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In 2006, Time named Jamaica the most homophobic country on earth. Whether that report was accurate or not, violence against LGBT people in Jamaica today is rampant. Police, schools, and hospitals discriminate against LGBT people in Jamaica. But attitudes are shifting and a heated public debate about LGBT rights is taking place within the government, in churches, and in both blogs and the mainstream media. The debate is spurred, in part, by the brutal murder last year of a transgender youth, Dwayne Jones. A mob chased the 16-year-old, who was wearing women’s clothing at a party, into a crowded street, where people stabbed him, shot him three times, and deliberately ran over him with a car. Rhon Reynolds, the researcher, talks with Amy Braunschweiger about the new Human Rights Watch report, Not Safe at Home, and what Jamaica should do to protect LGBT people.

Interview: Life for LGBT People in Jamaica