By Karla E General
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

KINGSTON, Jamaica – Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding has announced his support for the anti-sodomy law that has been on the books since British colonial rule, over 145 years. Golding’s decision flies in the face of international pressures from human rights organizations calling for the repeal of the sodomy act. He stated to Parliament: “We are not going to yield to the pressure, whether that pressure comes from individual organizations, individuals, whether that pressure comes from foreign governments or groups of countries, to liberalize the law as it relates to buggery.” Fellow member of Parliament Ernest Smith took the anti-gay sentiment one step further, suggesting life sentences for homosexuality and the prosecution of LGBT rights groups in Jamaica under the country’s law “against conspiring to corrupt public morals.”

The law banning gay sex dates back to British colonial rule, a colonizing country that has since abolished the law and urged former colonies to do the same. Under the current law, gay sex is punishable by up to seven years in prison. The law itself is buttressed by government inaction and refusal to prosecute for hate crimes and violence directed at the gay community in Jamaica. More than thirty gay men have been murdered since 1997, with only a select few cases being brought to trial. Human Rights Watch has cited Jamaica as having the worst record of any country in the Western hemisphere in its treatment of gays and lesbians. HRW has noted that victims of violence are reluctant to appeal to police for protection because the police themselves have been known to harass and attack men perceived to be homosexual. The police are also known to actively support violence and fail to investigate complaints of abuse.

Golding has also been criticized for his refusal to allow gays in his Cabinet.

For more information, please see:

Miami Herald – Jamaica Leader Vows to Keep Anti-Sodomy Law – 4 March 2009

MSN News – Jamaica PM Vows to Maintain Anti-Sodomy Law Regardless of Criticism from International Groups – 4 March 2009

365 Gay – Jamaica PM Stands Firm on Sodomy Law – 4 March 2009

Human Rights Watch – Hated to Death – 15 November 2004