The Tribune

By KHRISNA RUSSELL

Tribune Chief Reporter

krussell@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas Organisation of LGBTI Affairs wants to see an across-the-board anti-discrimination policy implemented in government agencies in 2023, according to its spokesperson Alexus D’Marco yesterday.

In an interview with The Tribune, Ms D’Marco said while 2022 proved successful in making inroads for the community, a non-discrimination policy was the next step in shoring up the rights of LGBTI people in The Bahamas.

“I think it’s across the board for all Bahamians,” she said recently. “For us to have an anti-discrimination policy within all government offices, within all the access to justice, access to education, access to healthcare. So, that’s one of my big goals for next year to start working on anti-discrimination policy.

“We do see that the labour movement has made some inroads as it relates to having a nondiscrimination policy for all persons within the labour force. So, that’s a good sign and we see that we’re moving from just beyond paper and we are moving to action in the country.”

Regarding the progress made this year, she said there was success in educating people in the community about their rights, including those relating to access to healthcare.

“The Bahamas Organisation of LGBTI Affairs has made some inroads within the community itself as it relates to sensitising and educating the community on their rights as Bahamian citizens, knowing the difference between stigma and discrimination and some of the other inroads we have made is connecting the dots within our community as it relates to access to healthcare.

“So, when you go into a hospital it is your right to be able to access healthcare. It’s not a privilege, it’s your right to be able to access those services. So, what we did is educate our community on their rights as Bahamian citizens.”

Ms D’Marco said there were instances where people in same-sex intimate relationships were afraid to report instances of abuse to authorities, for fear of victimisation, among other things. However, over the past year officials have worked to better the situation.

“Yes, what we found is a lot of persons were afraid to report types of violence if they were in an intimate relationship or intimate same-sex partnership. They would have been afraid to report that to the police based on the stigma and discrimination they would have received from the station.

“But we have now bridged that gap with officers as it relates to sensitising them to the vulnerable community known as the LGBTI community that when they report violence as a citizen it’s their right to also report without stigma and discrimination.

“Also as it relates to access to healthcare, if they were to get injured and they report that their partner did this to them and without the stigma and discrimination they now feel comfortable in going and getting treated for those types of injuries.”