Watch: Jamaican gays and trans people forced to live in storm drain

A group of gay and transgender people in Jamaica have been driven from their homes and are forced to live in old storm drain, according to Channel 4’s Unreported World.

The programme, which is set to air on Friday, follows Krissy, who has faced violent attacks for being openly gay and trans in Jamaican society.

Gay men can face up to 10 years in prison in Jamaica under a state buggery law, while lesbians and trans people also face assaults and persecution, following a dramatic upsurge in homophobic and transphobic attacks.

Krissy lives in a drain designed to carry flood water with a group of gay and transgender friends, in filthy, crowded conditions, and under constant threats of evictions by the local authorities.

85% of Jamaicans think that homosexuality is immoral, and in March this year a majority of parents told a Jamaican newspaper that they would disown or try to cure a gay child.

Wayne W, who has one daughter, wrote: “As long as she is happy, I wouldn’t kill her”, but “if I have a son who is gay that is different”.

Jamaica’s Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller had previously pledged to review the buggery law, but upon taking office declared it was “not a priority” for the country.

Last year, Jamaican’s Assistant Commissioner of Police said LGBT people are no more at risk of criminal abuse than any other group, despite the upsurge of homophobic hate crimes.

Unreported World: Jamaica’s Underground Gays airs this Friday, at 7:30pm on Channel 4.

• Nov 29 2023

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