J-Flag
Encyclopedia
J-Flag, the Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays, is the first LGBT rights organization
LGBT rights organization
LGBT rights organizations are civil rights, health, and community organizations created and existing to further the civil and human rights and health of sexual minorities and to improve the gay community....

 in Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...

, founded in 1998, and works for the human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...

 of lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...

s, all-sexuals, and gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....

s in Jamaica and the world. It is part of the Caribbean Forum of Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (C-FLAG).

LGBT civil rights organizations outside of the country highlighted anti-gay
Heterosexism
Heterosexism is a system of attitudes, bias, and discrimination in favor of opposite-sex sexuality and relationships. It can include the presumption that everyone is heterosexual or that opposite-sex attractions and relationships are the only norm and therefore superior...

 bigotry and violence in Jamaica before the founding of J-Flag, most publicly in the Stop Murder Music campaign calling for censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...

 of homophobic lyrics
Lyrics
Lyrics are a set of words that make up a song. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist or lyrist. The meaning of lyrics can either be explicit or implicit. Some lyrics are abstract, almost unintelligible, and, in such cases, their explication emphasizes form, articulation, meter, and symmetry of...

 in dancehall
Dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...

 music, and sexual minorities remain at risk of physical violence.
The group runs the Stop Murder Music campaign jointly with the Black Gay Men's Advisory Group
Black Gay Men's Advisory Group
The Black Gay Men's Advisory Group is an LGBT rights organization of African descended gay or bisexual men founded in 2003 in the United Kingdom...

 and OutRage!
OutRage!
OutRage! is a British LGBT rights group that was formed to fight for equal rights of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people in comparison to heterosexual people. It is a group which has at times been criticised for outing individuals who wanted to keep their homosexuality secret and for being...

.

In response J-Flag offers legal reform and advocacy, education, and social services and support. The group was unable to continue regular safe-space
Safe-space
In schools and education, safe-space, safer-space, or positive space is a term used to indicate that a teacher or educator does not tolerate anti-LGBT violence and harassment and is open and accepting, thereby creating a safe place for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and all students.An...

/fund-raiser/social events, lymes held monthly until August 2001, due to the inability to accommodate the growing number of attendees. They advocate inclusion of sexual orientation in the Jamaican constitution as well as on behalf of individuals seeking asylum in Canada and the U.K.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK