Dear Editor,

I wish to express my outrage at our government’s vote against the inclusion of sexual orientation and gender identity in the United Nation’s Draft Resolution against extrajudicial killings. Jamaica and St Vincent were the only two Caribbean nations to vote against it. Thus the administration’s opposition is by no means typical of regional attitudes to this issue. History will not be kind to us, and rightfully so!

The recent display of homophobic violence at the University of Technology indicates an urgent need to take steps to protect the rights of LGBT citizens in Jamaica. Absent from public opprobrium of the event is the fact that the students were victims of mere allegations. There was no real evidence to substantiate the accusation itself. If to be accused of being gay is enough to round up a bloodthirsty mob, then no longer can we claim that homophobia in our country is a mere exaggeration or the invention of fools seeking to tarnish our country’s reputation.

When the video of the incident was circulated in the media, the present administration said nothing. If their silence was consent, then that vote was outright endorsement! Why, in the wake of this calamity and the ensuing global embarrassment to our country, would our government oppose international legislation ensuring that no human being is subject to extrajudicial killing on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity? Why, in the face of an increase of vigilante justice in Jamaica, would the government oppose mechanisms to protect those most vulnerable to such acts of violence? That vote has signalled to an already insensitive public that the state does not value the lives of its LGBT citizens.

When the video of the incident was circulated in the media, the present administration said nothing. If their silence was consent, then that vote was outright endorsement! Why, in the wake of this calamity and the ensuing global embarrassment to our country, would our government oppose international legislation ensuring that no human being is subject to extrajudicial killing on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity? Why, in the face of an increase of vigilante justice in Jamaica, would the government oppose mechanisms to protect those most vulnerable to such acts of violence? That vote has signalled to an already insensitive public that the state does not value the lives of its LGBT citizens.

The administration’s stance is part of a larger problem in our society in dealing with homophobia. While we pay lip service to calls for tolerance, we do nothing to equip our citizens with tools to appreciate and respect diversity. We refuse to educate our children about the reality of sexual diversity, only to gawk foolishly at the primitiveness of our university students when they interact with minorities. Our media cowers to the self-righteous, misguided fundamentalism of the religious right in their refusal to air advertisements promoting tolerance and basic respect for sexual minorities.

Such cowardice threatens our democracy and stands in the way of changing social attitudes to encourage respect for everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender or class. If we really want to prevent such violence, then we need to take a holistic approach to educating the public and to respecting the right of all minorities to be here. The state, the religious right, the media and everyone else who stands in the way of the basic promotion for the respect of human rights of LGBT people are co-conspirators in acts of violence against them.

Danielle Roper

daruzzi@hotmail.com