Lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) people Sat Vcent and the Grenad face bias-motivated vlence and discrimatn their daily life, Human Rights Watch said a report released today. The legislature should repeal the untry’s lonial-era laws that crimalize nsensual same-sex nduct and pass prehensive civil legislatn prohibg discrimatn based on sexual orientatn and genr inty. The 58-page report, “‘They Can Harass Us Bee of the Laws’: Vlence and Discrimatn agast LGBT People Sat Vcent and the Grenad,” expos the physil and verbal asslts, fay vlence, homelsns, workplace harassment, bullyg, and sexual vlence that sexual and genr mori face unr the shadow of discrimatory laws. Those rponsible for mistreatment clu people close to LGBT people – fay members, neighbors, workers, classmat, and teachers – as well as strangers and police officers.
Contents:
- ENDG VLENCE AND DISCRIMATN AGAST LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENR AND TERSEX PEOPLE
- EXPERIENC OF DISCRIMATN AMONG LBIAN, GAY AND BISEXUAL PEOPLE THE US
- ACTIVISTS NMN VLENCE AGAST LGBTQ MUNY ST. VCENT, WHERE GAY SEX IS ILLEGAL
- LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENR, AND QUEER MUNY
ENDG VLENCE AND DISCRIMATN AGAST LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENR AND TERSEX PEOPLE
* bisexual discrimination in the lgbt community *
Vcent and the Grenad, where gay sex is still homelsns to ongog physil and verbal abe, the gay muny the small natn of some 100, 000 people says is unr nstant threat.
Vcent, anal sex is punishable by up to 10 years prison, while “gross cency” wh another person of the same sex is punishable by up to five years, acrdg to lonial-era laws that are mon the socially nservative Caribbean rarely voked, the rights group and a lol activist said the laws help legimize hostily and abe agast gay people. ”Human Rights Watch terviewed more than 20 members of the island’s LGBTQ muny who shared their stori but were not intified to protect them, notg that lol police are often openly discrimatory toward gay people who seek help. Several reported that their fai are homophobic and physilly and verbally abed them, g them to bee homels and promptg some to nsir also stggle to fd jobs amid a high unemployment rate and said they face discrimatn, cludg a 19-year-old gay man who said he has rorted to beggg: “Sometim I am so hungry.
”González wh Human Rights Watch noted that 2019, the ernment held a workshop for public employe on the importance of rpectg gay rights, a rare move for a nservative Caribbean natn. Dpe beg part of the same overall muny that advot for acceptance and unrstandg, bisexual dividuals may experience discrimatn, misunrstandg, and erasure om both heterosexual and homosexual peers.
EXPERIENC OF DISCRIMATN AMONG LBIAN, GAY AND BISEXUAL PEOPLE THE US
Lbian, gay, bisexual, transgenr, and queer muny (LGBTQ muny), any untry, regn, cy, or other loly, a group of persons who intify as lbian, gay ( the narrow sense of beg a male who is sexually or romantilly attracted to other mal), bisexual, transgenr, or * bisexual discrimination in the lgbt community *
Double Discrimatn: Bisexual dividuals n experience discrimatn om both heterosexual dividuals and gay or lbian dividuals, which n create a unique and challengg posn for them. The laws rerce societal prejudic, effectively givg tac legal sanctn for stigma, discrimatn, and vlence agast lbian, gay, bisexual, and transgenr (LGBT) people.
The laws are vaguely word, have broad latu, and sgle out nsensual gay sex the “sexual offens” sectn of the crimal that is otherwise rerved for crim like rape, ct, and sexual asslt.
Along wh Domi, Guyana, Grenada, Jamai, Sat Lucia—the other five untri the Caribbean that crimalize gay sex—Sat Vcent and the Grenad ntu to be an outlier a hemisphere that has chewed the crimalizatn of nsensual gay sex.
ACTIVISTS NMN VLENCE AGAST LGBTQ MUNY ST. VCENT, WHERE GAY SEX IS ILLEGAL
The HIV epimic ntu to disproportnately impact gay and bisexual men, transgenr women, youth 13-24 and muni of lor. * bisexual discrimination in the lgbt community *
Every LGBT person terviewed by Human Rights Watch said they wished to leave the untry immediately or had envisned their future abroad due, part, to the homophobic or transphobic vlence and discrimatn the untry. Some terviewe noted that fay rejectn was often uched moralistic terms, echog the homophobic rhetoric preached some church, which are a rnerstone of social life and shape social attus. In 2018, after a group of people publicly attacked two genr non-nformg dividuals prumed to be gay Calliaqua town, Gonsalv stated: “Jt let them be.
Man said that 2019, he was attacked his neighborhood, and he believed the attack uld have been motivated by his sexual orientatn sce many people there know that he is gay. Aled Henry, a 58-year-old bisexual man om Sat Vcent, said that March 2009, he suffered a homophobic attack that ed permanent damage to his speech, visn, motor functns, memory, and balance:. Kyle Wilson, a 19-year-old gay man om Sat Vcent, exprsed feelg a nstant, daily sense of secury due to vlence he believ was motivated by homophobia.
While Shane Hathaway, a 43-year-old gay man om Bequia, never experienced a physil altertn, people have lled him “battyman” and thrown sticks his directn. If people are havg an argument, that’s what they jump to, that’s the jtifitn for homophobia, they say ’s the laws, that ’s illegal, and bee of the scriptur. Kyle Wilson, the 19-year-old gay man om Sat Vcent mentned above, tried to file plats at the Kgston police statn about five tim, all related to harassment public spac, but said he gave up when police appeared unwillg to help.
LBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, TRANSGENR, AND QUEER MUNY
For Melissa Ashton, the 28-year-old lbian om Sat Vcent, laws crimalizg same-sex nduct make her hant to go to the police for help related to homophobic vlence: “Nothg would e om gog to the police. Some terviewe noted that fay rejectn was often uched moralistic terms, echog the homophobic rhetoric preached some lol church, which are a rnerstone of social life and help shape social attus. Sharon Nichols, a 29-year-old bisexual woman, said her mother recently beme more tolerant and is maly “ncerned about what others would thk” and about homophobic vlence agast Nichols.
[92] She said that 2019, she heard one relative support the march by prentg arguments such as “thk of the children, ” “you don’t want to get your kids exposed, ” and “[homosexuals are] viants.
Kyle Wilson, a 19-year-old gay man om Sat Vcent, faced rejectn om his fay that led him to live secure and unstable ndns and to fear for his safety:. While some LGBT people terviewed by Human Rights Watch did not experience overt homophobia om their fay members, all terviewe said they had attempted to nceal their sexualy om their fai out of fear. Samuel Sayers, a 25-year-old bisexual man om Sat Vcent, said that part of the reason he do not broach the subject wh his parents is that they go to a church where homophobic views are exprsed and that fluenc their views on sexualy.