 February
26, 2008: A 24-year-old, four year veteran of the
Jamaican police force is seeking asylum in Canada after
going public about his homosexuality. Speaking to the
Toronto Star, Constable Michael Hayden said that since going
public a month ago, he has been attacked by fellow officers
and is in hiding for fear of losing his life. Prior to going
public, Hayden said that he was routinely attacked and
abused by officers suspicious of his sexual orientation. He
is now on a leave of absence from his job and is in hiding
while his allegations against his fellow officers are being
investigated.
Hayden declared himself openly as bisexual in a report he
gave to the Jamaica Star that was published on February 1.
His colleagues had started accusing him of being homosexual
after an incident where he was almost beaten by a
group of men in May Pen, Clarendon. He had gone to the area
to visit a male friend and had to call his colleagues to
rescue him from the pending assault.
Gareth Henry, a 30-year-old Jamaican homosexual activist
fled to Canada last month under similar concerns. Henry has
claimed to have lost 13 homosexual friends to violence in
Jamaica since 2004. |
