Human rights activism might be the more politically correct term to describe Joel Simpson’s fight against injustices across society and in his heart that is what he does, but to be called a gay rights activist helps him to shine a light on one of the most marginalized and at times even self-loathed group in our country.
There are groups for women, groups representing the rights of children, groups representing those who are infected with HIV and AIDS among others and they are all marginalised groups, who face violence, stigma and discrimination. But within those very groups are those who are a part of the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) community who are even more ostracized simply because of their sexuality.
They are even scorned and condemned by the one community whose principle is to love everyone regardless of who they are. Yes, the religious community, for the most part, is against persons whose sexuality does not conform to what society sees as ‘normal.’ And so, many of them fearful of dire repercussions—after all even the laws of the country do not protect them—punish themselves simply to keep surviving.
Therefore, when a young, bright, articulate man chooses to plaster his face all over the news and be a public voice for the gay community he is one who is noticed. Joel Simpson is a gay man. He is a man who commands respect. When he walks into a room and opens his mouth to speak you stop what you are doing and you listen. But he is also a man who can be emotionally and psychologically burdened on any given day because the fight for the rights of LGBT community is not one he will win very soon. He is not a one man army, there is more than a battalion behind and around him but the sad truth is that many of them prefer to be the silent faceless soldiers who support from the sidelines, but without whose help Simpson’s fight would be futile.
From its 2003 inception, Simpson has been one of the public faces of the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) and continues to be so. Initially the organization was named Students Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination as most of the founding members were University of Guyana law students at the time and its aim was to advocate for sexual orientation rights to become part of the Constitution.
An Indian lecturer Kabir Sanjay Bavikatte was instrumental in the group being formed and another human rights advocate Vidyaratha Kissoon, who was not at a student at the time, was also a founding member and played a significant role in shaping it. Kissoon is no longer associated with SASOD.
At the time the group wanted to present a “more enlightened” position as against those that were at the forefront proffered mainly by the religious community.
“We said we are going to form this student lobby group. We are going to lobby for the passage of this amendment…get it passed and just go back to school in September… Of course there is no other way but success when you are young,” Simpson said in a recent conversation with the Sunday Stabroek.
They quickly woke up and smelled the coffee when their first forum, planned intentionally for the 65 then members of the National Assembly, saw only four attendees (all from the opposition).
On July 24, 2003, the parliamentarians in the National Assembly played an epic football match (none of them wanted to score goals) with this all-important amendment which never saw the light of day. Many bandied around the word ‘conscience’ as opposed to their religious convictions.
“It was the biggest anti-climax,” Simpson said. He along with other members of the then SASOD attended that sitting where the then government made it clear that it was presenting a bill that it did not necessarily support.
‘Back lash’
None of those involved at the time took into consideration what Simpson describes as the “back lash” as some later told of the unease expressed by their parents and others to them speaking out publicly on the issue.
Soon, Simpson became a one man army as while others supported from behind the scenes no one wanted to be the face.
“I felt like I had to… My only challenge at Queen’s College was related to sexual orientation,” he revealed.
He knew he was gay from an early age in secondary school but society told him it was not acceptable.
Simpson has never really had ‘the conversation’ with his parents, both of whom he grew up with until he was 18 when they separated.
“So I say it is bull crap when people talk about how homosexuality [is as a result] of not having both parents at home and missing a father a figure… I have always have a very good relationship with both of my parents and I still do even though they are divorced,” Simpson said.
He recalled that the only real concern his mother had one time was for his sister, who was still at secondary school at the time, and the impact his public advocacy would have on her. “My response was ‘well if her friends asking her things they just need to come and ask me, it is a simple as that she just needs to direct everyone to me I am willing to answer anybody’s question’…and that ended that debate,” he said in a matter of fact tone.
It became a challenge that the organisation did not have too many persons who wanted to publicly speak on its behalf and the personal narratives were also missing as to how discrimination and victimization was really affected the lives of persons. This forced the organization to use the third person narrative and not identifying as being part of the affected community. The organisation’s real impact came through its once a month meetings for LGBT people which transformed into group therapy.
Internalized homophobia is also a big problem as people in the LGBT community have been taught by society not to accept themselves. This creates an uphill battle. Simpson said studies are showing that many people who are violently homophobic are most likely struggling with their own sexual orientation issues.
And while he has experienced this in Guyana, he was quick to state that he does not “believe in outing people… because I think outing people is using the same stigma that society has inflicted on us to punish people.” He has been attacked for his sexual orientation by persons (even those who are part of the religious community) whom he knows are part of the gay community. He described the “outing” strategy as being harmful and counterproductive.
Seasons of prayer
As the Managing Director of SASOD and being involved in the gay rights fight Simpson has come face to face time and time again with the horrendous existence of LGBT people. From the constant violence perpetrated against the transgender community, gay persons having to undergo ‘seasons of prayer’ to pray out the ‘gayness’ to young boy at a premier secondary school being handed a book titled How to Overcome My Homosexual Tendencies as the winning prize of an art competition.
His own days in secondary school were not easy. The internal conflicts were real, so much so that he actually called the number on a signboard that said ‘Don’t give up, try Jesus’. He spoke to a man who told him he had also overcome the ‘demon of homosexuality’ and it was fortuitous that he was now speaking to him. However, after a few weeks of the phone counselling, Simpson realised he was still attracted to men and he came to the logical conclusion that it would not change and that he was torturing himself.
“I decided that I would accept myself. I am not going to be out because this thing is not accepted…,” he recalled.
But he had a very unfortunate experience in secondary school whereby a same gender sexual encounter was made public and he was publicly castigated. “The code was you do this thing and you don’t tell anyone. But for him to go to school the next day and tell everyone and people were running up and down on the corridor and laughing and talking. It was a nightmare and I wanted to commit suicide…,” he recalled.
It was bad, but a threat by a friend to talk to his parents triggered a complete turnaround for him because he then channelled his energies into his studies and moved from an average student to one of the top performers in his class. This continued until he completed secondary school.
Another unfortunate experience from his public advocacy for the gay community came at UG after he was elected president of the student law society, which was mainly because of the votes he received from foreign students. After the election, there was an outcry that a gay activist was elected and some students went as far as to approach the faculty asking for a recall based on his gay activism.
“The faculty said that is absolute nonsense there is going be no such recall on such basis since you have no basis to say that Mr Simpson is going to use his position as president of the law society to further gay rights on the campus.” He admits that his year as president was a struggle. He also had to deal with a rumour that he was caught having sex in the office, which was the scandal of the day.
‘An epidemic within an epidemic’
Simpson is very concerned with the high level of suicide in the community, and he described it as an “epidemic within an epidemic” as while Guyana has a large incidence of suicide it is even greater in the gay community.
“I know that a significant number of those cases are LGBT people… We get confirmation but what are we going to do after the person is dead?” he queried.
The issue was brought forcefully home last year when one of the organisation’s own members, Zenita Nicholson took her own life. Nicholson, a civil society and human rights activist and the 2014 winner of the US Embassy Woman of Courage Award, was a major face of SASOD and she played an integral role in the organisation’s work.
It is still difficult for Simpson to speak about her and he is still to make the letter she wrote to him public, since that was her request. “But I want to write about it when I am really ready.”
There were several factors that would have pushed Nicholson over the edge including self-esteem issues, an abusive relationship and the absence of her two children.
“If there is one thing that I should say is that there is no shame in getting counselling. There is shame in reaching out and saying I need help. I have had counselling a couple of times in my life,” Simpson said revealing that one of those times was after a bad break-up of a long-term relationship.
He said persons in the community face so much violence that some of them begin to feel it would be better to be dead. There have been cases of transgender people being beaten and raped. They have been arrested for the way they dress and then put into cells with men by the police who then throw condoms at them and say things like “do wah you want with she.” They are also verbally attacked by police officers when passing stations such as the Brickdam Police Station with some of the officers, who live in, pelting them and when they attempt to make reports they are chased.
“Those were some of the most horrendous things… transgender go through some horrendous experiences with violence, with police abuse,” Simpson said and this sometimes made them live on the streets or turn to prostitution.
He recounted a story of a young boy whose father found out he was gay and though he did not live with him, the father would visit the home and “beat him with a two by four and the grandmother would say leave him alone, he is living with me but he continued; the child had to just run away.” Simpson said all of these experiences push persons to commit suicide.
Simpson holds a Master of Laws degree in Human Rights Law from the University of Nottingham which he read for after he was granted a Chevening Scholarship; he also has a Bachelor of Laws Degree from UG. Apart from his long years with SASOD he has had a stint at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on its Social Cohesion Project, the University of the West Indies as UNSECO’s human rights researcher at the HIV education unit and he also did a summer programme at the Venice School of Human Rights which looks at the state’s responsibility to human rights.
