GEORGETOWN, Guyana, CMC – The Guyana Equality Forum (GEF) Friday called for hate crime laws to be instituted here as it warned that such crimes are genuine, a severe problem, and a reality for many days in Guyana.
Speaking at a news conference to launch its report on hate crimes in the country, GEF managing director, Joel Simpson, told reporters that in the absence of hate crime laws, the Forum found it challenging to garner statistical data on hate crimes that were committed based on one’s race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation. However, he said there is strong evidence to suggest that hate crime is a significant issue.
“We saw an upshoot during the study period of hate crimes relating to race and ethnicity. Chapter one gives the examples, ‘the Henry Boys,’ Haresh Singh [and] the retaliatory murders. So, we saw that in more prominent ways that you haven’t seen since we have gotten out of that Elections cycle,” Simpson said.
Henry Cousins and Singh were murdered in September 2020, and Simpson said evidence suggests that race-related hate crimes escalated towards the end of the 2020 controversial general and regional elections.
The three-part report was released three days after Guyana observed International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. The report provides a situational analysis of hate crime in Guyana, considering the causes of such crimes and how to hate crime legislation could help prevent them.
According to the report, hate crimes are motivated by discriminatory belief systems, such as racism, patriarchal sexism, homophobia, and transphobia. It said these ideologies regard certain groups as superior, contrasting with inferior, alienated, or minority groups.
Simpson said for the LGBTQ+ community and other marginalized groups in Guyana, including indigenous peoples, it is almost a daily occurrence.
“Where LGBTIQ issues are concerned, it is tough to tell because there tends to be so much underreporting that I am very cautious about saying that because we are getting more reports or because the media is highlighting it more, there is an increase.
“I think I hate crimes against LGBTIQ people, and [though] they don’t necessarily result in murder, there is the issue of harassment. For LGBTIQ people, that’s an everyday reality,” he said.
Attorney Rosemary Benjamin-Noble explained that while Article 149 of the Constitution protects the individual from discrimination on several grounds, including race, disability, sex, gender, and religion, it does not explicitly refer to sexual orientation or gender identity.
She also said that while there is no dedicated hate crime legislation in Guyana, some offenses akin to hate crime or hate speech can be found in several pieces of legislation.
“Guyana should repeal any discriminatory provisions from its legislation, particularly Sections 351 to 353 of the Criminal Law (Offences) Act. Any Hate crime legislation should also reflect a sufficiently broad range of protected characteristics to ensure protection for key targeted communities in Guyana.
“And given the limited resources of the police and prosecutors, a model hate crime legislation which is simple to understand, investigate and prosecute would be preferable to help ensure that it is utilized and effective in practice.”
Existing legislation includes the Persons with Disabilities Act, the Racial Hostility Act, the Representation of the People Act, and the Cyber Crime Act.
In a video-recorded explanation, Professor James Chalmers, who is the Chair of Law at the University of Glasgow, said researchers were able to interview over 20 national stakeholders, including civil society activists and politicians.
Researcher and doctoral candidate at the University of Kansas, Pere DeRoy, in compiling the situational analysis, said. At the same time, hate crime legislation employs a narrow definition that does not consider violence against women a crime. A wide range of crimes committed against women can be viewed as hate crimes.
The GEF said it hopes to receive support from other civil society groups and the government, and the opposition to bring Hate Crime Legislation into effect.
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