TW: This episode contains themes and descriptions of violence against the LGBTQ community.

In July of 2013, a badly battered body in women’s clothing was found dumped in some bushes to the side of a street in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

The body would be identified as Dwayne Jones, a 16 year old who had been living in the slums of Montego Bay with two transgender friends after being forced out of their home by their family at the age of 12 due to intense transphobia and homophobia.

The night before Dwayne was found beaten to death, they had attended a party nearby dressed in female clothing; the first time they had ever ventured to present as female in public.

No charges have ever been filed in connection with Dwayne’s death, and due to a culture of LGBTQ hatred in Jamaica, authorities did little to investigate this senseless murder.

How did Dwayne end up beaten, stabbed, and run over on the side of the road after what should have been a fun night out and a celebration of Dwayne’s budding identity expression? And how did institutional transphobia and homophobia in Jamaica prevent justice from being served in this case?

A Small Foreign Fact Check is hosted by Jill Goguen. Follow the show on Twitter and Instagram at SmallForeignFC. The show can be reached at [email protected].

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Episode Citations:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1tyw7vaPxJ52w8OG9f6g0thx7LMe_9L8f7TVskiBX4yg/edit?usp=sharing

Music:
Lightless Dawn by Kevin MacLeod
Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3982-lightless-dawn
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/