Tag: gay guyana

Equal Rights and Justice for All Guyanese

Tiffany Barry is a Lecturer in the Department of Sociology and the Women’s Studies Unit, both in the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Guyana. She is also Social Change Consultant to the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD). by Tiffany Barry In recent years, Guyana has witnessed an upsurge in violent crimes… Read more »

Guyana man will advise World Bank on LGBT poverty

The World Bank wants to know what it can do to alleviate poverty among millions of LGBT people around the world. To help answer that question, the bank invited the St. Paul’s Foundation for International Reconciliation to select an LGBT representative to attend the annual meetings of the bank and the International Monetary Fund on… Read more »

Guyana: Judge rules that crossdressing is legal unless it’s done for an ‘improper purpose’

A judge in Guyana has stirred controversy among human rights and trans activists by ruling on a 120-year-old law over crossdressing, stating it is only a criminal offence if it is done for an “improper purpose.” Associated Press reports that on Sunday, a group called the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination said the court’s decision… Read more »

Guyanese are largely either tolerant or accepting of homosexuals

According to CADRES survey The survey “Attitudes toward Homosexuals in Guyana” which was launched, last week, in Guyana has demonstrated that Guyanese are largely either tolerant or accepting of homosexuals. However, about 25 per cent of the population could genuinely be described as “homophobic”. On the other hand the survey shows that about 58 per… Read more »

‘Gay’ Guyanese speaks out

In the ongoing discussion about gay rights in Guyana, arrivals and identity, please allow me space to share these thoughts with your readers. What it means to be Guyanese has been a recurrent thought over the past year. That is because this year marks an important milestone – more than half my life has been… Read more »

Guyana: The Children are Our Future

Joel Simpson is a Guyanese Chevening scholar currently pursuing a Master of Laws in Human Rights Law at the University of Nottingham, and Co-Chair of the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD). Around the world, governments, civil society groups and international organisations will once again commemorate May 17 as International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia… Read more »

Caribbean: Gay Rights Slowly Coming Out of the Closet

Georgetown, Guyana,(IPS) – Over the past six months, governments in two influential Caribbean trade bloc member states – Jamaica and Guyana – have floated political test balloons on the question of whether colonial-era laws criminalising homosexuality should be amended in keeping with trends in most Western states. The climate for gay people in the two… Read more »

End Sexual-Orientation and Gender-Identity Discrimination in Guyana

The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (“CEDAW Committee”), meeting this month at United Nations headquarters in New York City, will review the human-rights record of several countries that are signatory parties to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). In recent years the CEDAW Committee has… Read more »

Gay Rights Slowly Coming Out of the Closet

Georgetown (IPS) – Over the past six months, governments in two influential Caribbean trade bloc member states – Jamaica and Guyana – have floated political test balloons on the question of whether colonial-era laws criminalising homosexuality should be amended in keeping with trends in most Western states. The climate for gay people in the two… Read more »

Roman Catholic Church urges end to sexual discrimination

The Roman Catholic Church wants an end to sexual discrimination of persons, even as the religious body contemplates the pros and cons of scrapping colonial laws against buggery. President of the Antilles Episcopal Conference (AEC) Archbishop Patrick Pinder of Nassau, Bahamas has highlighted “the Catholic Social Tradition which urges us to challenge laws which discriminate… Read more »

Guyanese, resist all calls to discriminate!

On the afternoon of April 22, 2012 more than a hundred men and women came out to the poolside of Duke Lodge.  They were straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and transsexual. It was a fantastic celebration of being proud and Guyanese, as they participated in and supported the Caribbean Men’s Internet Survey: CARIMIS We were… Read more »

Guyana: Public consultation on removal of anti-gay laws

Authorities in Guyana are planning a series of public consultations on whether to repeal the country’s anti-gay laws. Guyana remains the only country in mainland South America with laws forbidding homosexuality on its statute books, though they are said not to be enforced. Homophobia and anti-gay laws remain widespread in the Caribbean, however, with which… Read more »

Sex workers call for a more educated police force

The Guyana Coalition of Sex Workers is advocating for a better educated Guyana Police Force capable of handling diverse issues in a mature manner. President of the coalition, Cracey Fernandes in an interview with Guyana Times called for a more professional approach by police officers in the treatment of gays, lesbians, transvestites and commercial sex… Read more »

Collateral Damage : The Social Impact of Laws affecting LGBT in Guyana

This report was authored by Christopher Carrico and published by the Faculty of Law UWI Rights Advocacy Project, Faculty of Law, University of the West Indies. From the Executive Summary This study focused on the social effects of laws that criminalise lesbian, gay and bisexual orientations and transgender identities in Guyana. It was designed to… Read more »

National consultations on scrapping gay laws delayed; SASOD calls it “inexcusable”

Guyana’s two-year old delay in holding national consultations on the decriminalizing of homosexuality is being labeled “inexcusable” by a gay advocacy group. And with time already running out for the next United Nations review, government is yet to say exactly when this work will begin. Scrapping British colonial laws was also one of the agenda… Read more »

SASOD’s war on discrimination far from over

says lack of relevant laws stymieing anti- discrimination efforts The lack of laws to protect homosexuals here proves a deterrent in the fight against discrimination, according to co-founder of the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) Vidyaratha Kissoon. He told Guyana Times that while his organisation continues to work to eradicate discrimination against homosexuals, it… Read more »

Public policy must include gender identity – Kissoon

The Society against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) is urging a comprehensive review of a broad range of policy statements and is calling for the development of clear guidelines of policies in the public sector. Social rights activist, Vidyaratha Kissoon, who spoke on behalf of the society, said the education policy has shown signs of discriminatory… Read more »