Two years after a landmark decision from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) urging the Jamaican government to repeal the country’s homophobic laws, Rainbow Railroad and the Human Dignity Trust call on Jamaica to immediately comply with the top Americas human rights tribunal’s recommendations.
Despite two years having passed since the IACHR’s decision was made public, Jamaica has resolutely failed to comply with a single recommendation made by the Commission. In particular, homophobic laws remain in force and there is no protection from discrimination for the LGBTQI+ community.
In the face of this lack of progress, the organizations released a joint report, A Caribbean Outlier: Repeal anti-LGBTQI+ laws in Jamaica, documenting the violence, harassment and discrimination faced by LGBTQI+ people in Jamaica over the last two years.
According to the new report, in 2021, Rainbow Railroad received 322 requests for assistance from individuals in Jamaica, up from 280 the previous year. When seeking help, 221 LGBTQI+ people reported being beaten up, shot at or “chopped”. 101 people reported family-based violence, and there were a further 185 reports referring to public humiliation, sexual violence and police brutality.
You can read the full report here, or access it below.