Tomlinson Receives Kato Award

December 12, 2011

On December 10th, 2011, Maurice Tomlinson of AIDS-Free World was awarded the David Kato Voice and Vision Award. Inspired by David Kato's work, the award recognizes the leadership of individuals who strive to uphold the numerous dimensions of sexual rights for LGBTI people. Sexual rights are an evolving set of entitlements related to sexuality that contribute to the freedom, equality and dignity of all people, and are an important aspect of human rights. The realization of these rights is also an integral element to a meaningful HIV response among these marginalized groups.

From the Nomination
Maurice has worked to unite the major LGBTI and HIV/AIDS groups in Jamaica to challenge homophobia, but he also has demonstrated leadership in forging new alliances. He has reached out to groups in Jamaica representing sex workers and youth, and he also has worked very hard to include the chief mainstream human rights organizations on the island.

In a country where homophobia is violent and relentless, Maurice has become a known face and voice in support of sexual minority rights. This is a dangerous project. Maurice has received at least one death threat and has been recognized and jeered at on the streets of Kingston and Montego Bay. He regularly appears on television and radio to promote homosexual rights. He writes letters to the editor to all the major Jamaica newspapers, and as a result, his name has become notorious. He recognizes that a movement, to be effective, cannot be faceless, and he is willing to risk his security to build that movement.

As a lawyer, it would have been easy for Maurice simply to bring a legal action challenging the Jamaican anti-sodomy law. Instead, he took a more thoughtful approach, recognizing that the groundwork had to be laid for a public dialogue about LGBTI rights before a legal judgment (if successfully obtained) could be implemented. He developed an integrated approach to advocacy, combining high-level persuasion (meeting with government and elected and UN officials), public education (starting the first-ever “Stands for Tolerance,” public actions in which citizens stand on busy street corners holding signs promoting human rights), media work, documentation of abuses, capacity-building for members of the LGBTI community to understand their rights, and litigation. This approach has been strategic and effective. Government officials have privately confessed to him that they realize the law must change if Jamaica is to keep pace globally. Church officials (a few) have confided that they understand LGBTI rights are human rights. Maurice is no longer the lone voice writing letters to the editor in support of LGBTI rights; other Jamaicans are doing it too. This is evidence of the impact of his work.

Maurice also has recognized the importance of linking Jamaica’s indigenous LGBTI movement to the struggles of others. He has served as a resource and inspiration to Caribbean activists who have sought Maurice’s counsel and help in developing similar integrated campaigns for their own countries. He has met with officials from other CARICOM countries about the need to eliminate homophobia and homophobic laws across the region. He also has endeavored to link his advocacy to movements outside the Caribbean, and has spoken at conferences in Africa, Europe, and North America. Finally, he has lobbied officials globally, particularly from other Commonwealth countries, to demand that LGBTI rights be protected, respected, and fulfilled.

About Maurice
Maurice Tomlinson has been involved in HIV and AIDS and LGBTI activism in Jamaica for over twelve years. He first realized the importance of work challenging LGBTI discrimination through his own lived experience, when he was a flight attendant for a major airline in Jamaica. His supervisor told him that he needed to act more “masculine,” as his voice and mannerisms were off-putting to customers. His personal experience of sexual orientation discrimination, combined with a raging AIDS pandemic, made Maurice realize the disease could affect anyone, but particularly those who were oppressed and driven underground because of their sexuality.

Maurice subsequently went to law school, where he realized that discrimination against sexual minorities is not a given, and can be challenged with the right tools. After he obtained his law license, he initially practiced in the corporate realm, focused on intellectual property issues. However, he found himself increasingly drawn to LGBTI activism. He began to volunteer at Jamaica’s premiere LGBTI advocacy organization, Jamaica Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays (J-FLAG), where he served on the board of directors. He also began to undertake pro bono work for Caribbean Vulnerable Communities (CVC), looking at a possible legal challenge to Jamaica’s anti-sodomy law. In March 2010, Maurice began working with AIDS-Free World as legal advisor on marginalized groups. He is also a lecturer-at-law at the University of Technology, Jamaica, where he has instituted a new class in international human rights law.