A transgender woman who was barred from being heard before a City Magistrate was able to do so on Tuesday in the Georgetown’s Magistrates’ Court, Number 06.
The transgender woman, who goes by the name “Petronella” was reportedly physically assaulted by a known acquaintance on January 26, 2017.
A Police report was made at the Brickdam Police station and the case was scheduled to be heard in Court 6 on January 31, 2017 before presiding Magistrate Dylon Bess.
However, when the transgender woman attended court in female attire, the Magistrate refused to address the matter.
Magistrate Bess was quoted as saying “I am only aware of two types of genders; that is male and female. I don’t know about any transgender”
The Magistrate admonished the transgender woman instructing that she must attend the next court session dressed in pants, a shirt and without any earrings and failure to comply could have seen the transgender woman being dealt with .
On Tuesday, Petronella returned to the Court dressed casually and without the women attire.
The Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD) is one of the representative bodies on the transgender woman’s side. Managing Director at SASOD, Joel Simpson, when asked why, the woman was not dressed in female attire, said “there was some amount of fear, on her part, but appeared in a unisex state”.
He added that “Petronella” will return to Court on February 27 and that is where the matter will be heard substantively and where “Petronella” intends to be fully decked out in female attire.
However, other persons who crossed dressed and were not allowed in the courts in the past were able to do so today.
Guyana Trans United (GTU) and SASOD have written to the Chancellor of the Judiciary, complaining of the repeated acts of Magistrates Bess calling discriminatory and unacceptable to deny access to the courts because of one’s gender identify and expression.
Magistrate Bess was picketed in the past on more than one occasion for his stance on cross-dressing in his courtroom.
In what was described as a landmark case, SASOD and four other applicants in the names of Quincy McEwan, Seon Clarke, Joseph Fraser and Seyon Persaud challenged Guyana’s 19th century cross dressing law.
The case was initiated in 2009 following the convictions of seven persons for violating an 1893 law which makes it criminal for men to wear female attire and for women to wear male attire in any public way or public space, for any improper purpose.
The case ended with then acting Chief Justice Ian Chang, giving way for both men and women to freely cross-dress in public as long as the reason for doing so is not improper.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login