Men in Dresses appear before Sando Magistrate

[iKate]

Men in dresses appear before Sando magistrate

Sascha Wilson
Published:
Saturday, May 2, 2015
San Fernando, TRINIDAD

More at: http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2015-05-01/men-dresses-appear-sando-magistrate


"Two male cross-dressers created quite a commotion in the San Fernando Magistrates Court, yesterday, when they appeared dressed like women on charges of loitering.

Nicholas Paul, who said he preferred to be called Nikki when he was dressed in female attire, and Keron Lewis, were both the objects of stares and laughter when they were escorted in handcuffs to the court.

Police officers were also seen taking photos of the men with their cellphones. Paul, 32, of San Fernando, and Lewis, 25, a hairdresser of Aripero and La Brea, were kept separate from the other prisoners as a safety precaution."



Modified by Wynternight to meet forum requirements

[iKate]

The most shocking thing about this is that the judge asked for their preferred pronouns! Wow, there is hope after all...

But when you realize that the charge of "loitering" is probably just to shame them for CDing, and the appalling attitude of the police, it doesn't seem so good after all.

[Lady Smith]

We have a Transwoman police officer here in New Zealand who transitioned while on the job.  I agree that it's good that the judge asked how they wished to be addressed though.

*mod edit- ToS 10/No bashing is permitted.

[StrykerXIII]

Cops are not all bad. One of my best friends is a former cop, retired due to injury from an encounter with a deranged meth user. And in my last job, I dealt with cops on a weekly basis. Lot of good ones out there...the media just never tells you about them.

*mod edit for content

[iKate]

Cops are not all bad. One of my best friends is a former cop, retired due to injury from an encounter with a deranged meth user. And in my last job, I dealt with cops on a weekly basis. Lot of good ones out there...the media just never tells you about them.

*mod edit for content

I am a former cop. No, we are not all bad. There are rotten eggs, without a doubt though. But I have seen many good things happen, and really people think we just go around locking up and shooting people... not really, I have stopped many times and put on my emergency lights to keep people safe when changing a tire, or I've helped people out of bad domestic situations, even helping kids find their parents etc. I tell my kids to ask police officers for help if they are lost or need help.

This story, however, highlights some of the attitudes still prevailing in the Caribbean with regards to sexual orientation and gender identity. The Caribbean in general is behind places like the US, Australia and Europe when it comes to respect and accommodation for LGBT. There are still laws on the books making homosexual acts a criminal offense, for example, with the penalty being 25 years in prison. These are old laws that the religious establishment fights to keep on the books. The police also tend to do as they wish with regard to LGBT people they have in custody. However, some have been fighting back, such as Jowelle DeSouza who sued the police and won when she was arrested and strip searched by a male officer after pushing the paparazzi who was trying to get a picture of her.

However the court of public opinion has been much more accepting of LGBT recently, even with the loud cries of the religious establishment.