Homosexuality in Jamaica

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Geographical location of Jamaica

In Jamaica, homosexuality is largely subject to social ostracism and homosexual acts are illegal.

Legal position

In Jamaica , sexual acts between men are prohibited by law. In fact, women are not affected by this law, and there is no reference to it in any part of the law. Sex between two men is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

The Offences Against the Person Act , Article 76, places the “despicable crime of anal sex ” with humans or animals under prison terms with forced labor of up to ten years.

In addition, Article 77 also puts the “wrongdoing” of any plan or attempt to do the said thing under prison sentence of up to seven years.

Article 79 makes the aiding or abetting or inducement to such “gross moral offenses” between men a punishable offense, up to two years in prison, which can be supplemented by forced labor.

“Gross moral offense” is no longer defined in the legal text. The article has already been used to include all male sexual contact in private and even punish holding hands between men.

High personalities often accuse international organizations of meddling in domestic affairs. They defend anti-homosexuality laws as upheavals of Christian values. It is argued, among other things, that private crimes should not be tolerated either, whether someone is using cocaine or having gay sex.

Social situation

A December 2003 survey on sexual identity and human rights in the Americas states:

“Jamaica is the most dangerous place for sexual minorities in the Caribbean. This is due to the often serious attacks against gays, which are fueled by a pop culture of reggae and dance hall singers, as they call for gays to be burned and killed in their song lyrics.
Draconian laws against same-sex sexual activity not only continue to apply in Jamaica, but also in most of the English-speaking Caribbean region . "

- Andrew Reding : Sexual Orientation and Human Rights in the Americas

According to Amnesty International

"The gay and lesbian community is exposed to extreme prejudice ... Gays in Jamaica - or people who are accused of being gay - are regularly the victims of gross abuse and harassment by the police , in rare cases even torture."

- Amnesty International : Jamaica: Killings and violence by police: How many more victims?

Political parties

The social democratic People's National Party evaluates international criticism of the human rights situation as interference and claims either that homophobia is not a problem in the country or that a gay rights movement would violate the conservative and social values ​​of the Jamaican people.

The ruling conservative Jamaica Labor Party (JLP) also sees no need for action to improve the situation of lesbians and gays, although in 2004 former Justice Minister Oswald Harding said that Jamaica should follow the example of Great Britain and that homosexuality and prostitution between adults should decriminalize, initially only in private. During the election campaign in 2001, the party used the song Chi Chi one of TOK as a theme song, which has the burning and killing of gay men to content. A JLP MP Ernest Smith expressed concern in 2009 that gays had overrun the country's police force and asked the Home Secretary why so many gays were licensed to own a firearm.

In April 2006, then-opposition leader Bruce Golding of the JLP swore in an article on the front page of the Sunday Herald with the headline "No homos!" That "homosexuals would not find a place in his cabinet." The statement was supported by various pastors and a union chairman. After winning the election in 2007, he warned western countries on a state visit to London in 2008 not to impose foreign values ​​on his country, which was heavily criticized by Jamaican activists.

Public opinion on gays, lesbians, bi-, pan- and transsexuals

In 2004 Human Rights Watch published a report on the status of sexual minorities in Jamaica. It documented widespread homophobia and found that the high level of intolerance was detrimental to public efforts to prevent violence and prevent HIV . The Caribbean region has the highest number of new infections in America, with the rate of new infections being particularly high among men who (also) have sexual intercourse with men.

According to a poll conducted around 2004, 96 percent of Jamaicans opposed easing criminal laws regarding same-sex intercourse. Many Jamaicans claim that their anti-gay stance has a religious justification as they see homosexuality as incompatible with their Christian beliefs.

Religions

In many cases, homophobia is justified with one's own religion . Most of the predominant Christian denominations represented in Jamaica reject at least the practiced homosexuality. In Voodoo , which, unlike in neighboring Haiti, is a religious minority , all sexual orientations, including the practiced homosexuality, are accepted.

Representation of sexual minorities in music

OutRage! , a human rights group based in the United Kingdom , has launched an international campaign against homophobia among reggae singers together with the Stop Murder music Coalition (SMM), which is also based there , and publishes their anti- gay statements in so-called Battyman tunes . In this context, an agreement was reached in February 2005 between these organizations and the record labels that distribute dancehall music. You agree to interrupt live performances as soon as anti-gay music is played. In addition, no anti-gay song lyrics should be published under their label and no such songs should be reissued. In July 2006, that agreement apparently no longer existed.

The Canadian High Commissioner (embassy within the Commonwealth ) in Jamaica requires musicians who want to perform in Canada to sign an Entertainer Declaration in which they confirm excerpts from Canada's criminal law , the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Canadian Human Rights Act have read and fully understood, and undertake not to participate in or support acts of hatred against people because of their (...) sexual orientation .

Reggae Compassionate Act

Several reggae stars, including Beenie Man , Sizzla and Capleton , signed an agreement with the initiators of the Stop Murder music campaign . They committed themselves to refrain from any anti-gay lyrics in their songs in the future. The agreement essentially turned out to be a failure as the artists failed to adhere to the agreement.

In 2008, Beenie Man signed a new Reggae Compassionate Act II for the second time, according to the Kesselhaus in the Kulturbrauerei in Berlin. The LSVD praised this as a “first step”, but criticized the lack of guarantees against a renewed breach of the agreement.

See also

literature

  • Patrick Helber: Dancehall and homophobia. Postcolonial Perspectives on the History and Culture of Jamaica . Bielefeld: Transcript, 1st edition 2015, ISBN 978-3-8376-3109-8 .
  • Donna P. Hope: Man Vibes: Masculinities in Jamaican Dancehall . Kingston: Ian Randle Publishers, 1st edition 2010, ISBN 978-976637-407-5 .

Web links

English speaking:

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Offenses Against the Person Act, 1864, revised 1969, Articles 76, 77, 79; see J-FLAG, Know Your Rights , online version
  2. ^ Andrew Reding: Sexual Orientation and Human Rights in the Americas , World Policy Institute . December 2003. Online version (PDF file; 752 kB).
  3. ↑ Amnesty International , Jamaica: Killings and violence by police: How many more victims? (London: Amnesty International, April 2001), AI Index: AMR 38/003/2001, 40.
  4. ^ A b Gary Younge: Troubled island , guardian.co.uk, April 27, 2006
  5. ↑ The Jamaica Police Watchdog: MP Says Jamaica's Police Force is Overrun By Gays ( Memento from January 27, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ), February 11, 2009
  6. ↑ Prime Minister: Homosexuality is not Jamaican , queer.de, May 23, 2008
  7. ^ Human Rights Watch , Hated to Death: Homophobia, Violence, and Jamaica's HIV / AIDS Epidemic , November 2004. Online version .
  8. ↑ avert.org: Caribbean HIV & AIDS Statistics
  9. ↑ Reported in Amnesty International media release: Battybwoys affi dead ( Memento from May 31, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) (“Fagots have to die”): Action against Homophobia in Jamaica , May 17, 04.
    Another report can be found in: The Guardian [London]. June 26, 2004. Gary Younge. Chilling Call to Murder as Music Attacks Gays.
  10. ↑ Rex Wockner: Bishops denounce gay sex , International News # 400, December 24, 2001
  11. ↑ Irene Monroe: The Roots of Voodoo's Acceptance of Gays . Huffington Post , Feb. 11, 2011
  12. ^ Anti-Gay Reggae Performer Charged In Hate Attack ( Memento from October 23, 2005 in the Internet Archive ). 365gay.com, September 27, 2005.
  13. ↑ a b Sigcino Moyo: Crashing Pride's party: Will gay-bashing reggae acts set to play Pride weekend clean up their act? In: NOW magazine. June 2005. Online version, Homophobia bad - sexism good. ( Memento from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
  14. ↑ Stop Murder Music: Reggae stars against gay baiting. In: laut.de , June 14, 2007.
  15. ↑ irieites.de: Beenie Man signs Reggae Compassion Act ( Memento from April 7, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  16. ↑ LSVD: Current concerts in Germany by Beenie Man ( Memento from October 3, 2009 in the Internet Archive )