Stigma and discrimination seen as key hindrances to curbing intimate partner violence in LGBT community

Panel and Moderator (l-r) Vanda Radzik, Commissioner on the Women and Gender Equality Commission (WGEC); Attorney-at-Law Ayana McCalman; Joel Simpson, SASOD’s Managing Director and SASOD’s Social Change Coordinator, Chelauna Providence. (Photo by Theresa Campbell, APC)

Panelists at a ‘Lunch Talk’ hosted by the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) and the USAID – Advancing Partners and Communities (APC) Guyana Project noted that stigma and discrimination are among the obstacles lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people face when accessing services for intimate partner violence (IPV).

According to a release from SASOD, Assistant Secretary on the Board of Directors of the Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association (GRPA) Attorney-at-Law Ayana McCalman informed attendees that the real challenge for LGBT persons when accessing legal, social or health services, is stigma. “There is the stigma of saying that your partner abuses you and then there is also the stigma of being LGBT in Guyana,” she said. “Stigma hinders access to services, protection from violence and other forms of discrimination,” the release quoted her as saying.

The release said McCalman, one of three panelists, noted that there are two key pieces of legislation that deal with issues related to IPV in Guyana: