Lobby Groups Want Obama to Address Gay Rights Issues During Trip to Jamaica
International lobby groups are urging U.S. President Barack to address gay rights issues on his upcoming trip to Jamaica.
The groups – the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission and GLAAD (formerly the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) wrote a letter to the President on the 2nd of April.
According to RJR News, the groups urged Mr Obama to discuss with Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller and other local officials, the country’s human rights challenges, pointing out that, in many Caribbean countries, including Jamaica, consensual adult sexual acts are criminalized.
According to the lobby groups, these laws often serve to justify and legitimise discrimination and violence against Lesbian Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) persons, and they claim that LGBT people in Jamaica often live in a climate of fear of violence, including threats, sexual attacks, and other physical violence.
They added that members of the LGBT community are fearful of seeking treatment at health facilities because of discrimination based on their gender identity or sexual orientation.
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