BRIDGETOWN, BARBADOS, MAY 21, 2024 – Bridging age gaps within the LGBTQ+ community is important for sustaining the human rights gains made in reducing stigma and discrimination in social spaces, policy, and legislation.

This was a key point emerging from a hybrid panel discussion on intergenerational allyship held on Saturday, May 18, aimed at strengthening bonds within the LGBTQ+ community by exploring the differences in the stigma and discrimination faced by various age groups, as well as tapping into those experiences to discuss how the community can address contemporary issues.

Organized by EQUALS Barbados, with support from the Being LGBTI in the Caribbean (BLIC) project of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the event was held at UN House, Hastings, Barbados, one day after the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT) observance on May 17 under the theme, “No one left behind: Equality, freedom and justice for all”.

“As we commemorate IDAHOBIT, we hosted this event to discuss the challenges and the hardships, the trials, and tribulations that we've overcome over the many years as the LGBTQ+ community and the resilience that we continue to show. Together, as a community going forward in solidarity, we will continue to overcome these hurdles as we strive toward equality and equity. We also have shown intergenerational resilience, and through knowledge-sharing, resource-sharing and the connections that we can make between generations, we can continue to develop best practice solutions and assist the [LGBTQ+] community in facing some of the stigma and discrimination that is systemic throughout Barbados,” said Rondell Trim, Executive Director, EQUALS Barbados.

In welcoming attendees to UN House, Juana Sotomayor, Human Rights Advisor to the United Nations Resident Coordinator's Office, Barbados and Eastern Caribbean, underscored that advocating for human rights focuses on multiple causes. “We are fighting for a specific community, but we are also doing this for everyone. [There is] the need to connect LGBTI issues, stigma and violence included, with the situations faced by persons with disabilities, by older persons, by other persons outside the community, by people of different ethnic origins, by migrants in this region… It is important to engage and find the intersectional dimensions of our causes.”

Karin Santi, Regional Team Leader – HIV, Health and Development, noted the importance of intergenerational allyship in fostering understanding, solidarity and resilience within the LGBTI community.  “In a world where the struggles of LGBTQI+ people have spanned generations, intergenerational allyship is crucial. It bridges the gap between those who continue to carry the torch forward by learning from the wisdom of the past, embracing the energy of the present, and envisioning the possibilities for the future,” she said, adding, “At UNDP, we commit again to work closely with you to ensure that LGBTQI+ people in Barbados, the Caribbean and globally can enjoy equality, freedom, and justice.”