A gay swimmer of Jamaican descent says concerns that his decision to come out would adversely impact his career have not come to pass.
“Everyone has a different story, but for me personally I was worried that ‘coming out’ would take away from my sporting achievements/performances that I’ve worked and decided my whole life to,” Michael Gunning told the Washington Blade on Aug. 8 in an email.
LGBTI people in four Caribbean countries over the last year have filed lawsuits against their nations’ colonial-era sodomy laws.
Javin Johnson and Sean Macleish on July 26 filed a lawsuit against two laws in St. Vincent and the Grenadines that criminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations.
Activists in Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados this month held their countries’ first-ever Pride parades.
Hundreds of people took part in a Pride parade in the Trinidadian capital of Port of Spain on Saturday.
You might think the Caribbean is all Irie Times and liquid sunshine, but for LGBTQ travelers, the landscape can be surprisingly unwelcoming. Because the Caribbean culture is super relaxed about other cultural mores like marijuana use, many might also assume they feel the same about sexual orientation.
Unfortunately, on many islands, this isn’t the case. The Caribbean islands still maintain a highly traditional society, especially when it comes to gender roles and religion. Gay men and women may still experience some level of discrimination on many of these tiny nations. In fact, just this year, Bermuda rescinded its previous law allowing same-sex marriage.
Nearly 300 religious officials from the Caribbean and Guyana have urged the U.S. to no longer promote LGBT and intersex rights abroad.
The 289 ministers who are from the Bahamas, St. Maarten, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana made the request in a letter they sent to President Trump on Jan. 31.
KINGSTON, Jamaica (AP) — Gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people are the targets of unchecked violence and discrimination in Jamaica, frequently refused housing or employment in the Caribbean country typically described as the region’s most hostile to LGBT citizens, a leading human rights group says in a report released Oct. 21.
In its 86-page report titled “Not Safe at Home,” Human Rights Watch noted that LGBT citizens in Jamaica are often driven from their communities by neighbors and sometimes even family. Some health professionals stigmatize them by casting judgment on their sexuality when they seek care. Police protection against bias and physical attacks is generally poor.
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