Submission to National Dialogue on HIV and the Law - Guyana

The National AIDS Programme Secretariat invited submissions for the National Dialogue on HIV and the Law. 

I made this submission for consideration by the Steering Committee.
Please feel free to share and use as you see fit.

Aim: describe the reason for the application (report a complaint , describe a good practice, (maximum 100 words) )

The aim of this submission is to share a good practice from a project implemented by the municipalities of Linden and New Amsterdam in 2014. This project was referred to the UNDP/HIV Cities project. One of the components was raising awareness in stakeholders about the human rights of sex workers , lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons and MSM .

The Themes could be Sexual orientation and Gender Identity, Sex Work, Stigma and Discrimination and Access to HIV services. There could be other themes.

Description of the facts: (maximum 500 words)

(All of the views expressed in this submission are mine. None of the views can deemed to be those of UNDP, the municipality of New Amsterdam or the municipality of Linden. This submission is made of my own free will. I have not been bound by any agreement with any agency to make this submission. )

In 2014, New Amsterdam and Linden with support from UNDP worked on the Urban Health & Justice Initiative (HIV CITIES Project) to support the Government of Guyana in its reduction of HIV amongst key populations. A key component of this project was the reduction of stigma and discrimination against sex workers, LGBT and MSM.

The municipalities agreed as part of the project to invite stakeholders to participate in training workshops and other activities which would raise awareness of human rights and appreciate the meaning of equality.

Between February and November 2014, approximately 270 persons from health sector, NGO, police and security (including security services), social services, local government, other private sector entities accessed the workshops which had the aim to increase the participants understanding of human rights.

I was the facilitator/trainer of the workshops. The project co-ordinators were Ms Paulette Henry for New Amsterdam, and Dr Latoya Harris for Linden.

The workshops were designed so that by the end, persons would be able to :-

• understand their human rights
• understand how discrimination against LGBT persons and commercial sex workers fuel the HIV/AIDs epidemic
• understand their role as duty bearers and identify ways in their community to promote equality

Other specific objectives were added depending on the duties of the participants . The workshops gave prominence to the experiences of sex workers, LGBT citizens and MSM in the municipalities guided reflection on the discrimination. The discussions were used as stimulus for the changes in attitudes and behaviours of the duty bearers.

The methodology was interactive and encourage reflection, dialogue, collaboration and resolution of any conflicts.

Some of the participants in the initial sessions were involved as community advocates to reduce stigma and discrimination in other sessions.

The workshops addressed the ways in which the laws and policies reinforced discrimination against the key populations.

The participants were able to reflect on how non-discriminatory attitudes could mitigate the effects of the discriminatory laws as focus was placed on the humanity of the people who were accessing services.

Actions taken or consequences of those events: (maximum 500 words)

The participants of the workshops were generally appreciative of the leadership of the municipalities in bringing people together to talk about human rights. There was one person, a nurse, who said that her religion would prevail in terms of how she would treat the issues of key populations. However, her colleagues were confident that there would be enough persons to deal with any discrimination.

Many of the participants said that they were able to understand human rights and equality and apply the 'do unto others as you would have them unto you' in the context of key populations.

They generally understood how the existence of discriminatory laws was not permission to exclude any person from access to services and livelihoods.

The organising at the level of municipality meant that many persons were familiar to each other. Their co-existence in the more local community (than say the whole Country) meant that there was an opportunity to build a common humanity in which there were challenges to stereotypes.

In many cases, there was need to facilitate dialogue to reduce tension between people who had strong views about rightness and wrongness about human sexuality. The police presented themselves to deal with criticisms and to also encourage persons who are affected by discrimination to make complaints and access senior officers.

The Municipalities of Linden and New Amsterdam agreed to a Municipal Declaration , which included the commitment to :-

• Work with all local and national stakeholders to strengthen partnerships on HIV and AIDS
• Support and Promote 24 hours access to HIV Counselling and Testing
• Renounce stigma and discrimination against persons infected or affected by HIV/AIDS at all levels – schools, workplace and community
• Respect the dignity and worth of every person, without distinction on the basis of race, colour, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, language, religion, property, birth or other status
• Renounce homophobia and support the rights and dignity of all persons regardless of their gender, sexuality or employment to care, treatment and support as human rights
• Encourage the participation of all stakeholders within the municipality in the decision making process.

(Reference

http://www.stabroeknews.com/2014/news/stories/04/30/linden-na-sign-declarations-zero-new-hiv-infections-2/ )

Suggestions or recommendations: (maximum 400 words)

There is activism to challenge the legal framework which nurtures discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity.

In the meanwhile, it is critical to pursue the education and awareness to change the attitudes which lead to discriminatory practices.

The leadership shown by the Linden and New Amsterdam town councils in this project should be held as an example of how other municipalities and local government bodies could deal with stigma and discrimination against key populations affected by HIV/AIDS and doing so in a legal environment which does not encourage the reduction of stigma and discrimination.

Some of the councillors would have been re-elected in the 2016 Local Government elections.

It is recommended that :-

• the lessons learned from the projects in New Amsterdam and Linden and the UNDP HIV Cities project be shared with other municipalities outside of Region 4. The lessons include the methodology and content of activities, the involvement of a wide range of stakeholders and the strong leadership to reduce discrimination.
• engagements are held with the new councillors in municipalities and Neighbourhood Democratic Councils to discuss issues related to human rights , and reducing stigma and discrimination.

I would be happy to freely share the materials and the methodologies if there is any interest in propagating the awareness.