Watch: LGBT Jamaicans forced to live in the sewers

A documentary set to air tonight (May 23) on Channel 4 sheds light on life for members of the LGBT community living in Kingston, Jamaica.

Unreported World: Jamaica’s Underground Gays follows the story of a group of gay and transgender Jamaicans who have been forced to live in a storm drain in the country’s capital after being driven from their homes and mainstream society.

Jamaica’s ‘buggery law’ can see gay men sentenced to up to ten years’ hard labour, while lesbians and transgender people also face widespread violence and persecution in a country where up to 85 percent of the population considers homosexuality immoral.

The documentary sees presenter Ade Adepitan meet Krissy, a trans woman living with a group of 25 gay and trans people in a gully designed to carry flood water and rubbish from the city. The group live in filthy, crowded and rat-infested conditions, and constantly face the possibility of being moved on by the local authorities -Ne or even attacked by passers-by.

Homophobic attitudes in the country have been fed by widespread poverty, evangelical churches and popular dancehall music, which often includes lyrics openly encouraging the murder of gay people.

Unreported World: Jamaica’s Underground Gays airs tonight at 7.30pm on Channel 4, and will be available to stream worldwide for 30 days on 4oD.

You can watch a preview of the shocking documentary below:

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