DESMOND Lyken died yesterday afternoon at the Georgetown Public Hospital, where he had been admitted for treatment for poison ingestion. He had been a cross-dresser and member of the LGBT community.

The Guyana Chronicle was informed that Lyken, who previously lived at Leopold Street, Werk-en-Rust, Georgetown, had shared a relationship with a man who, according to friends, had been very abusive to him. Those friends said that while the man had been with Lyken, he had also shared a relationship with a female, and that had caused some tension in the relationship.

This publication was told that the man had constantly abused Lyken, and this abuse escalated when he broke Lyken’s hand in four places during an argument. Sources close to the couple said that Lyken began receiving calls and text messages from a female with whom the man was involved, and that angered the man who had been Lyken’s lover. He, however, turned his wrath on Lyken, and abused him even more for responding to text messages and calls which the young lady was placing to his mobile phone, and which friends said were very provocative.

Desmond Lyken reportedly ingested five carbon tablets last week. This is a poison used to kill rats. The young man was then rushed to the hospital, and was receiving treatment when he succumbed. Persons within the health sector confirmed that Lyken had also recently received medical attention for broken bones.

It is felt among the LGBT community that the death of Lyken brings to the fore the discomfiture of this community and its support groups; the abuse that members of the gay community are subjected to both in and out of relationships, and in all forms, including verbal, physical and otherwise.
The LGBT community has, in the past, protested the lack of police action whenever they make reports about people who have been taking advantage of them, while they have lamented the need for health personnel to be more professional in dealing with them whenever they go to them for treatment.

This group is of the view that both the law and medical system are failing the LBGT members. In the past, they spoke of receiving little or no justice, even if a matter goes to court; while the medical system was accused of having health workers who breached their confidentiality by discussing their medical conditions with other persons.