A New York-based human rights group on Thursday called for Jamaican police to conduct a full investigation into the mob killing of a transgender teenager.
According to hrw.org:
“Jamaican police should conduct a thorough, impartial and effective investigation into the murder of Dwayne Jones at the hands of a mob in Montego Bay, sometime between July 21 and 22, Human Rights Watch said.
“Jones, 16, was found dead on July 22 after he was attacked at a party he attended dressed in women’s clothing. According to news reports, when someone at the party identified Jones as male, a crowd chased him as he fled. Police found his body on the road, with multiple stab wounds and a gun wound.
“‘Jamaican authorities need to send an unequivocal message that there will be zero tolerance for violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people,’ said Graeme Reid, LGBT Rights Program director at Human Rights Watch. ‘The Jamaican government should be protecting everyone’s rights and safety, and that includes people who do not conform to society’s expectations of how each gender should behave.'”
According to ABC News:
“Activists say Jamaican gays, particularly those in poor communities, suffer frequent discrimination.
“An anti-sodomy law bans anal sex on the island and advocates for gays argue that the colonial-era statute fuels homophobia. A gay rights activist is trying to challenge the constitutionality of the nearly 150-year-old law in a Jamaican court.
“Last year, a local gay rights group, the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals & Gays, received 36 reports from adult gay males saying they were the victims of mob violence because of their sexual orientation.”
Jamaica Church Leaders Rally in Support of Anti-Sodomy Law
As Atlanta Black Star reported earlier this month, several church pastors in Jamaica led a revival meeting to oppose efforts to overturn the Caribbean country’s anti-sodomy law and turn back what they see as increasing acceptance of homosexuality.
Roughly 1,500 people in their Sunday best gathered in a central Kingston park for a spirited religious service, two days before the rare court challenge to Jamaica’s anti-sodomy law.LGBT
