December 9, 2015 Please note, an abbreviated version of this commentary was published earlier today by The Jamaica Gleaner under the headline “Why the sodomy law must go“. On December 10, 2015, International Human Rights Day, a new constitutional challenge to the Jamaican anti-sodomy law is being launched in Kingston. This outdated holdover from the … Read more
Jamaican human rights activist Maurice Tomlinson has filed a claim in the Jamaican Supreme Court of Judicature, challenging the country’s laws criminalizing “buggery” and other consensual sex between men as violating numerous rights guaranteed in Jamaica’s constitution. This backgrounder answers some key questions related to this constitutional challenge. Related news release: Jamaican Gay Activist Launches Constitutional … Read more
TORONTO, December 9, 2015 — Jamaican human rights activist Maurice Tomlinson has filed a claim in the Supreme Court of Judicature, challenging the constitutionality of Jamaica’s laws criminalizing consensual sex between men. The legal challenge — which will be announced at a press conference tomorrow in Kingston, Jamaica — is being supported by the Canadian … Read more
December 4, 2015 Two separate, but related events supported by the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network took place in the Caribbean last week: Police LGBTI Sensitization Training in Antigua and Barbuda from November 24–27 and the launch of the Barbados Pride Committee in Barbados on November 28 and 29. The police training in Antigua was facilitated … Read more
In 2012, Jamaican human rights activists and AIDS-Free World produced “Love and Respect,” a short, 30-second video advertisement calling for respect for the basic human rights of Jamaican LGBTI people. However, television stations in Jamaica refused to air it as a paid advertisement. prompting this legal proceeding. Jamaican human rights activist, Maurice Tomlinson, is pursuing … Read more
“We are deeply concerned about the continued criminalization of consensual sexual relationships between adult men in Jamaica and the stigmatization, marginalization and violence that it helps perpetuate. Our concern has intensified in recent years in light of a seeming surge in virulent expressions of hatred, up to and including mob assaults, torture and murder, directed … Read more