The High Court of the Solomon Islands in the decision of DPP v Bowie ruled that section 155 of the Penal Code (gross indecency between males) discriminated the prohibition of non-discrimination contained in section 15 of the 1978 Constitution. The court considered that it would be “hard to imagine a clearer case” of discrimination as there was no similar provision relating to females. However, the court held that it was the word “male” in the impugned provision which made it discriminatory, and its remedy was to remove this word. This has the effect of making the gross indecency provision gender neutral, and so criminalisation was extended to same-sex intimacy between women.
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