In recent years, the Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community of Jamaica has become an international concern as individuals struggle to survive in the dangerously homophobic environment. The structural abuse, discrimination, and continued acts of violence have lead to hundreds of LGBT Jamaican citizens attempting to seek asylum in Great Britain, Canada, and the United States (Citation). In this paper, I will be investigating why the LGBT community Is the most persecuted group in Jamaica, how it relates to the human rights framework in terms of the rights violated and actions that are being taken, and why it matters. For many years, Jamaica has been called the most homophobic country in the world (Time magazine). Over 85% of …show more content…
As many homosexual or transgendered Jamaicans live on the street—either kicked out by family members or because of the struggle to gain lawful employment due to discrimination— officers routinely use this act against the LGBT community. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights also states that the police are “the perpetrators of violence by threatening and beating individuals suspected of being gay” (Report on the …show more content…
In April 2007, mobs attacked a church with 150 people mourning the death of a gay man and when police arrived, witnesses reported the police socialized with the mob, allowed them to continue their attacks, and only took action to search the cars of the gay men leaving (Human rights watch). In 2007, Jamaican LGBT activist group J-Flag reported that between February and July, 98 members of the LGBT community were targeted in 43 separate mob attacks— most of which were not investigated