THE Guyana Sex Workers Coalition has repeated its earlier calls for amendments to and/or abolishment of the present Buggery Act, which it feels discriminates against gays, lesbians and transgender persons in the Guyanese society.

Founder/member of the coalition, Miriam Edwards, told this publication on Monday that because of the laws, which provide no protection for transgenders and gays, there will continue to be many other cases wherein members of the gay community are slaughtered, with the persons responsible for their deaths not feeling the full force of the law.
Speaking with this publication during a visit to the home of the late male teen commercial sex worker, Edwards said that what her organisation has been able to determine over the years is that more and more advantage is being taken against male commercial sex workers by members of the public. She said that persons of the gay community, be they lesbians or transgenders, should be allowed to live in this society as normal human beings, and enjoy rights like every other citizen, since, according to her, at the end of the day, those persons remain living beings.
On Monday, gay rights advocate groups Friends Across Differences (FADS) and Sex Workers Coalition (SWC) collaborated in securing financial assistance for the relatives of the late 19-year-old Wesley Holder, whose body was discovered in an empty lot on Friday last with marks of violence.
Holder had been a registered member of the Sex Workers Coalition, and, according to Edwards, his death comes as a real shock to its other members.
Monday’s visit by the group was the second since the death of the teen.
Edwards said that the coalition has been comforting the relatives of the teen, who are still finding it hard to come to grips with his death.
This publication was informed that family members would like to bury his body today, but are still in the process of attempting to secure financial support to offset that
unbudgeted expense.
The assistance on Monday was also made possible with cooperation from the UN Aids, the group representative said.
The assistance comes at a time when persons are accusing many of saying that more needs to be done at the level of the interest groups for persons who are gays, lesbians and transgenders.
Contacted via Facebook, SASOD head Joel Simpson told the Chronicle that former Minister of Human Services and Social Security, and now Education Minister, Ms Priya Manickchand, has committed to assisting the family at this time of bewilderment.
When contacted, Human Services and Social Security Minister Ms Jennifer Webster said relatives of the late Holder had approached the ministry for assistance with the funeral arrangements. However, while pointing out that there are limited funds available at the ministry until the budget is passed, probably next month, the ministry was still able to provide the family with some amount of assistance.
Speaking from Geneva, Switzerland, where she is attending the Rights of the Child review, Minister Webster told the Chronicle that the manner in which Holder had met his demise is truly unfortunate. She called on the police to diligently investigate the death, and bring the perpetrator(s) to justice, even as she reminded that the choice of income-earner that the young man and so many other persons have taken is a risky one.
Minister Webster said that on January 25, the special select committee would be meeting to deal with LBTS issues, and at that meeting, the most recent death of a member of the gay community is expected to come up for discussion. The meeting would be the first since the committee was formed.
Meanwhile, a post-mortem examination was conducted on the body of Wesley Holder, on Monday, at the Georgetown Public Hospital morgue. His cause of death was said to be  multiple stab wounds and shock and haemorrhage caused by the stab wounds.
Efforts by this newspaper to ascertain the number of stab wounds Holder had sustained were unsuccessful.