Pressure mounts

The call comes as a growing number of islands in the conservative Caribbean region strike down similar but rarely invoked laws that often seek life sentences and hard labor Jamaica has resisted such a repeal, and is considered the Caribbean nation most hostile toward gay people

“Jamaica is really an outlier,” said Devon Matthews with Rainbow Railroad, a Canadian group that helps members of the LGBTQ community escape violence “The situation has gotten significantly worse in the last number of years ”

In February, Rainbow Railroad released a report along with Human Dignity Trust, a U K nonprofit legal organization, that found the LGBTQ community in Jamaica faces “horrific violence, discrimination and persecution and lack(s) the most basic protections under the law ”

Since 2019, Rainbow Railroad has seen an increase in calls for help from gay people in Jamaica, with 411 violent incidents reported last year, compared with 377 the previous year, Matthews said in a phone interview

“The data doesn’t even do justice to the degree of violence that we ’ re seeing,” she said “It’s truly horrifying ”

In February 2021, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights found that Jamaica’s government was violating a right to privacy, equal protection, humane treatment and freedom of movement involving two members of the island’s LGBTQ community who were forced to flee Jamaica

One defendant, Gareth Henry, is a gay man who was beaten several times by Jamaica police in front of angry crowds and now lives as a refugee in Canada along with his mother, sister and other relatives The other defendant, Simone Edwards, a lesbian woman, obtained asylum in the Netherlands after she was shot twice in anti-gay violence, according to Human Dignity Trust

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which is part of the fromA1

Organization of American States, recommended at the time that Jamaica repeal its socalled anti-buggery law This has not yet happened

“A lot of beautiful people lost in this violence could have been protected if the state had stepped up,” Matthews said Jamaica’s government has argued that it doesn’t enforce its 1864 anti-sodomy laws, but activists say having them remain on the books encourages homophobia and violent acts against the gay community in the religious

Matthews

country of some 2 8 million people

Matthews said the laws sometimes are enforced by communities and families even if they’re not enforced at a state level

A spokesperson for the office of Jamaica’s prime minister did not immediately return a message for comment

And while it’s legal for women in Jamaica to engage in same-sex intimacy, Rainbow Railroad reported that it’s not uncommon for their families to organize so-called “corrective rapes” of them or their partner

Activists also note that gay Jamaicans struggle to access jobs, medical care, education and housing

Black communities are disproportionately susceptible to heart failure due to several factors Dr Heather M Johnson, Preventative Cardiologist at Baptist Health’s Lynn Women’s Health & Wellness Institute and the Boca Raton Regional Hospital, explained that both diabetes and hypertension are more prevalent in the Black community, and both conditions increase the risk factor of developing heart failure and strokes

Dr Johnson said that environmental and social disadvantages may also have effects on long-term heart health Difficulty in accessing safe areas to exercise, lacking access to healthy dietary options, or even diminished educational possibilities all play a factor in the statistically worse rates of heart disease among Black people in America

According to the Cleveland Clinic, around 47% of Black adults have been diagnosed with cardiovascular disease compared to 36% of their white counterparts

“Heart disease is the number one cause of death for both men and women. It is responsible for more deaths combined than cancer in the United States,” Dr Johnson noted Of particular risk, she continued, are Black women, who are often underdiagnosed or misdiagnosed A woman who is diagnosed with asthma or clinical anxiety is less likely to have a heart health evaluation as a result “Deaths related to heart disease are climbing especially in women under the age of 65, a major shift in the past few years,” the doctor revealed

Outside of family history and certain societal disadvantages, we have a surprising degree of control over the risk factors leading to heart disease, namely diet and exercise For example, it is important to keep a low sodium diet Excess salt can increase blood pressure, which increases the risk of heart disease

Black women are urged to take care of their heart health, as we wrap up Black History Month and Heart Health Month in February, and begin Women’s Month in March

Regular physical activity, ideally important step in preventing conditions

Dr Johnson also noted proactive tests that medical prof form an accurate prediction of y ity to heart diseases, one of whic Scan This scan produces a indicates plaque build-up in t possible predictor of future hear Also, many women get an annua to screen for breast cancer, but can also reveal possible Breast Artery Calcifications (BAC)

B A C i s a f a i r l y n e w development and it is being pushed heavily by the America Heart Association as an indicat potential heart disease

As we begin Women’s Mon heels of Heart Health Month, reminder to go beyond a gene exam and request a heart healt at some point in the year M practitioners, and even speciali informed about the various hea tions, and can facilitate testing a tions as other common maladie the risk of heart disease

Scan the Code to read more.

Number of African-American women who die from cardiovascular disease annually

Percentage of African-American women ages 20 and older who have heart disease of Hispanic Blacks have high blood pressure which is more severe in Blacks than whites, and develops earlier in life

Number of African-American women who believes she is personally at risk.

Percentage of African-American women who are aware of the signs of a heart attack.

Percentage of African-American women who know heart disease is their greatest health risk.