A Jamaican police officer says he's living in fear after coming out as a gay man and hopes to come to Canada where he can safely speak up on behalf of other gay Jamaicans.
Michael Hayden, who has been on the police force for four years, said other officers routinely attacked and abused him after becoming suspicious of his sexual orientation.
But after speaking out publicly about the problem in The Jamaica Star newspaper this month, the 24-year-old Hayden said he began receiving death threats. "The situation for gays and lesbians in Jamaica is getting worse," Henry said in a telephone interview in Toronto, where he's now living. Henry said he feels for Hayden. "He's unsafe. They're hunting him daily. It's one of those very sad cases. For him coming out, he didn't want to be another person who died before he got to tell his story." Hayden is now on a leave of absence from his job and is in hiding while his allegations against his fellow officers are being investigated. Violence against men who have sex with men, ranging from verbal harassment to beatings, armed attacks, and murder, is pervasive in Jamaica, according to Schleifer's report for Human Rights Watch.
Michael Hayden, who has been on the police force for four years, said other officers routinely attacked and abused him after becoming suspicious of his sexual orientation.
But after speaking out publicly about the problem in The Jamaica Star newspaper this month, the 24-year-old Hayden said he began receiving death threats. "The situation for gays and lesbians in Jamaica is getting worse," Henry said in a telephone interview in Toronto, where he's now living. Henry said he feels for Hayden. "He's unsafe. They're hunting him daily. It's one of those very sad cases. For him coming out, he didn't want to be another person who died before he got to tell his story." Hayden is now on a leave of absence from his job and is in hiding while his allegations against his fellow officers are being investigated. Violence against men who have sex with men, ranging from verbal harassment to beatings, armed attacks, and murder, is pervasive in Jamaica, according to Schleifer's report for Human Rights Watch.
This is a very serious news article, i personally do not care that people are atrracted to other men(as long as there not attracted to me). But for this Jamaican Officer to come out and say that he is gay and then to recieve death threats and always has to keep a head on a swiffle is very serious. Its just plain disrespectful, last year an Officer beat Officer Hayden in a drugstore in Kingston, Jamaica, but the police force denied this. I just think that if someone is gay, you should just leave him be, people are born that way and they cannot help it.
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