-SASOD
With Guyana due to embark on national consultations on decriminalising same sex relations, the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) has said that “inclusivity and equality” must be the guiding principles if the country is serious about its commitment to human rights for all citizens.
“Every human being is entitled to be treated fairly and equally, but yet in 21st-century Guyana, archaic laws still exist which criminalize same-sex intimacy and cross-dressing while perpetuating many forms of discrimination and social stigma against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Guyanese,” SASOD said in a statement to mark International Human Rights Day, which was observed yesterday, under the theme “Inclusion and the Right to Participate in Public Life.”
It called the appointment of a special select committee to hold public consultations on the laws and corporal and capital punishment, presents a golden opportunity to emancipate Guyana from colonial practices. The select committee was set up by virtue of a motion, moved by Prime Minister Samuel Hinds, in order to follow up commitments made by the PPP/C administration to the United Nations Human Rights Council since 2010.
SASOD warned, however, that public consultations should not be a euphemism for a popularity poll, while emphasising that Article 13 of the Constitution makes clear that main objective of the country’s political system is to establish “an inclusionary democracy” by providing increasing opportunities for the participation of citizens, and their organisations in the management and decision-making processes of the state, “with particular emphasis on those areas of decision-making that directly affect their well-being.”
As a result, SASOD said it is the people whose lives the laws directly affect who have the greatest stake in this issue and their voices must be heard and play a central role in the process. “That is inclusivity in operation. And given the homophobic nature of Guyanese society, the state has a duty to create the conditions where LGBT Guyanese, their organisations and their allies feel safe and comfortable to come forward and participate meaningfully in this decision-making process, without fear of intimidation, stigma or discrimination. This is the real challenge we face as the process unfolds,” it said.
According to the group, LGBT Guyanese continue to experience rights abuses in their daily lives. These include young people, who suffer homophobic and transphobic bullying in schools by their peers and those that supervise them, it said. “They are being assaulted and verbally abused while others witness and do nothing to help. Many of their painful stories never make official reports because they fear retaliatory acts and re-victimisation by those who should protect them,” it explained.
Transgender persons, it added, continue to be harassed and extorted by the police to perform sexual favours.
SASOD said discrimination impedes the rights to work, housing and health for many LGBT Guyanese. “Our laws offer them no protection, but instead, brand them as unapprehended criminals for their private acts and choice of clothing. This must stop! Human rights are not a privilege; each and every one of us is entitled to them as human beings. We must all be treated fairly. Our rights must be protected, respected and fulfilled. Equal rights for all Guyanese must become a reality, and it is our human duty to speak out until it does,” it said.
