Words and Photos by Ron B. Wilson
In June 2019, Guyana and the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD), celebrated the country’s third-ever Pride festival. Less than two weeks later it was reported that Joel Simpson, SASOD’s founder and director, had been beaten by a group of six men after going out with friends in Georgetown.
Following the incident, which left him bruised on his hands, knees, and sides, Simpson took to social media to detail what had occurred. He was saved by a city constable who intervened in the gang beating and rescued by a vendor, who helped him to the safety of a nearby market stall before he was rushed to the hospital. Simpson is calling for justice, imploring the government to implement hate crimes legislation to help curb such behaviours.
Joel Earl Simpson, Managing Director/ Founder on Guyana’s Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination.
Photo by Ron B. Wilson
Since 2003, Simpson and his friends at SASOD have been fighting for equality in Georgetown and throughout the country. They are leading change, educating allies and government leaders, and serving their communities. They believe real boundaries don’t exist.
Guyana is a small, English-speaking country on the northeast coast of South America, though often considered part of the Caribbean region because of its strong social, ethnic, cultural, historical, and political ties with the Caribbean community.
Gay sex, sodomy, and cross-dressing have been illegal in Guyana since the country’s early colonial era. Laws introduced by the Dutch were maintained after power shifted to the British in the early 1800s, and even survived following the country’s independence in 1966. Guyana remains the only country in South America to criminalize intimacy between men.
Photo by Ron B. Wilson
In the Caribbean, many countries have started Pride events in recent years. Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, and Jamaica (a country that TIME magazine once called "the most homophobic place on earth") have all staged annual festivals, declaratively finding their place in society despite the continual resistance. Cuba has recently banned workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and offers free gender reassignment surgeries under its national health care system. Haiti's first LGBTQ rights organization, Kouraj, has brought more attention to the country's gay and trans community.
Despite the need for law reform, Guyana has taken part in Pride thanks to the dedication of frontline workers. On June 1, 2019, the streets of Georgetown came alive with rainbow flags and vibrantly coloured, carnival-style costumes as their Pride parade took place. This event was indeed a sight to behold, with the parade starting at the capital’s historic Independence Park and ending at the Square of the Revolution with revellers displaying their best dance moves to sounds of their favourite Pride music selections. About 200 people took to the streets, including some prominent faces from international governments to celebrate this occasion. The parade closed with short speeches from members of the Guyana LGBTQ Coalition as people gathered, embraced each other, and expressed sentiments of another successful parade.
Photo by Ron B. Wilson
In addition to the parade, the Pride festival consisted of community-building events like the Inter-Faith Forum, an open mic Queer Café, a film night and the Miss Diamond Infinity Pageant. The events were small and intimate, and guests were often greeted by the same familiar faces. Faces like Jasmin.
Jasmin is much like most 18-year-old girls: funny, inquisitive, and easily hurt by social media bullies, but somehow sapiential beyond her years. Jasmin is a transwoman who first came to SASOD for their paralegal services after she was assaulted in 2018.
"When I first came to SASOD, I was welcomed with open arms and treated like family. They taught me that no matter who you are, you can be loved as equally as everyone else,” said Jasmin.
Jasmin first came to SASOD for their paralegal services after she was assaulted in 2018. She has now joined the staff as the organization's Office Attendant.
Photo by Ron B. Wilson
She later joined the SASOD team as the organization’s Office Attendant. She is now part of the support staff on an on-call basis, and also the beneficiary of several other services that the organization offers. “Now I am able to give that gift back to others by becoming part of the SASOD team."
There are roughly 100 members of the Guyana Transgender United (GTU) organization, which worked alongside SASOD to plan the Pride events in Georgetown. Many transgender people in Guyana are rejected or harassed and are overrepresented in the sex work community, which carries an additional stigma. They are among the most vulnerable people in the world. However slow, global movements, in addition to resources like SASOD and GTU, are opening up new opportunities.
Photo by Ron B. Wilson
Candacy “Gulliver” McEwan, also called Mrs. G., is the leader of the GTU and led the way for a landmark cross-dressing lawsuit. In 2017, Guyana's Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by the LGBTQ movement, lead by SASOD and trans litigants from GTU, seeking clarification on a ruling on cross-dressing, which had been in effect since 1893. This was a massive victory for their community and has laid the groundwork for other challenges to discriminatory laws in the country.
Photo by Ron B. Wilson
Fuelled by this win, and the recent attack in Georgetown, SASOD and Simpson are determined to keep pressing forward for their community. "Being the victim of a hate crime in Pride month reinforced for me why Pride is so important,” said Simpson.
“Pride is Protest. Pride is Political. None of us are safe until all of us are safe. Our visibility is resistance and revolutionary, and that's what Pride is all about."
To learn more about SASOD and donate to recent campaigns, visit their website.
