 | |
| Abbreviation | SASOD |
|---|---|
| Formation | 2003 |
| Type | Non-profit |
| Purpose | LGBTQ Rights in Guyana |
| Headquarters | Georgetown, Guyana |
Key people | Joel Simpson (Managing Director) |
| Website | http://www.sasod.org.gy/ |
Formerly called | Students Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination |
The Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) is an LGBTQ rights organisation based in Georgetown, Guyana.
In 2001, while reviewing the constitution of Guyana, [1] the National Assembly unanimously voted to amend it to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation. [2] Under pressure from religious groups, the president, Bharrat Jagdeo, refused to sign the bill. [3] [4] [5]
In 2003, as the National Assembly again considered the amendment, [2] a group of University of Guyana students founded Students Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination. Their first event was a forum held at the National Library during which SASOD lobbied members of parliament to pass the amendment to outlaw sexual orientation discrimination. [4] [5] [6] SASOD's founders included then law student Joel Simpson, who has subsequently been a key leader of SASOD for at least 20 years. [7]
In 2005, SASOD started the Painting the Spectrum Film Festival, an annual festival dedicated to films highlighting the LGBTQ community. [8] As of 2008, this was the only such film festival in the English-speaking Caribbean. [4] [8] In 2020, the festival was held virtually due to Covid-19. [9] [10]
In February 2009, Guyanese police arrested several transgender people for "wearing of female attire by men", which was illegal under Chapter 8:02 of the Laws of Guyana, section 153 (1) (xlvii) of the Summary Jurisdiction (Offences) Act. [11] The detainees alleged mistreatment and violations of their rights by the police. Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson fined them and admonished them to "give their lives to Jesus Christ". [12] [13] [14]
In response, SASOD co-signed a letter condemning the arrests and mistreatment to Guyanese President Jagdeo. Other signatories included Human Rights Watch, Global Rights, and Guyana Rainbow Foundation. [15]
Additionally, SASOD and four of the former detainees filed a lawsuit in the High Court of Guyana challenging the constitutionality of the cross-dressing law. [16] [17] In 2013, the High Court decided that "cross-dressing can be deemed a criminal offense only if engaged in for improper purposes" and awarded $40,000 to each plaintiff for the police misconduct; however, the Court declined to rule the law unconstitutional. [18] [14] In response to the ruling, SASOD warned that Transgender citizens “will continue to be vulnerable to human rights abuses with this dubious decision." [14] [19]
The plaintiffs appealed to the Court of Appeal which upheld the lower court's decision. [20] They appealed again, and in 2018 the Caribbean Court of Justice struck down the law. [21] [22] SASOD called the decision "a victory for human rights and justice in the Caribbean." [23]
Beginning in 2010, SASOD contributed to Guyana's Universal Periodic Review (UPR) by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). SASOD called for the elimination of laws that discriminate against same-sex relationships between consenting adults, as well as improving access to health care for LGBT persons. [24] [25] [26]
In July 2012, SASOD along with partner organizations, submitted a shadow report to Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) summarizing the discrimination and harassment experienced by lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women in Guyana. [27]
Later, in January 2013, SASOD submitted a shadow report to the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), highlighting the need for comprehensive sex and sexuality education in schools, access to sexual health information, and the end of discrimination and abuse based on sexual orientation and gender identity. [28]
In 2011, SASOD opposed a potential law that would criminalize HIV transmission, calling it "misguided, ill-informed, and unenforceable." [29] Ultimately, the law was not adopted. [30]
In 2014, SASOD was awarded with the Red Ribbon Award for outstanding community leadership on AIDS in the "Advocacy and human rights" category. [31] [32]
SASOD has promoted the use of PrEP as an HIV prevention tool. [33] In 2018, they conducted focus groups with MSM and transgender people regarding their attitudes towards and awareness of PrEP. A key finding from their report [34] was that 60% of participants had never heard of PrEP. [33] [35] In 2019, they partnered with a private clinic to provide PrEP services. [36] [35]
SASOD has called out anti-LGBTQ attitudes and Guyana's laws against gay sex and sex work as barriers to HIV prevention. [37] [38] However, SASOD has celebrated the government's progress in providing HIV services, including HIV self-testing and national treatment centers. [38] [39]
In 2018, SASOD, the Guyana Rainbow Foundation, and Guyana Trans United organized Guyana's first Pride Parade in Georgetown. [40] [41] The event was attended by parliament member Priya Manickchand. [42] Despite opposition from some religious leaders and social media users, the parade happened without incident. [43] [41]
Since 2018, SASOD has continued to assist in organizing the annual parade and pride festival. [44]
In 2023, SASOD launched the "Guyana Together" [45] campaign to promote LGBTQ rights in Guyana. The first phase will focus on public education and lobbying for the appeal of laws against gay sex. [46] The second phase will focus on adding "sexual orientation", "gender identity" and "gender expression" to the Prevention of Discrimination Act. [47] [48] The campaign has been endorsed by more than 60 local organizations, [47] including the Rotary Club of Georgetown. [49]
Opposition to SASOD's activities and positions has frequently originated in the Guyanese religious community. In 2010, the Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO) of Guyana held a press conference to oppose the SASOD's annual film festival, Painting the Spectrum, on the grounds that it promotes "homosexual behavior" among youth. In their statement, the IRO referred to LGBTQ rights as "western culture" and warned that allowing LGBTQ rights in Guyana would be "a new form of colonialism". [50] Others have opposed SASOD's legal case against Guyana's cross-dressing law. [51]
In 2018, some Christian leaders and social media users denounced Guyana's first pride parade organized by SASOD and other local LGBTQ organizations. [41] [52] Later that year, 100 Christian leaders sponsored an advertisement opposing efforts led by SASOD to repeal laws against gay sex. [53] [54]
The LGBTQ community is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer or questioning individuals united by a common culture and social movements. These communities generally celebrate pride, diversity, individuality, and sexuality. LGBTQ activists and sociologists see LGBTQ community-building as a counterweight to heterosexism, homophobia, biphobia, transphobia, sexualism, and conformist pressures that exist in the larger society. The term pride or sometimes gay pride expresses the LGBTQ community's identity and collective strength; pride parades provide both a prime example of the use and a demonstration of the general meaning of the term. The LGBTQ community is diverse in political affiliation. Not all people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender consider themselves part of the LGBTQ community.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Bulgaria face significant challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female same-sex relationships are legal in Bulgaria, but same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation has been banned since 2004, with discrimination based on "gender change" being outlawed since 2015. In 2019, a Bulgarian court recognized a same-sex marriage performed in France. Contrastingly, in 2024, Bulgaria's parliament prohibited the “propaganda, and promotion of non-traditional sexual orientation and/or gender identity other than the biological one”.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) people in Cambodia face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Although same-sex sexual activity is legal in Cambodia, it provides no anti-discrimination protections for LGBT people, nor does it prohibit hate crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals in the Republic of the Philippines have faced many difficulties in their homeland, such as prejudice, violence, abuse, assault, harassment and other forms of anti-LGBTQ rhetoric. Many LGBTQ Filipinos are met with mixed attitudes and reactions by their families, friends and others in their communities, as well as professionals, educators, their national public officials, politicians, attorneys and others working for the government and the rest of the general population.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in Norway have the same legal rights as non-LGBTQ people. In 1981, Norway became one of the first countries in the world to enact an anti-discrimination law explicitly including sexual orientation. Same-sex marriage, adoption, and assisted insemination treatments for lesbian couples have been legal since 2009. In 2016, Norway became the fourth country in Europe to pass a law allowing the change of legal sex for transgender people based on self-determination. On 1 January 2024, conversion therapy became legally banned within Norway.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Vietnam face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. From 2000, both male and female forms of same-sex sexual activity are legal and are believed to never have been criminalized in Vietnamese history. However, same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are ineligible for the legal protections available to heterosexual couples. Vietnam provides limited anti-discrimination protections for transgender people. The right to change gender was officially legalized in Vietnam after the National Assembly passed an amendment to the Civil Code in 2015.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Bhutan face legal challenges that are not faced by non-LGBTQ people. Bhutan does not provide any anti-discrimination laws for LGBT people, and same-sex unions are not recognised. However, same-sex sexual activity was decriminalised in Bhutan on 17 February 2021.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Guyana face legal and societal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ 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. Efforts to decriminalize homosexual behavior have gained momentum from legal developments in neighboring countries with a common legal heritage as former British colonies. In August 2016 the Belize Supreme Court, and in April 2018, the High Court of Trinidad and Tobago, each ruled that laws criminalizing homosexuality in their respective jurisdictions were unconstitutional. These landmark rulings have been noted as potential legal precedents to strengthen the case for repeal of Guyana's corresponding laws, with all 3 countries having related jurisprudence. Guyanese society tends to view homosexuality and transgender people negatively, though attitudes are slowly changing and becoming more accepting. The country's first pride parade took place in June 2018 with the support of various political and religious leaders, making it the first such event in the English-speaking Caribbean. It has inspired other countries to hold their own pride parades such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Lucia. The country's second pride parade took place in June 2019. Subsequent events in 2020, and 2021 had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but Guyana's LGBT community held its largest event in the capital Georgetown in June 2022, with another planned in 2023. The country itself has a sodomy law.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) rights in Nepal have expanded in the 21st century, though much of Nepal's advancements on LGBT rights have come from the judiciary and not the legislature. Same-sex sexual acts have been legal in Nepal since 2007 after a ruling by the Supreme Court of Nepal.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights in Kosovo have improved in recent years, most notably with the adoption of the new Constitution, banning discrimination based on sexual orientation. Kosovo remains one of the few Muslim-majority countries that hold regular pride parades.
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 LGBTQ 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, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in Mongolia face legal and social challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ people, though there have been substantial improvements since the 1990s. Homosexuality was criminalised in Mongolia in 1961 through its Criminal Code. Following the Mongolian Revolution of 1990 and the peaceful transition to a democracy, homosexuality was legalised and awareness about LGBTQ people has become more prevalent. Hate crimes on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity result in additional legal penalties. Hate speech based on these two categories has been outlawed in the country since 1 July 2017. Households headed by same-sex couples are, however, not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in East Timor face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity are legal in East Timor, but same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex married couples. Although there is no broad legal protection against discrimination, there are several legal provisions in specific laws that protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Delaware enjoy the same legal protections as non-LGBTQ people. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal in Delaware since January 1, 1973. On January 1, 2012, civil unions became available to same-sex couples, granting them the "rights, benefits, protections, and responsibilities" of married persons. Delaware legalized same-sex marriage on July 1, 2013.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of New Jersey have the same legal rights as non-LGBTQ people. LGBT individuals in New Jersey enjoy strong protections from discrimination, and have had the same marriage rights as heterosexual people since October 21, 2013.
California is seen as one of the most liberal states in the U.S. in regard to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights, which have received nationwide recognition since the 1970s. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal in the state since 1976. Discrimination protections regarding sexual orientation and gender identity or expression were adopted statewide in 2003. Transgender people are also permitted to change their legal gender on official documents without any medical interventions, and mental health providers are prohibited from engaging in conversion therapy on minors.
The U.S. state of New York has generally been seen as socially liberal in regard to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) rights. LGBT travel guide Queer in the World states, "The fabulosity of Gay New York is unrivaled on Earth, and queer culture seeps into every corner of its five boroughs". The advocacy movement for LGBT rights in the state has been dated as far back as 1969 during the Stonewall riots in New York City. Same-sex sexual activity between consenting adults has been legal since the New York v. Onofre case in 1980. Same-sex marriage has been legal statewide since 2011, with some cities recognizing domestic partnerships between same-sex couples since 1998. Discrimination protections in credit, housing, employment, education, and public accommodation have explicitly included sexual orientation since 2003 and gender identity or expression since 2019. Transgender people in the state legally do not have to undergo sex reassignment surgery to change their sex or gender on official documents since 2014. In addition, both conversion therapy on minors and the gay and trans panic defense have been banned since 2019. Since 2021, commercial surrogacy has been legally available within New York State. In 2024, the Constitution of New York was amended to explicitly ban discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania enjoy most of the same rights as non-LGBTQ people. Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Pennsylvania. Same-sex couples and families headed by same-sex couples are eligible for all of the protections available to opposite-sex married couples. Pennsylvania was the final Mid-Atlantic state without same-sex marriage, indeed lacking any form of same-sex recognition law until its statutory ban was overturned on May 20, 2014.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in North Macedonia face discrimination and some legal and social challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity have been legal in North Macedonia since 1996, but same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex married couples.
LGBTQ people in the Dominican Republic face multiple challenges. Although homosexuality between adults in private is decriminalized, LGBTQ Dominicans still endure discrimination and violence due to their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.