This coming weekend, on 11th and 12th June, Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU) sponsors the Seventh Queering Paradigms conference (QP7) in Grand Cayman, which is being held in the Auditorium of the Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce, Governors Square, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands (Not at the Marriott as announced earlier).

The conference, co-organised by CCCU academics and local human rights campaigners, addresses the social injustices faced by Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer/Questioning (LGBTIQ) people in the British Overseas Territory of the Cayman Islands and the wider Caribbean region.

Queering Paradigms (QP) founder Professor Bee Scherer, director of the INCISE research centre at CCCU explains: “Local activists approached us last year at the QP6 conference in Canterbury with the view of bringing QP to the Caribbean region; after the success of QP in South America (Rio 2012; Quito 2014) we agreed to support them.”

Barrister Dr Leonardo Raznovich, Visiting Senior Research Fellow at INCISE and officer of the International Bar Association (former Head of Law at CCCU and former lecturer at the Truman Bodden Law School), who is in a same-sex marriage to a British Cayman resident, coordinates the conference in Grand Cayman and states: “My spouse and I are currently in the midst of a legal challenge in respect of the Cayman Island government’s refusal to apply its own existing laws and grant me residency based on my same-sex marital status. Unfortunately the Foreign & Commonwealth Office of the UK (FCO) has been of little support, perhaps more occupied by tax matters rather than human rights violations. This conference is therefore timely and apposite. It highlights the societal and legal plights of LGBTIQ citizens in the Cayman Islands, acknowledging, in particular, the difficulties faced by Caymanians whose voice has not been heard to date. We further hope that it acts as a catalyst to end criminalisation of homosexuality in the wider Caribbean region.”

The conference has attracted criticism from conservative political and religious groups who are opposing LGBTIQ rights and equality. It has been sad to see how some churches have tried to boycott the conference rather than engage in a democratic dialogue with experts from all over the world who are coming to the Cayman Islands to share their knowledge and expertise with the public. Professor Bee Scherer comments: “I hope that we will see a fruitful dialogue and not just picketing and shouting; we have invited the Rt Hon Dr Alan Wilson, Bishop of Buckingham, as one of the keynote speakers. He will share the UK experience with legislative change around same-sex marriage and make some theological reflections about the queering project of Jesus”. Bishop Wilson’s presentation is scheduled for Sunday 12th at 4:00 PM.

In addition to Bishop Wilson’s appearance, the other keynote speaker is Professor Emeritus Eugenio Raúl Zaffaroni, Justice of the Inter American Court of Human Rights. Leonardo Raznovich comments: “There are still 11 jurisdictions in the Caribbean, all of whom are former colonies of the UK, where LGBTIQ individuals are criminalised; this is unacceptable in 2016 and we are hoping to start a path that would lead to a change in those colonial laws. We have invited Professor Zaffaroni who will share his work on criminal prosecution of ‘sexual orientation’ and its effect on the mental health of society.” Professor Zaffaroni’s presentation is scheduled for Sunday 12th at 2:00 PM

The conference runs throughout the day on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th (from 9:00 AM Sat & 10:00 AM Sun to 5:30 PM). In addition to the two keynote speakers, we have a large number of academics coming from all over the world to present at the conference on a most diverse range of subjects. There is also a pre-confernce event, the showing of a film that has earned international prizes and acclaim, entitled “The Abominable Crime”. This film will be aired for the first time in the Cayman Islands and will be followed by a discussion led by Maurice Tomlinson on Friday 10th June at the Auditorium of the Chamber of Commerce from 5:30 PM to 7:00 PM.