In 2001, a gay man was shot and killed as he sought refuge in a churchyard. A man's throat was slashed and his arm cut by a machete. In 1997, a condom distribution plan at a Kingston prison so enraged inmates, that they set fire to and murdered 16 of their fellow prisoners. J-FLAG was established the next year.
The organization works toward a Jamaican society in which the human rights and equality of all, regardless of sexual orientation, are guaranteed. The group made history in 2001 when they formally lobbied the Joint Select Committee of Jamaica's Parliament to add "sexual orientation" to the anti-discrimination clause of the Charter of Rights Bill. While the proposed change was denied, the group continues to lobby government. Repeal of the Gross Indecency Law, which can be used to make any acts of intimacy between members of the same sex illegal (including holding hands), has become the primary goal of the group’s legal reform efforts.
They are also active in helping lesbians, all-sexuals, and gay men seek legal asylum. In 2002, the British Government granted asylum to two gay men.
Astraea's grant of $20,000 was made through the Social Change Opportunity Fund for a three-year campaign to raise public awareness of issues faced by sexual minorities in Jamaica.
