{"id":12357,"date":"2015-12-17T14:39:25","date_gmt":"2015-12-17T19:39:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aidslaw.ca\/site\/?p=12357"},"modified":"2023-03-24T10:19:43","modified_gmt":"2023-03-24T14:19:43","slug":"were-launching-a-challenge-to-jamaicas-anti-sodomy-law","status":"publish","type":"news22","link":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/were-launching-a-challenge-to-jamaicas-anti-sodomy-law\/","title":{"rendered":"We\u2019re launching a challenge to Jamaica\u2019s anti-sodomy law"},"content":{"rendered":"Last Thursday, international Human Rights Day (December 10), senior policy analyst Maurice Tomlinson\u00a0publicly launched<\/a>\u00a0a legal challenge to\u00a0Jamaica\u2019s anti-sodomy law, arguing that it violates the constitutional rights of LGBTI people<\/strong>. It has made news\u00a0across the country<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 including an endorsement from the\u00a0Jamaica Gleaner<\/a>, the country\u2019s most influential newspaper \u2014 and around the\u00a0world<\/a>, with stories appearing in\u00a0The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Advocate<\/em>, and on\u00a0CBC<\/em>\u2019s \u201cAs It Happens,\u201d to name just a few.<\/p>\n

This is going to be a challenging case and it may even require appealing all the way up to the Privy Council in the United Kingdom (still the final court of appeal for Jamaica). We have evidence, reason and human rights law on our side, but in order to get there – we\u2019ll also need resources.<\/p>\n

If you support this action and the work that will be required to follow through with this important human rights litigation, please\u00a0consider\u00a0contributing<\/a>\u00a0to the Legal Network today<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"12356997_1006706776035244_4662115677116791197_o\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Jamaican law criminalizes consensual intimate conduct between men, including through a colonial-era prohibition on \u201cgross indecency\u201d between men and a provision that outlaws the \u201cabominable crime of buggery\u201d (i.e., anal sex, including between any people of any sex). In addition, any person convicted of such offences now also faces mandatory registration, monitoring and potential additional penalties as a \u201csex offender.\u201d The law weighs heavily on LGBTI people. Not only does it directly infringe numerous rights recognized by Jamaica\u2019s Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms, it also contributes to stigma and prejudice, fueling horrific violence against LGBTI people and damaging efforts to deliver HIV prevention, testing, treatment and care.<\/p>\n

Learn more about the context in this\u00a0Q&A<\/a>, prepared by the Legal Network and AIDS-Free World, with whom we are supporting this challenge.<\/p>\n

Maurice has been preparing for this claim since joining the Legal Network earlier this year. Part of a broader\u00a0strategy to support LGBTI human rights<\/a>\u00a0in the Caribbean, this litigation has required careful planning and preparation. Maurice worked alongside a litigation strategy group of lawyers from the Legal Network and AIDS-Free World, as well as outside counsel, to research and outline the best possible legal route for this case.<\/p>\n

We expect this to be a long road ahead, but we\u2019re in this to win! A donation to the Legal Network will provide us with the necessary resources to ensure the greatest opportunity for success, which will make a huge impact in the lives of LGBTI people in Jamaica and indeed throughout the Caribbean. It will also support our numerous other activities designed to defend the human rights of those living with and affected by HIV. Consider joining\u00a0Right(s) Now<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0today.<\/p>\n

And stay tuned.<\/p>\n

—————————————————————<\/p>\n

 ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last Thursday, international Human Rights Day (December 10), senior policy analyst Maurice Tomlinson\u00a0publicly launched\u00a0a legal challenge to\u00a0Jamaica\u2019s anti-sodomy law, arguing that it violates the constitutional rights of LGBTI people. It has made news\u00a0across the country\u00a0\u2014 including an endorsement from the\u00a0Jamaica Gleaner, the country\u2019s most influential newspaper \u2014 and around the\u00a0world, with stories appearing in\u00a0The New … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"publication_topics":[153,160],"publication_language":[184,185],"class_list":["post-12357","news22","type-news22","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","publication_topics-lgbtq-rights","publication_topics-the-caribbean","publication_language-english","publication_language-french"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news22\/12357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news22"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news22"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news22\/12357\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23409,"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news22\/12357\/revisions\/23409"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"publication_topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication_topics?post=12357"},{"taxonomy":"publication_language","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hivlegalnetwork.ca\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication_language?post=12357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}