Minister of Social Cohesion Dr. George Norton has expressed his commitment to working with the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) to address challenges affecting the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender (LGBT) community in Guyana.
Norton, who was recently reassigned the Social Cohesion portfolio, met with representatives of SASOD, including Managing Director Joel Simpson, Social Change Coordinator Jairo Rodrigues and Advocacy and Communications Officer Schemel Patrick on Thursday.
According to a statement issued by SASOD, the meeting facilitated discussions regarding their partnership with the Ministry of Social Cohesion and the Ministry of Education for work that is pivotal in the prevention of violence and discrimination.
During the meeting, Simpson reiterated the need for constitutional reform to protect minority groups from discrimination as they believe that it is paramount to sanction discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Simpson also said there is also a need for more community engagement as a means of educating citizens to curtail their prejudices. “SASOD believes that both approaches need to be taken together to achieve social cohesion in Guyana,” he added.
Similarly, Rodrigues, according to the statement, referenced the Ministry of Social Cohesion’s ongoing “Diversity and Inclusion” training education programmes taking place in various communities across the country as part of its public education mandate and asked that efforts be made to extend the programme into schools.
“Education is a fundamental prerequisite for social cohesion, in order to prevent violence and discrimination against marginalised groups,” Rodrigues stated, before going on to present a copy SASOD’s most recent publication, titled “Fact Sheet on Social Cohesion and LGBT Communities” to the minister and his Technical Officer for further reading on community engagement.
Meanwhile, the statement said Patrick focused her attention on the need for constitutional and law reform, while noting that sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) are not expressed grounds for non-discrimination in the Guyana constitution.
She also went on to state that with the absence of specific prohibitions against discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity and health status within the Prevention of Discrimination Act 1997, LGBT persons, as well as people living with HIV and other stigmatised illnesses are subject to discrimination with impunity in the labour sector. Patrick urged the minister to commit to amending the Prevention of Discrimination Act to outlaw discrimination based on “sexual orientation, gender identity and health status.”
Additionally, she called for the repeal of laws that criminalise same-sex intimacy and cross-dressing, before alluding to recent events at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts where presiding Magistrate Dylon Bess denied a transgender woman access to the courts because of her attire, thereby denying her justice.
In concluding, Simpson raised the issue of Guyana’s voting record at the recent 71st Plenary Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York in a failed attempt to rescind the creation of the UN mandate of Independent Expert on violence and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.
He urged Minister Norton to invite the UN Independent Expert, Professor Vitit Muntabhorn, to Guyana, while noting that social cohesion is a fitting portfolio to lead state action to prevent anti-LGBT violence and discrimination.
In response, the statement said Norton reaffirmed his commitment to working with SASOD in achieving mutual objectives, and even committed to exploring a possible visit by the UN Independent Expert, Prof. Muntabhorn.
Additionally, he requested that SASOD prepare a draft amendment bill to the Prevention of Discrimination Act 1997 for his ministry to consider.
