Last edited: December 05, 2004


Anti-Gay Report Angers Jamaica Leaders

Gay.com U.K., November 19, 2004

By Ben Townley, Gay.com U.K.

SUMMARY: Jamaica has hit back at a recent report into its HIV/AIDS crisis, which linked ongoing and violent homophobia with the increase in new cases.

Jamaica has hit back at a recent report into its HIV/AIDS crisis, which linked ongoing and violent homophobia with the increase in new cases.

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) report claimed that the government was sanctioning abuse of gay men by refusing to decriminalize laws banning homosexuality, while local people were so violently anti-gay that any initiatives intended to block HIV rises were faced with prejudice and often violent consequences.

However, the Caribbean island’s government has hit out at the report, claiming the study was “unacceptably insensitive.”

“We also as the duly elected representatives of the people feel that it is the people who must set our agenda in respect of the legislation which we pass or the repeal of any existing laws,” information minister Burchell Whiteman said in response to the calls for decriminalization.

“We are certainly not about to respond to any organization, external to this country, which may want to dictate to us how and when to deal with the laws of our land,” the minister said.

HIV/AIDS is fast becoming a more serious problem in Jamaica and the surrounding Caribbean islands, according to the UNAIDS organization. More than 20,000 people were estimated to be living with the virus at the end of 2003.

It is not the first time the island has been accused of homophobia.

The recent killing of Brian Williamson, a leading gay activist, was slammed by local LGBT people as a hate crime, despite police offices drawing no link between his death and high visibility as an activist.

Additionally, the ongoing controversy over homophobia in music has been directed at the island, which has produced the majority of dancehall and reggae stars currently under fire because of their anti-gay lyrics.

Despite these latest comments, the government has officially announced it will look into the issues raised by HRW.


Hated to Death: Homophobia, Violence, and Jamaica’s HIV/AIDS Epidemic


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