Caribbean: Homosexuality Must Be Legal to Beat Caribbean AIDS -- Activists

The Caribbean, whose HIV/AIDS epidemic is second only to that in sub-Saharan Africa, must decriminalize sex between men to thwart the spread of the virus, experts said Thursday at the 17th International AIDS Conference in Mexico City. Psychologists from Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago said research shows that half the men in the region have had multiple sexual contacts with other men, while 80 to 90 percent have had same-sex relations at least once. Many are also married with children. "It will not be possible to have effective HIV/AIDS prevention in the Caribbean if we don't decriminalize [sexual] relations between men," said Michael Kleinmoedig, a West Indian journalist and activist. "Human rights are limited for those who have relations with men. They are not recognized as a valid group by law, and many countries silence them and deny them their rights."

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