–for engaging marginalised youth in year ahead

ON August 12, 2020, the world celebrated World Youth Day under the theme, “Youth Engagement for Global Action”, and to mark the occasion, several organisations and persons took to social media to recognise the power of all youth, including those often left behind with unmet needs.

Local human rights activists, Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD Guyana), in a release to mark the occasion, noted that this year’s theme highlights the importance of placing young people at the centre of social justice and advocacy, especially when the human rights and dignity of people are threatened and restricted.
For over 17 years, SASOD Guyana has been defending and promoting the rights of vulnerable groups here, including LGBTQ+ persons and marginalised youth who are subject to discrimination, violence, and persecution, for simply being who they are.
With the help of local and regional partners, SASOD Guyana fought tirelessly to bring an end to the archaic law against cross-dressing, which was struck down by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) almost two years ago. “We have trained hundreds of police officers on issues related to gender and sexuality, and how to interact with LGBTQ+ youth,” the organisation said in its release, adding: “Notably, SASOD Guyana continuously documents abuses, and offers pro-bono legal services to young women, girls, marginalised youth, and LGBTQ+ persons as they seek to pursue justice against violators of their human rights. But we all must do more for, with and by them.
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the situation of poverty, unemployment, and violence faced by youth further inhibits their potential to lead healthy and promising lives.”
On the subject of International Youth Day (IYD) 2020, SASOD Guyana is calling on the newly-elected PPP/C government to focus more on youth issues, and implement strategies that will target and promote youth development. “While the recently-installed PPP/C government has included some young people in its Cabinet, its sincerity to addressing issues affecting youth will be measured by its actions,” the organisation said.
In the circumstances, it is calling on the government of the day to implement the following top five actions for marginalized youth in its first year in office:

1: Repeal Sections 351 to 353 of the Criminal Law (Offences) Act, which criminalises same-sex intimacy between consenting, adult men in private.
2: Include sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression as prohibited grounds for discrimination in the Prevention of Discrimination Act (Section 4).
3: Introduce Comprehensive Sexuality Education in all schools in Guyana to provide young people with the tools they need to make more informed decisions to either delay their sexual debut, or prevent teenage pregnancy and sexually-transmitted infections, if they choose to be sexually active. Comprehensive sexuality education would also inform students about diverse sexualities and genders, and reduce targeted bullying of LGBTQ+ students in Guyana’s public schools.
4: Provide access to housing for LGBTQ+ people, especially children, who have been temporarily displaced or rendered homeless due to biased violence; and
5: Provide comprehensive and accessible entrepreneurial training programmes for vulnerable groups, especially LGBTQ+ youth, and make capital accessible to start up small businesses through grants and low-interest lending schemes.

SASOD Guyana asserts that the foregoing top five actions, coupled with supportive programmes, will “move the needle” for marginalised youth, and advance equality for all young people.

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