In Montego, Jamaica, a teen was brutally killed after he showed up to a party dressed as a woman.
Last month, Dwayne Jones, 16, attended a party where, after arriving in drag, a mob surrounded him, asking if he was a girl. When his secret was revealed, a mob began harassing him, before chasing him down the street. According to the Associated Press, Jones tried to run but was beaten down and then stabbed to death.
One of his friends, Khloe, attended the party with Dwayne, where she tried to convince Jones to leave when the hostility started, but he did not listen. Khloe, another transgender teen, was beaten after trying to help Jones, but was she able to escape to a nearby church.
According to The Star, hundreds were at the party, but none have stepped forward to identify Jones’ attackers. Jamaica has a history of homophonic discrimination, where violence is not uncommon.
“The fact that there were so many people at that party, that they could have stood there and allowed a young person to be beaten, left to die on the side of the road?” said executive director of the LGBT group J-FLAG Dane Lewis. “It’s very disheartening.”