Victory for LGBTI
Human Rights in the Americas

Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
The constitution specifically prohibits such practices, and the authorities generally respected these prohibitions in practice. Nonetheless, there were occasional reports of police brutality, corruption, excessive force, discrimination against homosexuals, and allegations of abuse by prison guards.

Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.
There were no reports of violence or discrimination based on sexual orientation or directed toward persons with HIV/AIDS. Nonetheless, the ministers of labour and health both spoke out publicly against such discrimination. The Ministry of Health supported local NGO efforts to register human rights complaints and seek assistance related to cases of discrimination against those with HIV/AIDS. The Ministry of Labour encouraged employers to be more sensitive to employees with HIV/AIDS.

Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.
There are no laws that prohibit discrimination in employment, housing, education, or health care against a person on the basis of sexual orientation or against persons living with HIV/AIDS. Although no statistics were available, anecdotal evidence suggested that societal discrimination against homosexuals and persons living with HIV/AIDS occurred. The government and the Dominica Planned Parenthood Association operated programs designed to discourage discrimination against HIV/AIDS-infected persons and others living with them.

Other Social Abuses and Discrimination.
The law criminalizes consensual homosexual relations, providing penalties of up to 10 years' imprisonment. Society generally frowned upon homosexuality, and many churches condemned it. There was no perceptible discrimination against those with HIV/AIDS, partly because the disease was widespread in the general population, including women infected by partners engaging in sex with men and boys. The government encouraged citizens to be tested and to get treatment. An NGO, GRENCHAP, provided counselling to those affected by HIV/AIDS.

Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.
There are no laws that prohibit discrimination against a person on the basis of sexual orientation. Although no statistics were available, anecdotal evidence suggested that societal discrimination against homosexuals and persons with HIV/AIDS occurred. 

Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.
There was widespread stigma and discrimination against persons infected with HIV/AIDS, although the government implemented several programs to address this issue, including a five-year program to combat HIV/AIDS. The UN Population Fund also provided support for youth-oriented HIV/AIDS prevention programs.

Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.
There are no laws that prohibit discrimination against a person on the basis of sexual orientation. Although no statistics were available, anecdotal evidence suggested there was some societal discrimination against homosexuals and persons with HIV/AIDS. Local NGOs, including the SVGHRA, circulated a petition to Parliament that called for an end to all such discrimination.

Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.
The law criminalizes consensual homosexual relations, and there are no laws that prohibit discrimination against a person on the basis of sexual orientation in employment, housing, education, or health care. In March the UN Human Rights Committee expressed its concern over discrimination against homosexuals in the country. Although no statistics were available, anecdotal evidence suggested that societal discrimination against homosexuals occurred.

In September the chief of prisons admitted that some homosexual prisoners had been placed in special security cells but were still beaten by other inmates for being homosexual. The government began programs designed to discourage discrimination against HIV/AIDS-infected persons and others living with them.
In December the International Labour Organization (ILO) completed a three-year program to reduce risk behaviour among targeted workers and to reduce employment-related discrimination among persons with HIV/AIDS. Seven enterprises adopted workplace policies, and stakeholders met to discuss developing a national strategic plan on HIV/AIDS. The stakeholders, including the ILO, agreed in late November on a transitional sustainability program to allow the program to continue. The business community, labour unions, and the national AIDS commission worked together to form the AIDS alliance, which is developing private sector initiatives to combat HIV/AIDS discrimination in society and the work place.

Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.
Societal discrimination against homosexuals occurred, with some persons reporting job and housing discrimination based upon sexual orientation. Although homosexual relations between consenting adults are legal, there was no legislation to address the human rights concerns of homosexuals, lesbians, bisexuals, or transgendered persons. In March 2006 the Constitutional Review Commission found that sexual orientation did not deserve protection against discrimination.

Religious organizations and individual activists opposed a September request by a gay rights group for the cable monopoly to add a gay and lesbian channel to its programming. In the ensuing media controversy, opponents called for recriminalizing homosexual acts, and religious leaders criticized a major newspaper for giving what they considered undue coverage to the gay rights group. Media reports, in turn, referred to a "campaign" against the "gay agenda" or lifestyle by opponents of the proposal.

The organizer of agay and lesbian cruise accused authorities of harassment in shutting down a party at a downtown club on October 7, due to alleged lewd behaviour and immigration violations. Police officials denied inappropriate conduct. Sensationalistic media reporting of reputed gay links in two high-profile murders in Nassau in November, under police investigation at year's end, reflected the atmosphere of societal intolerance.

Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.
There was some societal discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS, and the government worked to combat it through the public education efforts of the National AIDS Commission (NAC) under the Ministry of Human Development and through the Pan-American Social Marketing Organization, which received foreign government assistance. There were incidents of discrimination based on sexual orientation, but determination of its extent was difficult to ascertain.

There were continued allegations of drug and arms trafficking, prostitution, and sexual abuse within the prisons.

Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.
Violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation or against persons with HIV/AIDS were not widely reported.

Arrest and Detention.
Police sometimes apprehended persons without warrants or on warrants not issued by a duly authorized official. The authorities occasionally detained individuals on unspecified charges or pending investigation. On November 24, the government's chief prosecutor for Port-au-Prince instructed the HNP to detain overnight 88 young persons, the overwhelming majority of them minors. At the time of the arrests, the youth were participating in a morning school party in a facility owned by an alleged trans-sexual. Police arrived at the scene due to complaints of noise and unsubstantiated rumours that inappropriate activity was occurring in the party venue. The prosecutor did not charge the minors with any offenses, and the police station did not have the facilities or resources to adequately care for the young detainees; however, the authorities refused to release them, even though the authorities had earlier released 22 of the initial 110 persons detained.

While the government generally respected the human rights of its citizens, there were serious problems in some areas, including: unlawful killings committed by members of the security forces, mob violence against and vigilante killings of those suspected of breaking the law, abuse of detainees and prisoners by police and prison guards, poor prison and jail conditions, continued impunity for police who committed crimes, an overburdened judicial system and frequent lengthy delays in trials, violence and discrimination against women, trafficking in persons, and violence against suspected or known homosexuals.

Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.
The law prohibits "acts of gross indecency" (generally interpreted as any kind of physical intimacy) between men, in public or in private, which are punishable by 10 years in prison. The Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All Sexuals, and Gays (J-FLAG) continued to report human rights abuses, including police harassment, arbitrary detention, mob attacks, stabbings, harassment of homosexual patients by hospital and prison staff, and targeted shootings of homosexuals. Police often did not investigate such incidents. J-FLAG members also reported death threats, as well as threats to burn down its offices. In October members of J-Flag reported that they were considering sending a prominent AIDS spokesman abroad due to concerns for his personal safety in the country. Authorities postponed the trial of six suspects arrested for the 2005 robbery and murder of Lenford "Steve" Harvey, and it had not been held by year's end.

Male inmates deemed by prison wardens to be homosexual were held in a separate facility for their protection. The method used for determining their sexual orientation was subjective and not regulated by the prison system, although inmates were said to confirm their homosexuality for their own safety. There were numerous reports of violence against homosexual inmates, perpetrated by the wardens and by other inmates, but few inmates sought recourse through the prison system. One foreign homosexual man held in prison complained about harassment and for his safety was moved to a maximum-security prison and placed in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day. Homosexual men were hesitant to report incidents against them because of fear for their physical well-being.

Human rights NGOs and government entities agreed that brutality against homosexuals, by police and by private citizens, was widespread in the community. No laws protect persons living with HIV/AIDS from discrimination. Human rights NGOs reported severe stigma and discrimination against this group. The ILO worked with the Ministry of Labour on a program to reduce the stigma of HIV/AIDS in the workplace and to assist employers in designing policies for workers with HIV/AIDS. Although health care facilities were prepared to handle patients with HIV/AIDS, health care workers often neglected such patients.

Discrimination, Societal Abuses, and Trafficking in Persons.
The law prohibits discrimination based on race and ethnicity but does not address discrimination based on disability, language, or social status. While the law does not specifically prohibit gender discrimination, it provides for protection of women's rights to equal access to education, employment, and property. In practice several societal groups, including women, Maroons, Amerindians, persons with HIV/AIDS, and homosexuals, suffered various forms of discrimination.

Trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of minors remained a problem. According to the Mamio Namen Project Foundation, an NGO working to assist HIV‑infected persons, increased sex tourism led to increased sexual exploitation of children, particularly young boys. Two NGOs provided shelters for homeless boys.

Trafficking in Persons.
Although trafficking in persons is criminalized by law, persons were trafficking to, through, and within the country, primarily for sexual exploitation. The country was primarily a transit and destination country for women and children trafficked internationally for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Foreign girls and women were trafficked from Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, and Colombia for commercial sexual exploitation; some transited the country en route to Europe. The majority of these girls and women were reportedly unaware that they would be forced into prostitution. Authorities noted that "snake heads," Chinese human trafficking organizations, were active. Chinese nationals transiting the country risked debt bondage to these migrant smugglers; men were exploited in forced labour and women in commercial sexual exploitation. Haitians migrating illegally were also vulnerable to forced labour exploitation in the country. There also were reports of underage girls and boys trafficked within the country for prostitution by recruiters or caretakers.

Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.
Although the law prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, there were reports that homosexuals continued to suffer from employment discrimination. Persons with HIV/AIDS continued to experience societal discrimination in employment and medical services. An NGO working with HIV‑infected persons reported that law enforcement agencies and the fire department conducted HIV testing as part of their hiring procedures. The Ministry of Health intensified its efforts in prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV/AIDS, through a comprehensive outreach program involving local health care providers. The outreach program was successful in achieving its goal of voluntary testing of 90 percent of expectant mothers. Testing was also available through hospitals, Primary Health Services' clinics, family practitioners, and the Regional Health Services. The military increased its HIV/AIDS awareness campaign among troops after it was announced that HIV/AIDS was the number one cause of death among defence force members.

Other Societal Abuses and Discrimination.
The Equal Opportunities Act does not specifically include gays and lesbians. However, there are no laws that discriminate based on sexual orientation. HIV/AIDS was viewed as a significant medical concern for the government and society. Any incidents of violence against this group were usually isolated events. Kenty Mitchell, a self-identified homosexual, filed a lawsuit against the state for being arrested in December 2006 and detained at Couva Police Station for three days without being charged. He claimed that he was taunted by officers for being homosexual and was denied access to his diabetes medication.