Last updated: 15 May 2024

Types of criminalisation

  • Criminalises LGBT people
  • Criminalises sexual activity between males
Summary

Same-sex sexual activity is prohibited under the Criminal Code 1987, which criminalises ‘grossly indecent acts’ and acts of ‘unnatural connexion’. This provision carries a maximum penalty of ten years’ imprisonment. Only men are criminalised under this law.

The law was inherited from the British during the colonial period, in which the English criminal law was imposed upon Grenada. Grenada retained the provision upon independence and continues to criminalise same-sex sexual activity today.

There is little evidence of the law being enforced in recent years, with only one known case of an LGBT person being arrested for consensual sex, which did not result in a prosecution. There have been few reports of discrimination and violence being committed against LGBT people in recent years, likely due in part to the limited space for the LGBT community in public life.

Enforcement

2020

The US Department of State report for 2020, similarly to reports in recent years, noted that the government did not actively enforce the criminalising provision.

2011 

In May, a 41-year-old man was arrested after having sex with a 17-year-old man (the age of consent in Grenada is 16). Despite attempts to prosecute by the Director of Public Prosecutions, the case was eventually dismissed.

Sexual Offence Law Assessment

We’ve also assessed Grenada’s sexual offence laws against international human rights standards. Not only does Grenada criminalise same-sex sexual activity, it also fails to properly protect other vulnerable groups, such as women, children, and people with disability, from sexual offences.

Find out more
Discrimination and Violence

2023

In June, openly gay singer-songwriter, model and actor Josiah “Jonty” Robinson was found dead on BBC Beach in St George’s. The investigation into his death continues, after a second autopsy concluded that he was murdered. His friends believe it is a homophobic murder. His friend Tyler Perry, Hollywood writer and producer, offered a $100,000 reward for information in relation to the killing.

2018

The US Department of State report noted that society was generally intolerant of same-sex conduct, and most LGBT people are not open about their identities.

In March, Human Rights Watch released a report, I Have to Leave to Be Me, in which a 22-year-old lesbian from Grenada revealed the discrimination and threats she had suffered due to her sexuality. She recounted how she was bullied in school and teachers did nothing to stop it, and two incidents, one where she was chased by a man with a harpoon after hugging a girlfriend and another when she was threatened by construction workers.

References

Related Countries

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines criminalises same-sex sexual activity between men and between women. Sentences include a maximum penalty of ten years’ imprisonment.

Jamaica

Jamaica criminalises same-sex sexual activity between men. Sentences include a maximum penalty of ten years’ imprisonment with hard labour.

Saint Lucia

Saint Lucia criminalises same-sex sexual activity between men and between women. Sentences include a maximum penalty of ten years’ imprisonment.

Local Organisations

GrenCHAP

a local organisation of sexual and reproductive health advocates, focusing on key populations in Grenada.

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