male or female homosexuality. All-sexual – The term all-sexual was adopted in 1997 to reflect a continuum in sexual identity, which captures the consensual bisexual and transgender experiences of sexual minorities more so than any sexual activities or behaviors.
It is not intended to capture or include persons who are orientated to have sex with animals, children or family members. Discrimination – treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit. Consigner – those whose gender identity and expression matches the biological sex characteristics with which they were born. Discrimination against sexual orientation has been an ongoing issue in Jamaica.
Those who are being discriminated against face enumerated torture and civil wrongs. According to Williams (2000), “Jamaica is perceived to be the most homophobic Caribbean territory. It is also a badly kept secret that Jamaica has a perceptibly vibrant gay population. ” JAVA has collected personal testimonies from gay, lesbian and transgender Jamaican, which “document the discriminatory and violent conditions faced by sexual minorities in Jamaica on a daily basis” FLAG 2003).
Some of the reports include: verbal abuse by work colleagues; vicious beatings by police, relatives and community members, some of which have resulted in deaths; and, homelessness after being driven from their communities by angry neighbors. The Jamaican media reported two homophobic incidents in June 2012 in which lenience was threatened or used to injure innocent civilians, simply because they were suspected of being homosexual. On June 21, in Jones Town, Kingston, the police had to intervene as an angry crowd gathered in front of a house where five homosexuals were staying as reported on COVET News (3:15-5:35 of the footage).
Religion plays one of, if not, the major role in the reasons for the discrimination against sexual orientation in Jamaica. Jamaica being a former colony of Britain had been brought up into the world of Christianity where homosexuality is considered a major sin against god and mankind. Leviticus 20:13 – “If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads. ” 1 Corinthians 6:9-10- “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God?
Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. ” As according to the NIB bible which the above verses were taken from, homosexuality is deemed wrong and immoral and wherefore punishable by death. Jamaica being a country where majority of its inhabitants are Christians or of other religions which detest homosexuality; discrimination against sexual orientation will continue to be a controversial issue.
Prime Minister Overbuilding stated he would never appoint a cabinet minister who m he knew to be gay. When asked if he wouldn’t to live in a Jamaica wherein it would be entirely natural for a gay person to hold a cabinet position,he responded, “l do not know that that is necessarily the direction in which I want my country to go. In 2009 Ernest Smith, a governing arty member of Parliament, stated during a parliamentary debate that “homosexual activities seem to have taken over” Jamaica.
He described homosexuals as “abusive” and Molten” and called for a stricter law outlawing homosexual conduct between men that would impose sentences of up to life in prison Jamaican laws do not criminality the status of being homosexual but rather outlaw conduct. The Jamaican Offenses Against the Person Act (also referrer d to as debuggers law) prohibits anal sex between men, in public or in private, punish hobble by 10 years in prison with hard labor Ammoniac Offenses Against the Person Act (1864), Section).
The law also makes “gross indecency’ between two men, the acts of which are not defined, a misdemeanors punishable by 2 years in prison Ammoniac Offenses Against the Person Act (1864), Section 79). Simpson-Miller made a courageous stand before she took office in January, speaking out against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity and suggesting a review of Jamaican anti- buggery law, Human Rights Watch said (2012). During the leadership debate she also indicated a willingness to review the country’s buggery laws.
Jamaica is a party to a umber of international human rights treaties, but does not live up to those standards, Human Rights Watch said. The Organization of American States (AS), of which Jamaica is a member, adopted five resolutions between 2008 and 2012 condemning “acts of violence and human rights violations perpetrated against individuals because of their sexual orientation and gender identity,” and urging states “to adopt the necessary measures to prevent, punish, and eradicate” discrimination.
Even though Jamaica is a part of many human rights group there still seems to be a slow progress towards the elimination of the buggery law and implementation of proper protection laws for persons of the homosexual community. This has raised concerns in the international communities as to whether or not Jamaica would ever Join in the fight against discrimination against sexual orientation. If not this could lead to the country’s decline in the tourism industry which is major part of the country’s income.
J-FLAG is the first human rights organization in the history of Jamaica to serve the needs of LIGHT peoples and over time it became the first port of call for the media, resulting in J-FLAG assuming the role of the mouthpiece for the LIGHT community. This organization along with many more like AS and ATTACH serves as a safe haven for the protection of the rights of the LIGHT community in Jamaica. There are a number of studies on the discrimination against sexual orientation in Jamaica.
Is it because they have yet to understand the need for equal human rights in order for the country to move forward or is it that they don’t really see the need to go in that direction? This present study about the discrimination against sexual orientation in Jamaica can add to the growing body of work in the fight for human rights and its challenges in the island, it reflects the most questionnaires which allows individuals who are normally afraid to speak out but are able to write their views and the impact that discrimination against sexual orientation has had on them.
Data Collection In order for the researcher to carry out this study on the discrimination against sexual orientation in Jamaica, the researcher had to make use of primary and secondary sources of data collection with the primary data source being questionnaire while the secondary data source being internet, texts, videos and newspapers. 1 5 Questionnaires were handed out to random people which consists of 5 questions. The questionnaire used by the researcher includes both open and close ended questions.
The researcher chose questionnaires to collect the data because it allowed for large amounts of information to be collected from a large number of people in a short period of time and in a cost effective way, they allow people time to answer the questions and it can be easily analyzed. All questionnaires were fully answered and returned a week after the first issue, 1 5 girls and 1 5 boys were chosen from the community of Flankers. They were approached individually and asked if they would like to participate in the study and all agreed. The questionnaires were spread across the different age groups to get the opinions of all.
The data collected by the researcher was useful and essential to the researcher since it gives answers to the research questions. The researcher did experience some difficulties when using the questionnaires. Some persons didn’t understand the questions hence the researcher had to explain in much more detail what the questionnaire was asking of them; this caused the researcher to lose some small amount of time. The secondary data sources were used to gather information related to the research to gain a better understanding of the problem hat is being investigated.
The sources were access to the internet, texts, videos and newspaper articles. There were some difficulties in using a few these sources also. Were hard to find on the research topic. Presentation and Analysis of Data Fig 1 . Pie chart showing the percentage of people that have been discriminated against based on sexual orientation. Fig 2. Bar chart showing the number of people who deem themselves to be religious Fig 3. Column Chart depicting whether or not the religions of the community members of Flanker shows tolerance towards homosexuals. Fig 4.
Pie Chart illustrating reasons for the discrimination against sexual orientation. Fig 5. Pie Chart showing the people’s views on the legal system’s contribution in protecting people from discrimination against sexual orientation. Analysis of Data The community of Flanker in Montage Bay, Jamaica was used as the area of interest for this topic with figure 1 indicating that most of the community members have never been discriminated against based on sexual orientation with a percentage of (83%) while a percentage of (17%) have been discriminated against based on their sexual orientation.
Based on the findings majority of the community that they were religious as seen in figure 2. The remaining 5 respondents don’t consider themselves to be religious and this can be linked to figure 1 where the least percentage of people who have been discriminated against based on their sexual orientation are the same ones who don’t consider themselves to be religious.
Tolerance towards homosexuals has been a major issue in the community of Flanker because of the large number of Christians occupying the community making it difficult to promote tolerance among the community members who are homosexuals. This is indicated in figure 3 where 11 of the 15 respondents don’t tolerate homosexuals because they are considered to be wrong in the eyes of their god while the remaining 4 of the 1 5 respondents support tolerance of homosexuals because their religion emphasizes tolerance of others.
The reasons for the discrimination against sexual orientation in the community of Flanker as indicated in figure 4 are as follows with “people not liking the idea of it because it is different from what they know’ as the least picked reason obtaining a percentage (12%), “they don’t understand” as the second least picked with a percentage of (19%), the second most picked reason is “it is wrong” obtaining a percentage of (31%) and the majority of the community members chose all of the above therefore making it the most picked reason for the discrimination against sexual orientation in the community of Flanker with a percentage of (38%).
Do you think the legal system is doing enough to protect people from discrimination against sexual orientation? This question was asked in the questionnaire and the community members of Flanker have different sews on this topic with (83%) agreeing that the legal system is doing enough to protect the people from discrimination against sexual orientation and (17%) disagreeing with this question. It was further asked what were their thoughts on what should be done if the answer was no.
The majority response for those who answered no said that “the government should repeal the buggery law’ and the least said response is that “politicians should promote equal rights for everyone because once the people see the leaders of the country promoting equal rights then the majority of the population will fall in line”. The aim of this study is understand how the Discrimination on the grounds Sexual Orientation is handled in the eyes of the law versus that of societies in the Caribbean region but more precisely in the community of Flanker in Montage Bay Jamaica.
Williams (2000) stated that Jamaica is perceived to be the most homophobic Caribbean territory and we can agree with this because as indicated in the research they underwent physical and emotional brutality. When the CHAIR visited Jamaica in 2008 to discuss citizen security and violence, civil s society organizations consistently emphasized the deed for it to address discrimination based on sexual orientation. During its visit, the Inter- American Commission received reports of four murders in circumstances suggesting homophobia over a period of a year and a half.
One such murder was reportedly a c onscreen of the firebombing of the house of a person thought to be homosexual; another man perceived to be homosexual was hacked to death by machete. The country being one of strong Christian beliefs contribute to the discrimination against sexual orientation among its citizens. This is indicated in the research where the same amount of people in the immunity of Flanker who consider themselves as non-religious are the same ones that are being discriminated based on their sexual orientation.
If tolerance of homosexuals were to be promoted in the homes and communities in Jamaica there would be less hate crimes but because of the stringent rule that majority of the people who deem themselves Christian follow which is to not partake in homosexual activities. Even though many people may have their own reasons why they discriminate people based on sexual orientation in the Caribbean region the root of its hatred comes from the Christian doctrine thruster upon the country. People tend to also fear what is new and different from what they are accustomed to.
When thrown into a new situation most people tend to panic and react in a violent manner so the people who are being discriminated against need to also seek to ensure that they are not forcing their ideas upon the other people of society. If they expect any change they should take the step towards equal human rights at a slow pace. As implied above Jamaica being a former colony of Britain where Christianity plays a major role won’t easily overthrow the buggery law due to the country’s ancient mindset.
Jamaican laws do not criminality the status of being homosexual but rather outlaw conduct. The Jamaican State holds that it “is committed to the equal and fair treatment of its sic tizzies, and affirms that any individual whose rights are alleged to have been infringe d has a right to seek redress. ” The State further submits that “there is no legal discrimination against persons on the e grounds of their sexual orientation” and that it “is opposed to discrimination or violence against persons whatever their sexual orientation. Even though there ally isn’t a law that protect the rights of people being discriminated against based on sexual their sexual orientation, in failing to take an active stand against discrimination based on sexual orientation, t s major political parties have proposed or defended some of the world’s most strings NT antibodies laws while adopting homophobic music for their political campaigns. T here continues to be a lack of support for LIGHT rights amongst Jamaican government officials.
The study then supports the view that the legal system needs to do more in order to promote and maintain equal human rights. Conclusion At the end of the research the researcher can conclude that the community of Flanker in Montage Bay Jamaica has been and is a part of the many other Caribbean communities which are and have been facing discrimination based on sexual orientation. The impact which discrimination against sexual orientation has on the community as well as the Caribbean region is one of brutality and hatred.
The reasons behind the discrimination has to do with fear of the unknown and the Christian doctrine which the majority of the people in Jamaica live by. The legal system have not yet applied any form of protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation and this has caused a great concern in the international communities. Organizations such as JAVA, AS, CHAIR and many more have started petitions in order to get the government of Jamaica to see how important the fight for equal human rights is.
The researcher during the research encountered problems in carrying out this research. These problems include limited amount of equipment to get assessment done on time, difficulties in gathering information which were key to starting the internal assessment which includes gathering for the literature review ND problems analyzing some of the data received from some of the respondents due to poor writing skills.
The researcher would like to recommend that the residents of the community of Flanker increase their knowledge of the present problems their fellow residents who happen to be struggling with their sexual orientation are facing. This can be done by being tolerable of each other and learning things about each other by talking and lending a helping hand. A one participant had suggested if politicians start to promote more tolerance people will fall in line.