Nadine Wilson-Harris



Staff Reporter

A recent study has shown that 47 per cent of lesbian and bisexual women in Jamaica

have faced threats of sexual violence, actual sexual violence and/or sexual harassment

by men, with the intention, in some cases, to "straighten them out".

The study, which was carried out by local human-rights advocacy group Quality of

Citizenship Jamaica (QCJ), was conducted online this year. Of 103 respondents surveyed,

23 per cent indicated that the sexual violation happened after they came out as

lesbian, bisexual, or transgender.

Latoya Nugent, the education manager for the Jamaica Forum of Lesbians, All-Sexuals

and Gays (J-FLAG), said corrective rape is a growing problem for lesbians and bisexual

women in Jamaica.

Of the eight sexual-violence reports, the organisation received between January

2013 and November 2013, for example, seven were perpetrated against women and one

was perpetrated against a man.

"Some persons have indicated that it was because of their sexual orientation, and

because there is a belief that it can be corrected, they were sexually violated,

and that is where the term 'corrective rape' comes from," said Nugent.

"There is a belief by men that if women are exposed to the right kind of heterosexual

intercourse, then it will 'fix' or change their sexual orientation," added Nugent.

She said in most of the cases, the women do not report the sexual assault because

they would rather keep their sexual orientation a secret.

"It is something that affects the community because of the fear of being 'outed'

and the fear of being further discriminated against. What we find is that a number

of persons are very reluctant to report incidents of sexual violence against their

person to the police, even though there seems to be a sort of shift, or some incremental

progress, in terms of how the police deal with diverse populations," declared Nugent.

TRICKED, ROBBED, RAPED

Executive director of the QCJ, Angeline Jackson, believes she was sexually assaulted

in 2009 because she is a lesbian. Jackson said she, along with a friend, had decided

to meet another female whom she had never met. Neither female thought much of it

when the mystery lady decided to send her 'stepbrother' to escort them to the agreed

venue.

"On the way there, we were held up, robbed at gunpoint, and I was forced to perform

oral sex on the gunman," said Jackson, who explained that a man armed with a gun

joined the stepbrother and assaulted them.

She was speared penile penetration because she was menstruating; however, her friend

was raped.

"I decided to take the matter to the police, and the police in St Ann told me I

should go back to church, so I went to the police in Spanish Town, who were a lot

more professional in handling the situation. It went through all the channels. They

did do an identification parade and the matter went to court and the person was

convicted; however, the sentence was overturned on appeal."

Jackson said her sexual orientation was not a secret and she believes the two men

worked with a woman and had made a habit of luring unsuspecting lesbians and then

raping them in an effort to 'correct' them.

"I met another survivor at the police station, who had also come in to do an ID

parade, and I also met another woman afterwards, who was adamant that she would

never report the matter to the police," said Jackson, as she noted that the QCJ

survey showed that 77 per cent of those who were sexually violated did not report

the matter to the police.

"Rape is a violation, and women are generally reluctant to report rape, much less

being a lesbian and a bisexual woman. In addition to the regular victim blaming,

you are now blamed for your orientation as the motivating factor," said Jackson.

Don't fight back, victim told herself

Twenty-nine-year-old Nicky, who was raped by a male while on a date five years

ago, said she did not report the matter to the police because she feared she would

have been blamed.

"I had a friend who was a police officer, and I called her and told her what happened,

and she said, 'You shouldn't have gone to his place. It is going to be your fault',"

said Nicky.

She said she started grappling with lesbian tendencies when she was young and started

having relationships with girls when she was 21.

On the night of the incident, she recalled being out with a group of female friends

at the movies when, in the middle of the show, a guy she had been putting off for

months called her.

"He said, 'I want to take you to dinner. Let's go out'. So I said, 'I am out with

my friends'. But I left my friends to go out and have dinner with this guy," recounted

Nicky.

TAKEN TO HIS HOUSE

After the meal, he decided he wanted to take her to his house. She consented after

he promised that no sex would be involved. Nicky said she had no interest in men;

however, upon reaching his house, he insisted that he wanted to have sex with her.

"I don't know how to go on a date with a guy. I don't know how to act - I feel

awkward; I feel like I am putting on a show," she explained.

"I was like, 'Why is this happening to me?'. It's like I was just standing out

of my body watching it (the rape). I couldn't do anything. I couldn't say anything.

The only thing I could remember was saying, 'Don't fight back' because I have been

told that if you fight back, you will get hurt more," she said.

Although she didn't go to the police, Nicky said she went to counselling for six

months and has been trying to put the horrible experience behind her. She believes

the incident drove her to become more open with her sexuality.

There is a belief by men that if women are exposed to the right kind of heterosexual

intercourse, then it will 'fix' or change their sexual orientation.

I don't know how to go on a date with a guy. … I feel like I am putting on a show.







Former CISOCA head not aware of any actual cases

Former head of the Centre for Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse

(CISOCA) Superintendent Gladys Brown-Ellis said although the issue of corrective

rape was brought to her attention by members of the lesbian and bisexual community,

she had not come across any of these cases up to the point when she was transferred

from the unit in late 2013.

"We had meetings with them, and they had pointed out to us that they had 'X' amounts

of reports to them of people doing that to them because they want to straighten

them out, and they have labelled it 'corrective rape'," said Brown-Ellis.

"I did not get any official report of anybody coming in to say I was raped because

the man 'told me that he wanted to straighten me because I am a lesbian'," she said.

Brown-Ellis reasoned that the police cannot do anything about these cases unless

they are reported.

"It is a choice that they have [to make], and they have decided not to pursue it

through the courts, and we have to respect that, but until they report it, I doubt

anything else can be done," she said.

Jamaica is currently observing the 16 days of activism against gender-based violence,

which started on November 25 - International Day for the Elimination of Violence

against Women - and will end on December 10 - International Human Rights Day.

