In another historic breakthrough for human rights in the Caribbean, the High Court of Saint Lucia yesterday struck down a discriminatory, colonial-era, criminal law that targeted lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.
Saint Lucia now joins Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica and St Kitts & Nevis as the fifth country in the Eastern Caribbean to decriminalise gay sex in recent times, leaving only five remaining countries in the Western Hemisphere with criminalising laws still on the books.
Same-sex sexual activity between men and between women was prohibited under the Criminal Code 2004, which criminalised acts of ‘buggery’ and ‘gross indecency’. These provisions carried a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment.
The High Court held that these criminalising provisions contravene fundamental human rights, including the rights to privacy, freedom of expression and protection from discrimination on the basis of sex (interpreted to include sexual orientation).
This victory marks another significant legal milestone for the LGBT community in the Caribbean and demonstrates the importance of the courts when law makers fail to respect fundamental human rights. We extend our heartfelt congratulations to the litigants and activists who have tirelessly pursued justice.
The case was led by regional LGBT umbrella organisation, the Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality (ECADE).
This decision is deeply personal. For many years we’ve worked to see the rights, lives and dignity of LGBTQ+ persons in Saint Lucia and the OECS protected. Today’s ruling is not just a win in the courts, it also represents a step towards justice for the many lives lost to violence simply for being themselves. It signals that our Caribbean can and must be a place where all people are free and equal under the law.
The discriminatory law was inherited from the British during the colonial period, in which the English criminal law was imposed upon Saint Lucia. Despite adopting a new Criminal Code in 2004, Saint Lucia opted to retain the provisions and continued to criminalise same-sex sexual activity until this historic day.
Today’s judgment follows a landmark 2020 decision from a top regional human rights tribunal, finding that laws criminalising LGBT people violate international law.
Note to editors
- Learn more about strategic litigation in the Eastern Caribbean
- A case digest and the judgment from the Saint Lucia High Court is available on HDT’s library of resources
- Visit the Human Dignity Trust’s interactive map to see which countries across the world continue to criminalise LGBT people
- The Human Dignity Trust works with local partners around the world to defend human rights in countries where private, consensual, same-sex sexual activity is criminalised. We provide free technical assistance to LGBT activists, civil society organisations, lawyers and governments wishing to challenge and reform laws that persecute people on the basis of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity
For more information and to arrange interviews contact:
James Aldworth, Communications Manager, Human Dignity Trust
T: +44 (0)20 7419 3770 / M: +44 (0)7394 197082
E: [email protected] / X (formerly Twitter): @HumanDignityT
Kenita Placide, Executive Director, Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality (ECADE)
T: +1 7587141765
E: [email protected] / X (formerly Twitter): @EC_Equality
