MEDIA ADVISORY: Intimate Conviction 2 Volume Launches in Barbados

LGBTQ RIGHTS AND THE CHURCH: Intimate Conviction 2 Volume Launches in Barbados

Laws Criminalizing Consensual Same-Sex Intimacy Still Exist in More Than 60 Countries Worldwide

For immediate release

March 3, 2022 — Bridgetown, Barbados — On Monday, March 7, 2022, the launch of the Intimate Conviction 2: Continuing the Decriminalization Dialogue volume will be held in Barbados at the Cathedral Church of Saint Michael and All Angels, Bridgetown, with the kind permission of the Dean, from 5-7 p.m. AST.

Esteemed speakers include Senator Reverend Dr. John Rogers; Her Excellency Lilian Chatterjee, High Commissioner of Canada to Barbados; Rev. Clifford Hall, Anglican priest and retired senior lecturer in criminal law, UWI Cave Hill; and Lalu Hanuman, Attorney-at-Law.

Laws that criminalize consensual same-sex intimacy still exist in more than sixty countries across the globe — and in most instances, these laws are sustained by Church doctrine. Presented by the HIV Legal Network (a human rights organization located in Canada), the Intimate Conviction conferences work towards the elimination of homophobic laws, discuss the role of the Church in maintaining them and how the Church can help break them down. The first conference was held in 2017 and the volume from that conference was released in 2018. Support to end to these laws is growing, in Barbados and around the world.

In November 2020, the HIV Legal Network, Anglicans for Decriminalization, and Caribbean partners hosted the second Intimate Conviction conference under the theme “Continuing the Decriminalization Dialogue.” This event was meant to be held in Barbados but was forced online due to COVID-19 restrictions. There were more than 30 expert speakers from around the world who imparted their knowledge and experience with laws criminalizing same-sex intimacy.

We are now very pleased to share the edited volume of presentations from this second conference. Here you will find personal stories of how these laws have affected LGBTQ+ people around the world, analysis of biblical texts that have been used to uphold these laws, and thoughts on how these laws can and must be changed to uphold the human rights of LGBTQ+ people everywhere.

Quotes:

“Dr Martin Luther King had it right. If we don’t live together as brothers and sisters, we perish together as fools. Don’t we see the need for more love in the world, not less?” – Rev. Clifford Hall, Anglican priest and host of the Barbados conference

“The Intimate Conviction conferences are a critical tool to helping understand the colonial nature of these homophobic laws, particularly in the Global South. The presentations contained in this volume allow the knowledge and expertise that was shared at the conference to live on and be spread to those who weren’t able to join us. It is our sincere hope that by holding these conferences and publishing these books, we can help eliminate such laws and allow LGBTQ+ people everywhere to live freely and enjoy their human rights.” – Maurice Tomlinson, conference organizer and LGBTQ Rights Consultant for the HIV Legal Network

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Read Intimate Conviction 2: Continuing the Decriminalization Dialogue here. Hard copies will also be available free of charge at the launch.

To register for the March 7th in-person event in Barbados, from 5-7p.m. AST, please click here. All public health protocols, including the wearing of masks, will be observed.

The event will also be livestreamed here. A subsequent event will also be held in Jamaica on Wednesday, March 9, 2022.

About the HIV Legal Network

The HIV Legal Network (www.hivlegalnetwork.ca), formerly the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, promotes the human rights of people living with, at risk of or affected by HIV or AIDS, through research and analysis, litigation and other advocacy, public education, and community mobilization.

For more Information, or to arrange a media interview, please contact:

Father Clifford Hall

Email: guthlac@hotmail.com

Janet Butler-McPhee

HIV Legal Network

Email: jbutler@gmail.com