Diplomat saddened that LGBT members want to leave SVG

Canadian High Commissioner to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, Lillian Chaterjee, has described as disheartening, that LGBT members in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) want to leave the country and said the issue will be raised in meetings with those on both sides of the political spectrum.

During her visit to the country to attend a regional climate change meeting, The High Commissioner, in an interview with SEARCHLIGHT, spoke about the findings of the July 2023 Human Rights Watch report on SVG entitled ‘They Can Harass Us Because of the Laws’.

In the report, 21 LGBT members, which included gays, lesbians and transgender woman, admitted to wanting to leave SVG “due, in part, to the homophobic or transphobic violence and discrimination”.

The High Commissioner said, “I raised this issue with every country I’m accredited to … I’m not naive, I am aware that there is opposition based on religious views in all of these countries as there is in my country. I’m not condemning those views. But… I find it sad that there are people LGBTQI who feel that they need to leave their country because they’re not accepted.”

She noted the opposition that has, and will continue to come, to foreign entities speaking on social issues in the country.

“We have to walk this fine line because we can get a lot of backlash, oh, who are a foreign country coming here imposing your values on us, but we’re not imposing our values, are speaking up for universal values that even St Vincent and the Grenadines endorses. “

In addition to advocating for inclusion and acceptance of persons in the LGBT community, the High Commissioner said there are also plans to raise the issue of the need for increased government support for facilities to house women who are escaping domestic violence.

“I will be advocating to the government on behalf of women in St Vincent and Grenadines and this is something that the time has come for. We have supported a woman shelter in St Lucia and other countries in the Caribbean … when you’ve got a dedicated organisation like Red Roots SVG, who I think could be properly resourced to manage a shelter like that, I hope the government will agree to support it. Because it does need government support, not just donor support too.”

Red Roots SVG recently received funding to the tune of CAD $18,000 to implement a self-defense programme for women which started in early August. While High Commissioner Chaterjee praised the work being done locally to stamp out violence against vulnerable members of society, she said she believed that training and sensitization of police officers could help to effect change.