Petronella

citizen who was refused justice for no justifiable reason.

While all this was going on and being fully publicized in the press, it does not appear that any official senior to the Magistrate made any effort to correct him. Of course, I could be mistaken because if this was done it would not have happened in the glare of publicity. And Magistrate Bess could have properly declined to accept such advice.

While no one actually knows the numbers, there must a large number of transgenders in Guyana. What is worse is that most of them, including children and teenagers, have to suffer in silence because they are objects of derision or scorn. Those who pay attention know that the torment and suffering are great and lead in many cases to suicide or attempted suicide.

The authorities pay little attention to these profound social issues. They attract little or no sympathy from officialdom, even in its spare time. These issues attract few people at demonstrations. Consequently, ancient laws remain on the statute books, perpetuating an atmosphere of hostility and mockery to the LGBTQ community whose rights remain unaddressed. Like Petronella, they continue to be assaulted, discriminated against, victimized, derided and scorned for harming no one and doing nothing wrong. It is time that the authorities pay attention.