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Antigua and Barbuda sodomy law struck down

Unclear whether government will repeal decision

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Antigua and Barbuda (Image by Allexxandar via Bigstock)

A judge on Tuesday ruled provisions of a law that criminalizes consensual same-sex sexual relations in Antigua and Barbuda are unconstitutional.

High Court Judge Marissa Robertson, who sits on the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, a regional judicial authority, in her ruling said sections 12 and 15 of the country’s Sexual Offenses Act 1995 “are unconstitutional as they contravene” Antigua and Barbuda’s constitution.

“Section 12 of the Sexual Offenses Act 1995 offends the right to liberty, protection of the law, freedom of expression, protection of personal privacy and protection from discrimination on the basis of sex, inĀ soĀ farĀ asĀ sectionĀ 12Ā ofĀ the SexualĀ OffensesĀ Act 1995Ā is inconsistentĀ withĀ theĀ rights of persons sixteen (16) years and older to engage in consensual sexual intercourse per anum in private, and to the extent of that inconsistency section 12 of the Sexual Offenses Act 1995 is void,” said Robertson.

Robertson in her decision said section 15 of the Sexual Offenses Act 1995 “offends the right to liberty, protection of the law, freedom of expression, protection of personal privacy and protection from discrimination on the basis of sex, in so far as section 15 of the Sexual Offenses Act 1995 is inconsistent with the rights of persons sixteen (16) years and older to engage consensually and in private in the sexual acts described in section 15(3), and to the extent of that inconsistency section 15 of the Sexual Offenses Act 1995 is void.”

Orden David, a gay man who works for the Antigua and Barbuda Health Ministry and is the executive director of Meeting Emotional and Social Needs Historically (MESH) Antigua and Barbuda, a support group for LGBTQ and intersex people in the country, and Women Against Rape, an NGO that works with those who are impacted by gender-based violence, formally challenged the law.

“This judgment is a significant milestone in the history of Antigua and Barbuda,” said Women Against Rape President Alexandrina Wong on Wednesday during a virtual press conference the Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality (ECADE), a regional LGBTQ and intersex rights group, organized. 

“Members of the LGBT community and consenting adults who choose to engage in intimacy can now breath a sigh of relief, because at least there is safety under the law,” added Wong.

ECADE Executive Director Kenita Placide, who is based in St. Lucia, during the press conference described the ruling as a “landmark decision.”

ā€œThe process of litigation is important, as it underscores how these laws contribute to the stigmatization of LGBTQI people, how they legitimize hate speech, discrimination and violence and tears at the fabric of our society,” said Placide in a statement. “Our governments have sworn to protect and uphold the rights of all and act in a manner that promotes the prosperity and well-being of all. This judgment is in keeping with this commitment.ā€

Antigua and Barbuda Sen. Aziza Lake also welcomed Tuesday’s ruling.

“It is a long overdue development,” Lake told the Washington Blade. “The government has no business in the bedrooms of consenting adults.”

Colonial-era laws that criminalize homosexuality remain in place in St. Lucia and other former English colonies in the Caribbean.

The Belizean Court of Appeal in late 2019 upheld a ruling that struck down the country’s sodomy law. A judge on the Trinidad and Tobago High Court in 2018 struck down its statute that criminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations. 

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights last year in a landmark decision said Jamaica must repeal its sodomy law. ECADE noted similar cases have been filed in St. Lucia, Barbados and St. Kitts and Nevis.

Then-British Prime Minister Theresa May in 2018 said she ā€œdeeplyā€ regrets colonial-era criminalization laws the U.K. introduced. Nick Herbert, a member of the British House of Lords who currently advises embattled Prime Minister Boris Johnson on LGBTQ and intersex issues, last December told the Blade during an interview in D.C. that his country has a “historic responsibility for these laws and their legacy.”

“Great news from Antigua and Barbuda as the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court strikes down laws criminalizing consensual same-sex activity,” tweeted Herbert on Wednesday. “[It is a] historic achievement for the people of Antigua and Barbuda and another welcome step forward for LGBT+ rights globally.”

The Associated Press reported the Antigua and Barbuda government has yet to announce whether it will appeal Robertson’s ruling. 

Glenroy Murray, executive director of J-FLAG, a Jamaican LGBTQ and intersex rights group, on Wednesday told the Blade he remains hopeful the decision will resonate throughout the region. 

“I am excited to see Antigua and Barbuda have this ruling and I am hopeful for what this will mean for the rest of the eastern Caribbean, given the similarities of their constitutional framework,” said Murray. “The ruling demonstrated how the strategic litigation in other parts of the Caribbean have led to positive impacts and that trend bodes well for LGBTQ+ rights in the region overall.”

Murray further noted the ruling “will not directly impact the current challenge to Jamaica’s anti-sodomy laws, which has lingered far too long in our courts.” Murray added “it definitely sends a positive signal to our legislators that times are changing in the Caribbean.”

Donnya Piggott, an activist from Barbados, is the co-founder of Pink Coconuts, an online platform for LGBTQ and intersex travelers. Piggott is also Open for Businessā€™ Caribbean Campaign lead.

Piggott echoed Murray’s thoughts about the ruling’s impact in the region.

“It comes at critical time for Caribbean people. It certainly sends the right message for the society and Antiguans have a lot to be proud of right now,” Piggott told the Blade.

“I hope it has a ripple effect, across the region,” added Piggott. “We need more inclusive Caribbean countries, talented LGBTQ people are leaving the Caribbean and seeking opportunities in larger countries. Growing economies can’t afford that and if we are to grow and develop as a people and as a region ā€” we need to begin to really build more inclusive societies.”

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Caribbean

Same-sex couple seeks recognition of Fla. marriage in Turks and Caicos

Tim Haymon denied spousal exemption under territory’s immigration law

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From left: Richard Sankar and Tim Haymon. (Photo courtesy of Tim Haymon)

A same-sex couple has filed a lawsuit against the Turks and Caicos Islands’ government after it refused to legally recognize their marriage.

Richard Sankar, a realtor who has lived in the British territory for 27 years and is a Turks and Caicos citizen, married Tim Haymon in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in 2020.

Haymon, who is American, in August 2021 applied for a spousal exemption under the Turks and Caicos’ immigration law on the basis of his status as a spouse that would have allowed him to legally live and work in the territory. The Turks and Caicos’ Director of Immigration denied the application because its definition of marriage used does not include same-sex couples. Haymon and Sankar filed their lawsuit in October 2021.

Stanbrook Prudhoe, a law firm in the Turks and Caicos, represents Haymon and Sankar.

The trial court, which is also known as the Supreme Court, heard the case in November 2022. 

The court on March 1 said the work permit exemption refusal violates the Turks and Caicos’ constitution that bans discrimination based on sexual orientation. It has yet to release the ruling itself.

“I am suing for the right to recognize our marriage,” Haymon told the Washington Blade on March 2 during a Zoom interview from Sydney where he and Sankar were on vacation. “Just like any other spouse coming to the Turks and Caicos Islands and marrying a Turks and Caicos islander, we’re just wanting the same rights.”

The Turks and Caicos are a group of islands that are located roughly 650 miles southeast of Miami.

Consensual same-sex sexual relations have been decriminalized in the British territory since 2001. The constitution states “every unmarried man and woman of marriageable age (as determined by or under any law) has the right to marry a person of the opposite sex and found a family.”

Then-Cayman Islands Grand Court Chief Justice Anthony Smellie in 2019 ruled same-sex couples can legally marry in the Cayman Islands. The Caymanian Court of Appeal later overturned the decision, and the British territory’s Civil Partnership Law took effect in 2020. 

Then-Bermuda Supreme Court Justice Charles-Etta Simmons in 2017 issued a ruling that paved the way for gays and lesbians to legally marry in the British territory. The Domestic Partnership Act ā€” a law then-Gov. John Rankin signed that allows same-sex couples to enter into domestic partnerships as opposed to get married ā€” took effect in 2018.

Bermuda’s top court later found the Domestic Partnership Act unconstitutional. The Privy Council, a British territories appellate court in London, upheld the law. It also ruled same-sex couples do not have the constitutional right to marry in the Cayman Islands.

Haymon and Sankar told the Blade they expect the Privy Council will eventually hear their case. 

“We are prepared for that,” said Sankar. “Our attorneys are prepared for that.”

Haymon added he hopes their lawsuit will inspire other same-sex couples in the Turks and Caicos to fight for legal recognition of their relationships.

“We hope that one of the locals will now take up the flag and say I want to marry my partner,” he said.

Same-sex couples can legally marry in Cuba, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Saba, St. Martin, St. Barts, St. Eustatius, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Bonaire. 

The Joint Court of Justice of Aruba, CuraƧao, Sint Maarten and of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba in 2022 ruled Aruba and CuraƧao, which are constituent countries within the Netherlands, must allow same-sex couples to legally marry.

Aruban lawmakers are currently considering a marriage equality bill. The Dutch Supreme Court in the coming months is expected to rule on the Aruba and CuraƧao case.

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Caribbean

St. Vincent and the Grenadines judge dismisses challenges to country’s sodomy laws

‘Freedom and equality are worth fighting for’

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Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (Photo by byvalet/Bigstock)

A judge on St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ top court on Friday dismissed two cases that challenged the country’s sodomy laws.

Two gay men from St. Vincent, the country’s main island, in 2019 challenged laws that criminalize consensual same-sex sexual relations. High Court Justice Esco Lorene Henry on Friday dismissed the two cases.

Sean Macleish, one of the two plaintiffs who lives in the U.S., expressed disappointment in the decision.

“I am disappointed with the judge’s ruling and will be discussing our options with my legal team because freedom and equality are worth fighting for,” Macleish told the Washington Blade on Friday in an email.

Jeshua Bardoo, a lawyer who founded Equal Rights, Access and Opportunities SVG, a Vincentian advocacy group, said Friday is a “sad day for LGBTQ+ rights in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.” 

“Internationally and regionally, laws similar to those challenged in these cases have been declared unconstitutional and in violation of the rights of LGBTQ+ persons,” said Bardoo in a press release the Eastern Caribbean Alliance, a regional LGBTQ rights group, issued. “These archaic and draconian colonial laws, though not strictly enforced, symbolically denigrate LGBTQ+ persons as second-class citizens in their own country and perpetuate prejudice and stigma against them.”

Outright International Executive Director Maria Sjƶdin also criticized the ruling.

“The rejection of the bid to decriminalize same-sex conduct in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is a huge disappointment and significant setback for LGBTQ rights in the country,” said Sjƶdin. “We urge the government to reconsider its position and take meaningful steps towards ensuring the full protection and dignity of all citizens, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.”

Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago in recent years have decriminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations. 

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in 2021 ruled Jamaica must repeal its colonial-era sodomy law. The countryā€™s Supreme Court last year ruled against a gay man who challenged it. 

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Caribbean

Gilead Sciences awards grants to HIV/AIDS groups in Latin America, Caribbean

Stigma, criminalization laws among barriers to fighting pandemic in region

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Free condoms in a SĆ£o Paulo Metro station. Gilead Sciences has announced it has given grants to 35 organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean. The groups will use the funds to fight HIV/AIDS in the region. (Washington Blade photo by Michael K. Lavers)

Gilead Sciences this week announced it has given $4 million in grants to 35 organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean that fight HIV/AIDS.

A press release notes AsociaciĆ³n Panamericana de Mercadeo Social (Pan-American Association of Social Marketing) in Nicaragua, FundaciĆ³n Genesis (Genesis Foundation) in Panama, FundaciĆ³n por una Sociedad Empoderada (Foundation for an Empowered Society) in Argentina, AssociaĆ§Ć£o Nacional de Travestis e Transexuais (National Association of Travestis and Transsexuals) in Brazil and Caribbean Vulnerable Communities are among the groups that received grants. Gilead notes this funding through its Zeroing In: Ending the HIV Epidemic in Latin America and the Caribbean will “improve access to care, increase health equity and reduce HIV-related stigma for populations most affected by HIV.”

ā€œThe HIV prevention and care needs of people throughout Latin America and the Caribbean are incredibly diverse, and each of these programs addresses a unique community challenge,” said Gilead Vice President of Corporate Giving Carmen Villar. “Our grantees are deeply embedded in their communities and best positioned to provide needed HIV care and support services.” 

“Their expertise will be essential to achieve the Zeroing InĀ programā€™s goals of improving access to comprehensive care among priority populations, decreasing HIV-related stigma and reducing HIV and broader health inequities,ā€ she added.

The pandemic disproportionately affects transgender people and sex workers, among other groups, in the region. Activists and HIV/AIDS service providers in the region with whom the Washington Blade has previously spoken say discrimination, stigma, poverty, a lack of access to health care and criminalization laws are among the myriad challenges they face.

First Lady Jill Biden in 2022 during a trip to Panama announced the U.S. will provide an additional $80.9 million in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Latin America through the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. 

Cuba in 2015 became the first country in the world to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV. The Cuban government until 1993 forcibly quarantined people with HIV/AIDS in state-run sanitaria.

Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts and Nevis, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago in recent years have decriminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations. 

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in 2021 ruled Jamaica must repeal its colonial-era sodomy law. The country’s Supreme Court last year ruled against a gay man who challenged it.  

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