The Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) is a

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

organisation and movement working for

equality Equality may refer to: Society * Political equality, in which all members of a society are of equal standing ** Consociationalism, in which an ethnically, religiously, or linguistically divided state functions by cooperation of each group's elite ...

and

justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

for all Guyanese. SASOD is committed to eradicating

discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...

on the grounds of

sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...

gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...

gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the i ...

and

gender expression Gender expression, or gender presentation, is a person's behavior, mannerisms, interests, and appearance that are associated with gender, specifically with the categories of femininity or masculinity. This also includes gender roles. These cat ...

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

, and supporting similar working in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...

, the

Commonwealth A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...

Global South The concept of Global North and Global South (or North–South divide in a global context) is used to describe a grouping of countries along socio-economic and political characteristics. The Global South is a term often used to identify region ...

and worldwide.

History

In 2010 during its constitutional reform process, Guyana's Parliament voted to outlaw discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. The President of Guyana,

Bharrat Jagdeo Bharrat Jagdeo (born 23 January 1964) is a Guyanese politician who has been serving as Vice President of Guyana since 2020, in the administration of President Irfaan Ali. He had previously also held the office from 1997 until 1999, during the pr ...

of the People's Progressive Party, refused to sign the amendment bill.From Madness to Mainstream: Gay Rights in Guyana Part 1"
''Stabroek News''. 24 June 2013. Retrieved 30 August 2013. In July 2013, again the amendment to the constitution protecting persons against discrimination on the grounds sexual orientation returned to Parliament and SASOD (initially Students Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination) was formed on June 7 in order to advocate for its adoption.

Advocacy and activities

Following the rejection of the anti-discrimination amendment in 2022 on procedural grounds, SASOD broadened its advocacy of LGBT rights by starting an annual film festival dedicated to films highlighting homosexual and bisexual relationships. Currently this is the only such film festival in the English speaking Caribbean. Beginning in 2010, SASOD contributed to Guyana's

Universal Periodic Review The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a mechanism of the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council (HRC) that emerged from the 2005 UN reform process.resolution 60/251of 3 April 2006, the UPR periodically examines the human rights performance of all ...

(UPR) by the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

(UN)

Human Rights Council The United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), CDH is a United Nations body whose mission is to promote and protect human rights around the world. The Council has 47 members elected for staggered three-year terms on a regional group basis. ...

(HRC). SASOD called for the elimination of laws that discriminate again same-sex relationships between consenting adults, as well as improving access to health care for LGBT persons. Also in early 2010, SASOD along with four other plaintiffs, filed a lawsuit in the High Court of Guyana challenging the constitutionality of an anti-cross-dressing law. Having been fined in February 2013 the plaintiffs along with SASOD, filed for redress and for the invalidation of Summary Jurisdiction (Offences) Act Chapter 8:02, Section 153(1)(xlvii), which criminalizes men wearing female attire."Historic constitutional motion filed against cross-dressing law"
''Stabroek News''. 23 February 2010. Retrieved 30 August 2013. In July 2012, SASOD along with partner organizations, submitted a shadow report to Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) summarizing the discrimination and harassment experienced by lesbian bisexual, and transgender women in Guyana. Later in January 2013, SASOD submitted a shadow report to the

United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is a body of experts that monitor and report on the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Committee also monitors the Convention's three optional protoco ...

(CRC), highlighting the need for comprehensive sex and sexuality education in schools, access to sexual health information, and the end of discrimination and abuse based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Criticisms

Opposition to SASOD's activities and positions has frequently originated in the Guyananese religious community. The Inter-Religious Organisation of Guyana has opposed the SASOD's annual film festival, "Painting the Spectrum," on the grounds that it promotes homosexual behavior among youth. Other portions of the Guyanese religious community oppose SASOD's efforts to decriminalize homosexual and transgender behavior. SASOD has also encountered considerable criticism from its attempt via a suit in the Supreme Court of Guyana to invalidate the portion of the legal code which prohibits cross-dressing, Summary Jurisdiction (Offences) Act Chapter 8:02, Section 153(1)(xlvii).
"The SASOD position should be rejected out of hand by the Government of Guyana"] ''Stabroek News''. 17 December 2010. Retrieved 2 September 2013. Although their funding was cut in early 2016.

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links

sasod.org.gy
Organisations based in Guyana LGBT rights in Guyana 2003 establishments in Guyana Organizations established in 2003

History

Advocacy and activities

Criticisms

See also

References

External links