London: 30 July

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).

Téa Braun, Chief Executive of the Human Dignity Trust, says, “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).

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 2021 decision from a top regional human rights tribunal, finding that laws criminalising LGBT people violate international law.

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