Homosexuality in the Bahamas

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Geographical location of the Bahamas

Although the subject of homosexuality has been publicly discussed in the Bahamas for several years, same-sex love is still hardly accepted in the island nation. Conservative Christian sects, to which most of the residents belong, are massively fighting the rights of homosexuals and are campaigning against equality for lesbians and gays in the country. In the recent past there have been several violent homophobic attacks against locals and tourists.

legality

Homosexual acts in the Bahamas have been legal since 1991. The age of consent is not uniform and is 18 years for homosexual acts, while it is 16 years for heterosexual acts. There is no legal protection against discrimination for sexual orientation in the Bahamas. A 2001 bill banning discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation was rejected after long debates. Likewise, there is no national law to tackle hate, violence or harassment crimes against LGBT people.

There are no bans on homosexuals serving in the police or the military.

Recognition of same-sex couples

Same-sex couples are not recognized either through registered partnerships or same-sex marriage .

Social situation

Due to the many small islands in the Bahamas, there is only a small gay community in the capital Nassau . The island nation is a popular tourist destination from the neighboring United States. Many LGBT tourists go to this island state on special Caribbean cruises for homosexual tourists, but are often received with rejection.

The situation in the country is characterized in many areas by intolerance and aversion to homosexuality, with the evangelical religious communities in particular, as in many other former British colonies in the Caribbean , playing a key role.

In July 2004, church groups protested the arrival of a gay cruise ship. In September 2005, an 18-year-old beauty queen was denied her crown after confirming rumors that she was a lesbian. In March 2006, the Bahamas banned Brokeback Mountain . In 2007, the Bahamas Christian Council formed an anti-gay committee to prevent the LGBT community from having its own TV channel. In 2009 a jury acquitted a man who had robbed and murdered an HIV- positive male homosexual. This stated that the man tried to rape him. The government censors The Bahamas Plays and Films Control Board in 2011 made an attempt, the demonstration in a public square in downtown Nassau for the rotated in the Bahamas film Children of God ( Children of God ) forbid to have. Unlike Brokeback Mountain five years earlier, it was overruled by the government.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Globalgayz: World's Largest Gay Party Boat Sails Today Into Caribbean Homophobic Waters - Bahamas , February 2011
  2. ↑ CNN: Bahamians protest arrival of lesbian cruise ship  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , April 14, 1998@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / articles.cnn.com  
  3. ↑ Globalgayz: World's Largest Gay Party Boat Sails Today Into Caribbean Homophobic Waters - Bahamas , February 2011
  4. ↑ ttgapers.com: Gay cruise passengers met with angry protest in Bahamas , July 2004
  5. ↑ pamspaulding.com: Miss Teen Bahamas comes out - and gets dumped ( Memento of the original from September 16, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , September 2005 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.pamspaulding.com
  6. ↑ BBC News: Bahamas outlaws Brokeback movie , May 2006
  7. ↑ weblogbahamas.com: Bahamas Christian Council appoints an "Anti-gay Committee" , September 2007
  8. ↑ ON TOP magazine: Freedom For Gay Murderer In Bahamas , February 2009