Gender Policy wanted to legalize prostitution and then some
The Revised Gender Policy 2013 was released on May sixteenth. The policy was the product of the Women’s Commission of Belize and considered progressive because it surpassed the Caribbean’s response to several issues that are objectionable to church and the law. It is so controversial it has prompted two retractions or clarifications in one day. The document would have made Belize akin to the red-light district of Amsterdam where the oldest trade on the planet, prostitution, is legal. That’s right, in March, Cabinet approved of the updated Gender Policy and today the lines that read, “Amend existing legislation to legalize and regulate the sex work industry.” was removed from the document. The Women’s Commission has pledged regret and says it was an oversight that caused the error. But there was another amendment made this afternoon, this time by Cabinet. Cabinet members apparently have been contacted by various churches regarding a section of the Gender Policy called “Respect for Diversity.” The section makes reference to respect for sexual orientation, a term which has numerous categories. But it wasn’t those words that caused the retraction; it was “the customary religious and cultural practices must be subject to the right of equality.” Taken in the same statement about respect for sexual orientation, the language on religion and equality could have opened the doors for gay marriage. News Five tried to contact Ann Marie Williams, Executive Director of the Women’s Commission for comment, but we were told she was on holiday. News Five did speak to her following the launch about the inclusion of people of various sexual identities at the launch of the policy, and she indicated the amendments to the gender policy were made in conjunction with the preamble to the constitution.
Adele Catzim
Adele Catzim, Presenter, Revised Gender Policy, 2013
“Things that we had to make sure for example was that sexual minorities issues is also represented in the national gender policy because gender policy because gender orientation is also a gender issue. It includes domestic violence that happens within the family environment; it also includes sexual harassment that happens within the workplace. And it includes rape that happens either at home or on the streets…but it also includes all the harassment and the discrimination against persons because of their gender orientation or sexual identity.”
Jose Sanchez
“According to what you have here in respect for diversity, refers to sexual orientation. Is the women commission going against the grain and supports UNIBAM? I see Mr. Caleb Orozco is also here in full support you.”
Ann-Marie Williams, Executive Director, Women’s Commission
“I invited Caleb because Caleb works as a member of the N.G.O. community, but I’m not sure what you’re asking me.”
Jose Sanchez
“I am asking you if the Women’s Commission supports the removal of that portion of the penal code regarding sodomy because you are referring to sexual orientation in relation to diversity.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“Well, regarding the code I cannot speak for the Women’s Commission. And we never had a statement out on that. But the policy speaks to the constitution. Part of the preamble of the policy speaks that in 1981, the constitution says that all citizens of Belize are part of this gender equality, mixed…”
Jose Sanchez
Ann-Marie Williams
“But it didn’t refer to sexual orientation.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“I’m telling you, they are part of the gender equality mix. And they should not be discriminated against regardless of race, color, creed, political affiliation, or sex. And it’s part of the preamble of the policy and it’s in the constitution.”
Jose Sanchez
“So basically you are saying that the policy and the constitution supports UNIBAM; that’s what you are saying.”
Ann-Marie Williams
“I am not saying that. I am not saying that. And don’t try to put me to saying that. The police is saying that all Belizeans have a right to non-discrimination regardless of race, sex, color or creed. And make sure you quote me correctly.”
“I’m not saying that; I’ not saying that” – yes you are and we all know it. Ann-Marie Williams – yo are speaking out of both sides of your face. What you have done is expand “sex” to have a meaning that includes “gender orientation”. The original issue of SODOMY has taken on a whole new agenda that is easily recognizable by people like me. You have included Caleb because is is part of an NGO. So for the purposes of “equality” include one of the clergy who oppose UNIBAM. If you are all about equality, why don’t you lead by example. The real homosexual agenda is gay marriage and allowing homosexuals/lesbians the right to sodomize children. See nambla.org And to introduce prostitution — shame on you and people of your ilk. That is a direct assault on women. That would make women slaves. In a poor country like Belize they would be subjected to a life of drugs, disease (AIDS) and the loss of self worth. You are supposed to be in the business of building women’s self worth, not destroying it. If you are not a woman, come out of the closet and let us all know what you represent. Make certain that you define the meaning of “sex” so we all know your position. In my humble opinion you are a disgrace to the meaning of womanhood after letting prostitution be introduced in Belize. Let’s try to keep the filth of the world out of Belize. George Price, God rest his soul, must be rolling over in his grave. This is not the Belize he envisioned.
This is what Ann-Marie Williams is saying (in other words): “You Belizean God fearing people are so stupid. This Women’s Department does support UNIBAM, but I cannot say so on national television. ”
Wake up God fearing Belizean’s! Wake up from your sleep! Five, ten twenty years from now, explain to your grandchildren that you did absolutely nothing when immorality began creeping like a thief into our schools, homes and even churches! Government Officials are being manipulated to play the game of the devil. If you fear God, you KNOW what the consequences will be!
Proud 2b Belizean says:
May 10, 2013 at 10:19 am
I believe Ravi Zacharias has a great response to the being born gay comments earlier.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CIw6ngIqaD0
The women’s commission represents their own agenda and not of the people of Belize. It is obvious to me that Ann Williams is taking advantage of the UNIBAM fiasco to get some publicity by sneaking in this new gender policy to the cabinet without informing the rest of the women in Society. I wonder who is guiding the Women’s Commission in Belize? Is it the same Americans who are influencing their direction with this issue, wouldn’t be surprising. It is embarrassing to think that they even support sex work industry, what a humiliation. The sex work industry is humiliating to all women in society in Belize or abroad. Their little error, was not an error, but an enlightenment of their true agenda. “UNIBAM” and the so called “Women’s Commission” have an agenda and obviously the agenda does not involve all men and women of this country. It involves those who wish to legalize their illegal way of living. What a shame and embarrassment to Belize.
Some homework needs to be done.
Excellent reporting Mr. Jose Sanchez! You exposed the Women’s Commission biasness.
Barrack Obama and Hillary Clinton used those same terminologies to court and attract and appeal to homosexuals and I believe that Ann Marie has the exact same agenda. Her political ambitions are secret to no one.
Excellent interview by Mr. Sanchez!
twinkle twinkle
if prostitution is going to be legalize mein lotta brothers gonna apply to be a GIGALO after this so many of them jobless, geez what is the Jewel coming to afta unibam, now dis, holy monkeys I can’t believe what will be in 5 yrs to come if this things really turn legal, that’s if a big hurricane no wash wi before.
Religious hypocrites and imbeciles blowing hot air as usual! Why do you fear the homosexuals? Is it because you’re battling your own demons? Afraid your husband might come out of the closet and admit he’s sleeping with men behind your back? Is it to distract from your own ‘sinful’ agenda? The truth shall set you free. Live and let live. Children are protected under the law against ALL forms of abuse by straight and gay individuals alike irrespective of Article 53…do not try to confuse the issues… And women ARE involved in prostitution in this country AND are being terribly exploited…regularizing the industry DOES empower and protect those sex workers and holds accountable those individuals who ARE presently exploiting those women with impunity! When will Belize truly wake up and remove the veils from their eyes..THE CHURCH IS CONTROLLING YOU SIMPLETONS LIKE PUPPETS WHILE ITS LEADERS GET RICHER AND LIVE LAVISH LIVES, often engaged in more ‘sinful’ acts than the average guy!!!
Good job exposing the immoral and un-Belizean agenda of the Women’s Commission, the UN homosexual lobby, and Anne-Marie Williams in particular!
She, and her foreign masters, want to ram all of the American/European “sexual freedom” agenda down our throats, and destroy our churches, which are the foundation of whatever civilization we have in the Jewel.
It’s not a mere mistake that they — [1] want to iNFRINGE on RELIGIOUS and cultural freedom, [2] want to legalize sodomy and treat homosexual practices as the moral equal of natural heterosexuality, and [3] legalize prostitution.
I read about what will come next, because it’s already come across Europe and is beginning in the States — schools are ON religious ND CULTURAL FREEDOM,
I’m not sure what happened to the end of my previous comment, but how it showed is not what I tried to write.
I want to warn about how schools elsewhere are REQUIRED to teach children 10 and younger how to use condoms, how to get birth control, that all sexual practices must be accepted, and that young girls can get abortions without telling their parents. In California, the fact that a 12 year old girl is pregnant cannot even be used as evidence that she was sexually abused! Abortion rights over everything!
The ultimate and most all-encompassing goal of the gay agenda is to force our society to fully accept their lifestyle as morally, socially, and religiously equivalent to the heterosexual lifestyle. This goal is for not only acceptance, but also affirmation and celebration of homosexual behavior as normal, natural, healthy and desirable . This is what the homosexual movement is really all about. The traditional civic virtue of tolerance is being replaced with a new ethic requiring approval and endorsement of homosexuality.
The ultimate and most all-encompassing goal of the gay agenda is to force our society to fully accept their lifestyle as morally, socially, and religiously equivalent to the heterosexual lifestyle. This goal is for not only acceptance, but also affirmation and celebration of homosexual behavior as normal, natural, healthy and desirable. This is what the homosexual movement is really all about. The traditional civic virtue of tolerance is being replaced with a new ethic requiring approval and endorsement of homosexuality.
@ brightman, agreed hypocrites fill many churches today. in fact also know for a fact that some of today’s Belizean church leaders are actively themselves engaged in adulterous immortal life styles, no different than the immoral sin of homosexuality. Which is the reason why this homosexual agenda has gone so far.
Bible fearing people find it difficult to point out the speck in others eyes when they have a plank in their own eyes! But make no mistake. Truth is not relative. Your lack of believe in God does not erase His existence, and it does no erase His hate for immorality. Many of the churches in Belize deserve your condemnation, and they too will be judge, and more harshly at that too.
To brightman….. to oppose homosexuality you don’t need to appeal to the Bible when Darwinism works just as well.
Question: If evolution is passing on our genetic traits to the next generation, is homosexuality an evolutionary dead end?
The answer is obvious: Of course homosexuality is an evolutionary dead end. If there’s no reproduction there’s no passing on of traits. Knowing this, doesn’t it behoove us to correct this abnormality through whatever means at our disposal – psychological or medical? If not, for what purpose do those fields exist?
There are diseases men are born with that we will not hesitate in calling such. Blindness, deafness, cancers, whatever. But homosexuality? We don’t want to call it a disease or a psychological ailment. But it’s clearly unnatural in that it keeps one from participating in the most basic part if the life cycle – procreation.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but if scientists saw a endangered mammal in the wild and the males, for whatever reason, began to ignore the females and started mating amongst themselves, wouldn’t they 1) try to figure out what went wrong and 2) force the males an females to breed to ensure the survival of the species?
What is brightman smoking? “Children are protected under the law against all forms of abuse…” Truth is far from it!
Wait!!! Is this Women’s Commission, or Commissioning Womenizers!!! ???
Ms. Williams, sodomy is not diversity. It is perversity. Sodomy is not race. It is not gender. It is not colour. It is not creed. Sodomy is sin. It is a crime, and it should stay that way. My fellow Belizeans, wake up! The devil is making war on us. Adele Catzim, Ann-Marie Williams, Caleb Orosco, Dean Barrow, and others are his unwitting pawns. Sodomy is only the beginning. Next will come ‘gay marriage’, legal prostitution, bestiality, pedophilia, abortion, euthanasia, and all the rest. Wake up!
George Price, pray for us.
Prostitution is not illegal in Belize. Check your constitution!
I’m down with prostitution, ganja. Mary Magdalene was a whore and Jesus hung out with her> She and some of her friends were entertaining at the Last Supper passing spliffs and wine, till the wine ran out and JC pulled out his stash. Fricking awesome. Life is short. Enjoy!! Too many of you people out there are stressing over BS. I could write a thesis on the benefits of prostitution and ganja, but why waste time with closed minded idiots. I have better things to do. I like to eat, drink, smoke and %$#&^. I’m not going to waste my time arguing with idiots. The clock is running. I want to get my share before I dead. ” Yes darling, I di come……..”.
Even the phrases of this document are phrases I have heard in my own society’s struggles over these issues. There are international forces at work here otherwise you wouldn’t have the language of the documents sound so similar.
“Sex Workers”? I have heard prostitutes here called that recently. The term is relatively new but what it proves is that these people must be getting this externally if you have the same new term (for an old profession) being used in two different societies. So where’s the common source? That would be the whole “Sex Positive” international society out their that people like Hillary Clinton supports.
I still am bothered how Hillary Clinton used the power of my government to threaten you in Belize. She exceeded the authority that her position gave her but my fear is that it indicates that Obama’s US government has this as their policy to use everything in their power to coerce Belize into complying with Ms. Clinton’s ultimatum.
From my understanding Moses Mary Magdalene was never specifically identified as the same woman who the Gospel indicated was a whore. Even if she was Jesus whole ministry was one of redemption so presumably had she been a whore she would have prayed for forgiveness and redeemed herself and therefore Jesus would have washed those sins away.
It does raise an important question about how believers should deal with sinners. They are of course the ones most needful of hearing the Gospel so in that respect perhaps believers should hang around with the sinners and hope their influence changes them. But there is the old saying “you can’t play with mud and not get dirty”. Jesus could hang around with sinners because He was so sinless and there was no risk of the sinners enticing Him into sin. While for us mere humans, perhaps hanging around with sinners while the hope would be to get them to hear the Gospel and to become a good influence to them, perhaps the ultimate result would be for the sinners to become a bad influence on the believer.
So hard call. I know we are to emulate Him, Jesus, our Saviour, but we also must recognize we aren’t Him, so while He was able to walk among sinners without no stain, perhaps for us, it is better to stay with those who will be as positive influence on us as we are to them, but then again how can a sinner be saved if no one is willing to reach out to him or her.