Tag Archives: LGBTI community

75% Of LGBTI Jamaicans Want To Flee Their Country To Escape Persecution And Homophobia

According to a recent study on the developmental cost of homophobia in the Caribbean island, three out of four LGBTI Jamaicans want to flee their country to escape persecution.

74.4% of LGBTI Jamaicans have considered migrating abroad, and of those surveyed, 75.9% felt that discrimination against the LGBTI community was a ‘very serious’ problem in Jamaica – particularly against gay men.

It was also reported that 71% of gay men experienced some form of harassment or discrimination in the last 12 months, compared to 59% of lesbians, 35% of bisexuals and 29% of transgender people.

Jamaica's Gully Queens

However, sadly the majority of respondents (51.3%) did not report their last incidence of physical or sexual assault to the police.

41% did not report it because they did not think the police would do anything, while 30% thought the matter was too minor. One in four feared a homophobic reaction from the police, and one in five felt too embarrassed and did not want anyone to know.

The study’s lead author, MV Lee Badgett of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, wrote

The results of this study suggest that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in Jamaica face violence, stigma, and discrimination, which hold those individuals back – and hold back Jamaica’s economy.

Fear of violence and discrimination are preventing LGBT people in Jamaica from full participation in society and the economy, and this fear encourages behaviors which are detrimental to the affected persons’ wellbeing.”

Consensual sex between men is a crime in Jamaica punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment and hard labour under a colonial-era law, which is supported by 77% of the population.

Over a Third of Bisexuals in the UK Have Been Sexually Harassed or Assaulted Because of their Sexuality

Wow – A psychotherapist told a woman that because she’s bisexual, it was her fault she had been raped. This is just one out of the many things bisexual respondents to a survey have reported.

A new report, launched by Scottish LGBTI charity Equality Network, has suggested that bisexuals are likely to be harassed on the assumption they are ‘promiscuous’ or ‘unfaithful’.

38% of the 515 people survey said they had experienced sexual harassment, while nearly half had experienced bi-phobia will accessing mainstream services across the UK.

Researchers found two thirds (66%) of respondents feel they have to pass as straight and 42% said they felt they needed to pass as gay or lesbian when accessing services.

Nearly a third (28%) also felt uncomfortable telling their doctor they are bisexual.

One respondent said:

A nurse refused to treat me due to being bisexual. My mother overheard him saying to the senior nurse, “I refuse to treat her, she’s not normal and just greedy, she needs to decide what gender she loves, it’s unnatural to love both”.”

However, it was not just mainstream services, a quarter said they had experienced prejudice when accessing services for the LGBTI community.

One respondent reported being told that bisexuals are ‘confused’ and not as good as ‘real gays’.

Tim Hopkins, director of the Equality Network said:

Unfortunately, as the report findings show, bisexual people are often misunderstood and discriminated against by many services.

This leaves them at high risk of not getting appropriate information and support. We hope that this report will help services to better understand and assist bisexual people.”

Sam Rankin, intersectional equalities coordinator and lead author of the report, said:

When explaining why bisexual equality is important and how people are discriminated against it is vital that we have robust data and real life examples to illustrate our points.

Now that we have these we, and others, will be better able to take more effective steps in providing appropriate, inclusive services.”

Bisexual Oppression That Pushes People Further into the Closet

For bisexual women, disclosing their sexuality can be a tough process, especially in the LGBTI community. They often have a very tough time claiming their identity.

This comic, published by Funny Honey Bunny on her Tumblr page, shows exactly how bisexual women can be pushed further in the closet by people’s narrow-minded views.

The ‘four unintentionally oppressive moments’ include her interactions with her mother, her boss, people in a gay bar and her queer friends.

The comic has already been shared and liked over 70,000 times on Tumblr.

Read it below:

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