Maurice Tomlinson | |
---|---|
![]() Tomlinson in 2015 | |
Born | Montego Bay, Jamaica | 9 April 1971
Alma mater | University of the West Indies, University of Calgary, University of Turin |
Years active | 2003–present |
Awards | David Kato Vision & Voice Award 2012 |
Maurice Tomlinson (born 1971) is a Jamaican lawyer, law professor, and gay rights activist currently living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. [1] He has been a leading gay rights and HIV activist in the Caribbean for over 20 years and is one of the only Jamaican advocates to challenge the country's 1864 British colonially-imposed anti gay Sodomy Law (known as the Buggery Law). This law predominantly affects men who have sex with men (MSM) and carries a possible jail sentence of up to ten years imprisonment with hard labour. [2] [3] [4]
Tomlinson was born on 9 April 1971 in Montego Bay, St, James, Jamaica to George Cornel Tomlinson and Carmen Victoria Tomlinson (née Campbell). He has two brothers, Kurt and Rhoan. Tomlinson attended Cornwall College and Kingston College (Jamaica). [5] At the tertiary level, his education includes studies at The University of the West Indies, Mona (1993), University of Calgary, Haskayne School of Business (1998), University of the West Indies, Cave Hill (2003), Norman Manley Law School in Jamaica (2005), the University of Turin Law School, Italy (2006), and the University of the West Indies, Mona School of Business (2007). [6]
After graduation in 1993, Tomlinson returned to Air Jamaica and started his then "dream" job as a flight attendant. However, he left the airline after only 6 months when his boss advised him to "stand in front of a mirror, try to act more macho and deepen his voice" because passengers had complained that he was gay. [7] Tomlinson later went to work for a mortgage company. [6] It was while pursuing a law degree that Tomlinson became interested in international human rights work. His studies in law also gave him an interest in Human Rights, especially for LGBTI people, and taught him that it was possible to change discriminatory laws and practices. [6]
In 2006, he started working as a corporate lawyer and left after a year and a half to become the project manager in the Office of the Principal of the University of West Indies. In this post, Tomlinson was responsible for the establishment of the UWI's Western Jamaica Campus in his hometown of Montego Bay. [8] In 2009, Tomlinson began teaching human rights and discrimination law at the University of Technology, Jamaica and also became Legal Advisor, Marginalized Groups for the international NGO, AIDS-Free World. [9] [10]
Tomlinson previously served as legal advisor on the boards of Jamaica AIDS Support for Life (JASL) as well as the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG). [10] He still visits Jamaica regularly to participate in legal challenges to anti-gay laws. [11] [12] [13] [14]
Jamaican men who have sex with men (MSM) have the highest HIV prevalence rate in the western hemisphere, at 33%. [15] UNAIDS, the Jamaican Ministry of Health, and other regional and international agencies involved in the HIV response have identified that the overwhelming homophobia in Jamaica drives MSM underground, away from effective HIV prevention, treatment, care, and support interventions. [11] [16]
Since 2008, Tomlinson has therefore been working with local and international partners to increase the visibility of Jamaican LGBTI people in order to improve their access to health care and specifically HIV services. In this regard, he has led several public initiatives, including public service announcements, [17] Jamaica's first Walk for Tolerance, [18] [19] multiple public demonstrations, [20] [21] a successful letter writing campaign to the Jamaican newspapers, and spearheaded meetings with senior government, diplomatic, and civic officials. [22] [23]
Tomlinson also travels around the Caribbean for the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network providing human rights documentation and advocacy training for groups working with LGBTI individuals. [24]
The Buggery Law is a British colonial law imposed on Jamaica during the British occupation of the country. Tomlinson was one of the first people to legally challenge that law, having filed a case in 2011. [11] Tomlinson was opposed by Christian groups who marched in protest over keeping the law.
Speaking to PinkNews in London after a lecture to mark the 2014 International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, Tomlinson challenged Jamaica's Prime Minister, Portia Simpson-Miller, for putting aside the issue of the country's anti-sodomy law and not carrying on with it as she had promised in her election campaign. [25] In April 2014, the Jamaican Prime Minister said "The issue was not the priority of the majority of poor people living in the country so it is not an issue that needed attention." Her decision was seen as a betrayal to the LGBT community that supported her in the election. The issue of homophobia in Jamaica remains unresolved after multiple attacks on and murders of gay men. [26]
On behalf of the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, Tomlinson is the appellant in a Jamaican Court of Appeal matter challenging two local TV stations that refused to air an ad in which he appears that calls on Jamaicans to respect the rights of homosexuals. [27] The TV stations refused to air the ad on the grounds that it would anger the island's powerful churches and could also be seen to be aiding and abetting an illegal activity. [13] [28] Although the Supreme Court ruled against Tomlinson's claim, they did acknowledge the importance of the case and refused an application from the TV stations that Tomlinson pay their legal costs. The court also clarified for the first time that gay Jamaicans have all the rights of other citizens under the 2011 Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms. [29] This is a significant precedent as the country's Parliament had deliberately excluded sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression from protection against discrimination under the Charter. [30] [31]
![]() | This section needs to be updated.(July 2022) |
Tomlinson filed a challenge in 2013 to the immigration ban of both Trinidad and Tobago and Belize. He asked Jamaica, his home country, to insist that the travel bans of these countries be removed based on CARICOM provisions for free movement of citizens of member countries. Jamaica refused and Tomlinson went to the Caribbean Court of Justice asking leave to file the case with them directly. [14] In May, 2014, Tomlinson was granted leave to challenge the immigration laws of both countries, [32] in a case brought on his behalf by AIDS-Free World. In October, 2014, CARICOM joined the case as an interested party supporting Tomlinson's arguments. [24] [33] On 17–18 March 2015, the challenge was heard [34] [35] with allegations that the immigration bans abridge the rights of free movement for Caribbean citizens contained in the Treaty of Chaguaramas. Judgment was reserved by the court for a future date. [36]
Dwayne Jones, a 16-year-old transgender youth was beaten, stabbed, shot and run over by a mob when she arrived at a street party dressed in female clothes. Her friends said she was wearing female clothes in an attempt to 'come out of the closet'. [37] Within weeks a gay businessman from Montego Bay was found murdered inside his home on 28 August 2013, whose murder was published by an online group on YouTube called Jamaican LGBT News. [38]
In 2013, Tomlinson became a founding member of Dwayne's House, Jamaica's first charity which focuses exclusively on providing food and basic services to homeless LGBTI youth who have been forced to live in the sewers of the capital, Kingston. [25] [39] [40]
Tomlinson was married to a close female friend in 1999 in an attempt to "cure" his homosexuality. The couple divorced 4 years later and they have one son who now lives with his mother. [41]
In 2011, Tomlinson married his partner Tom Decker in Canada. [42] Decker was the LGBT liaison officer for the Toronto Police Service, [43] and he and Tomlinson met in 2010 at an International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) World Conference. [18] Their activism is central to their marriage, although he and Tomlinson had to flee Jamaica temporarily in 2012 when a Jamaican newspaper carried an unauthorized photograph of their wedding, leading to several death threats against Tomlinson. [44] He now teaches Canadian Human Rights and other law courses at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology in Oshawa, Canada, [6] and is also a Senior Policy Analyst for the Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network, where he focuses on challenging homophobia and HIV in the Caribbean. [10] Decker also developed an award-winning program to report homophobic violence while he worked for the Toronto Police. On behalf of AIDS-Free World, Decker revised this program for the Caribbean. He now travels with Tomlinson to deliver this training to Caribbean civil society groups, as well as provide LGBTI sensitization sessions for Caribbean police. [45]
Year | Nominated | Award | Result |
---|---|---|---|
2012 | Maurice Tomlinson | David Kato Vision & Voice Award | Won |
In 2011, Tomlinson was awarded the inaugural "David Kato Vision and Voice Award" which was created to honor the memory of slain Ugandan LGBTI activist, David Kato. [42] This award recognizes leadership in advocating for the rights of LGBTI people. [6] In 2012, Tomlinson was privileged to be the first-ever Grand Marshall of Ugandan Beach Pride. [46] He was also selected as the International Grand Marshall for Capital Pride in Ottawa, Canada. [47] His work has since been featured in a documentary, The Abominable Crime, which describes the struggle with homophobia in Jamaica and efforts being made to challenge this seemingly intractable problem. [48]
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan face severe challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Afghan members of the LGBT community are forced to keep their gender identity and sexual orientation secret, in fear of violence and the death penalty. The religious nature of the country has limited any opportunity for public discussion, with any mention of homosexuality and related terms deemed taboo.
Lenford "Steve" Harvey was a Jamaican activist who campaigned for the rights of those living with HIV/AIDS in Jamaican society. In November 2005, he was abducted from his home and murdered in a robbery that some commentators believed was also a homophobic hate crime. Harvey, an openly gay man, had worked for Jamaica AIDS Support for Life (JASL), since 1997 becoming the group's coordinator for Kingston. In this position, he focused on distributing information and services surrounding HIV/AIDS to the most marginalised sectors of Jamaican society, among them prisoners, sex workers, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. In 2005, he was selected as Jamaica's project coordinator for the Latin America and Caribbean Council of AIDS Service Organizations. Harvey was praised for his work. According to Peter Tatchell of the British LGBT rights organisation OutRage!, "It is thanks to the efforts of Steve and his colleagues that many Jamaican men and women - both gay and straight - have not contracted HIV. They have helped save hundreds of lives."
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Jamaica face legal and social issues not experienced by heterosexual and gender-conforming people. Consensual sexual intercourse between same-sex partners is legally punishable by imprisonment.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the Bahamas have limited legal protections. While same-sex sexual activity is legal in the Bahamas, there are no laws that address discrimination or harassment on the account of sexual orientation or gender identity, nor does it recognize same sex unions in any form, whether it be marriage or partnerships. Households headed by same-sex couples are also not eligible for any of the same rights given to opposite-sex married couples.
Joël Gustave Nana Ngongang (1982–2015), frequently known as Joel Nana, was a leading African LGBT human rights advocate and HIV/AIDS activist. Nana's career as a human rights advocate spanned numerous African countries, including Nigeria, Senegal and South Africa, in addition to his native Cameroon. He was the Chief Executive Officer of Partners for Rights and Development (Paridev) a boutique consulting firm on human rights, development and health in Africa at the time of his death. Prior to that position, he was the founding Executive Director of the African Men for Sexual Health and Rights (AMSHeR) an African thought and led coalition of LGBT/MSM organizations working to address the vulnerability of MSM to HIV. Mr Nana worked in various national and international organizations, including the Africa Research and Policy Associate at the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), as a Fellow at Behind the Mask, a Johannesburg-based non-profit media organisation publishing a news website concerning gay and lesbian affairs in Africa, he wrote on numerous topics in the area of African LGBT and HIV/AIDS issues and was a frequent media commentator. Nana died on October 15, 2015, after a brief illness.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Trinidad and Tobago face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same rights and benefits as that of opposite-sex couples.
Ian McKnight is an HIV/AIDS activist from Jamaica.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Dominica face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Homosexuality has been legal since 2024, when the High Court struck down the country's colonial-era sodomy law. Dominica provides no recognition to same-sex unions, whether in the form of marriage or civil unions, and no law prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Guyana face legal and societal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Guyana is the only country in South America, and the only mainland country in the Americas, where homosexual acts, including anal sex and oral sex, are illegal. Cross-dressing was illegal until November 2018, when the statute was struck down by the Caribbean Court of Justice, the court of last resort of Guyana.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Antigua and Barbuda may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT citizens.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Barbados do not possess the same legal rights as non-LGBT people. In December 2022, the courts ruled Barbados' laws against buggery and "gross indecency" were unconstitutional and struck them from the Sexual Offences Act. However, there is no recognition of same-sex relationships and only limited legal protections against discrimination.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Belize face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT citizens, although attitudes have been changing in recent years. Same-sex sexual activity was decriminalized in Belize in 2016, when the Supreme Court declared Belize's anti-sodomy law unconstitutional. Belize's constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, which Belizean courts have interpreted to include sexual orientation.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in Laos go unreported and unnoticed. While homosexuality is legal in Laos, it is very difficult to assess the current state of acceptance and violence that LGBT people face because of government interference. Numerous claims have suggested that Laos is one of the most tolerant communist states. Despite such claims, discrimination still exists. Laos provides no anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people, nor does it prohibit hate crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for any of the rights that opposite-sex married couples enjoy, as neither same-sex marriage nor civil unions are legal.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Lesotho face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Lesotho does not recognise same-sex marriages or civil unions, nor does it ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. The Penal Code makes same-sex sexual acts illegal with a punishment up to 10 years in prison, although the law is not enforced. In addition, it outlaws the practice of "buggery", whether homosexual or heterosexual and irrespective of whether the act was consensual. The country's laws also do not address discrimination or harassment on account of sexual orientation or gender identity, nor recognize same-sex unions in any form, whether it be marriage or partnerships. Households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for any of the same rights given to opposite-sex married couples. In 2024, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines upheld its constitutional ban on same-sex sexual activity within its High Court.
The majority of the countries of the Commonwealth of Nations, formerly known as the British Commonwealth, still criminalise sexual acts between consenting adults of the same sex and other forms of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression. Homosexual activity remains a criminal offence in 29 of the 56 sovereign states of the Commonwealth; and legal in only 26.
Caleb Orozco is an LGBT activist in Belize. He was the chief litigant in a case successfully challenging the anti-sodomy laws of Belize and the co-founder of the only LGBT advocacy group in the country.
Dr. Robert Carr was a Trinidadian scholar and human rights activist who dedicated his life to bringing public attention to issues related to stigma and discrimination against persons living with or affected by HIV/AIDS.
This is a timeline of notable events in the history of non-heterosexual conforming people of African ancestry, who may identify as LGBTIQGNC, men who have sex with men, or related culturally specific identities. This timeline includes events both in Africa, the Americas and Europe and in the global African diaspora, as the histories are very deeply linked.
{{cite magazine}}
: Cite magazine requires |magazine=
(help)