By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

THE first gay pride march in The Bahamas was held safely on Friday, though participants faced jeers and quotes of scripture verses from some onlookers, according to Alexus D’Marco, president of Rebirth of Pride Bahamas.

She said the goal of the march, which started at the University of The Bahamas’ entrance and ended at Hillside House on Baillou Hill Road, was to increase the visibility of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & Intersex communities in The Bahamas.

“It went very smoothly with the assistance of the Royal Bahamas Police Force, who showed up in good numbers to ensure that the participants were protected,” she said, adding that there were 36 participants.

“Yes, we had persons who were jeering, persons who were quoting religious scriptures. That was an unfortunate part of it, but we persisted, and we marched on.”

Ms D’Marco said participants also handed out flyers for missing American Taylor Casey, 42, a transgender woman who vanished while attending a retreat in June.

She said the primary goal of the march was to increase visibility for the LGBTQ+ community in The Bahamas, highlighting that there are organisations actively working to support them. She said the visibility is essential for people to recognise that there are allies and mechanisms in place to help those facing violence, stigma, or discrimination.

She said it took five years of planning for the event to be held, during which time the LGBTI community has made meaningful strides.

“The reason it took so long is that we had to make sure that we educated our community on what Pride is and what Pride looked like to us as Bahamian citizens, not what Pride looks like to those in America or those in the UK, but our own Caribbean or own Bahamian Pride,” she said.

She said there has been a decline in targeted violence against members of the LGBTI community and a decrease in homeless LGBTI youth.

“There is a decrease as it relates to parents throwing their children out in the streets because they are perceived or are known to be LGBTI, so we’ve seen that decrease in homelessness as reported in our community,” she said.