File photo A global glbti rights group is highlighting the fact that homosexuality is still illegal in 41 of the 53 Commonwealth states ahead of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Sri Lanka this week. The Kaleidoscope Trust has put together a report which it says shows the Commonwealth is letting down hundreds of thousands of its citizens whose lives are blighted by homophobia, criminalisation and discrimination. Testimonies from LGBTI people in almost every Commonwealth country contained in the Speaking Out report reveal widespread human rights abuses including attempted murder, beatings and harassment. "I have lost two teeth, had my family property invaded and car damaged by two masked men . . . I have had stones thrown at me, experienced simulated gun shots, insults and physical harm on public transportation," says Caleb Orozco, a gay man from Belize. "LGBTI people are generally considered as animals or devils...so they are in permanent danger. They can be injured, they can be killed, and they can be discriminated against. They can be rejected from healthcare and justice," adds Alice Nkom, a human rights lawyer from Cameroon. The report demands the Commonwealth take action on a wholesale abuse of human rights it has stubbornly ignored.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 11th November 2013 - 9:47am