Caribbean
Barbados’ colonial-era sodomy law struck down
Ruling ‘a pivotal moment for equality’ for all Barbadians
The Barbados High Court on Monday struck down a colonial-era law that criminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations.
The ruling specifically struck down Sections 9 and 12 of the Barbados Sexual Offenses Act.
Men who were found guilty of engaging in consensual same-sex sexual relations under Section 9 could have faced up to life in prison. Men and women who were convicted of violating Section 12 could have faced up to 10 years in prison.
The London-based Human Rights Trust in a press release noted Equals, an LGBTQ and intersex rights group in Barbados, and the Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality challenged the law on behalf of two local activists.
“Today’s ruling is one step, one action of many impacting the LGBTQ+ community of Barbados,” said one of the plaintiffs in the Human Rights Trust press release. “As it resonates with me, I already know there is more work to be done. We will continue on together.”
The other plaintiff in the press release said the ruling is “a pivotal moment for equality for all Barbadians and one more step in the journey towards more inclusivity for LGBT citizens.”
“This will definitely mean that I and my community can navigate life with just a little more ease and comfort, in the knowledge that Barbados has taken a step to understand us and respect us,” they said.
Judges earlier this year struck down colonial-era sodomy laws in St. Kitts and Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda.
The Belizean Court of Appeal in 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. Then-British Prime Minister Theresa May in 2018 said she “deeply” regrets colonial-era criminalization laws the U.K. introduced.
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 Business’ Caribbean Campaign lead.
Piggott in a statement said the Barbados ruling is “a long time coming, and the advocacy journey has been arduous.”
“We’re thankful to all the advocates who worked hard on this,” said Piggott. “It’s beautiful to see Barbados’ step towards inclusion and we hope it signals to other Caribbean islands that our people only stand to benefit from decriminalization as well as other inclusive laws, and the economic opportunities it brings for the entire region.”
The Associated Press reported the Barbadian government has not said whether it will appeal the ruling.
Dominica’s High Court of Justice on Monday struck down provisions of a law that criminalized consensual same-sex sexual relations.
A gay man who remains anonymous in 2019 challenged sections of the country’s Sexual Offenses Act that criminalized anal sex and “gross indecency” with up to 10 years and 12 years in prison respectively. The plaintiff argued the provisions violated his constitutional rights.
The Dominica Equality and Sexual Expression Association and the Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality, a group that advocates for LGBTQ and intersex rights in the region, in a press release noted the court in its ruling affirmed “the criminalization of consensual same-sex activity between adults is unconstitutional.” The groups added Justice Kimberly Cenac-Phulgence “declared that the laws commonly known as buggery and gross indecency laws, contravenes the constitution of the Commonwealth of Dominica, namely the right to liberty, freedom of expression, and protection of personal privacy.”
“It is long past time that the dignity and dreams of all Dominicans were recognized,” said DESEA Executive Director Sylvester Jno Baptiste in the press release. “We are all God’s children, and he loves us all equally. Laws that treat some Dominicans as less than others, have no place in a just society.”
Dominica is a former British colony that is located between Guadeloupe and Martinique in the Lesser Antilles.
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 issued a decision that said Jamaica must repeal its colonial-era sodomy law. The country’s Supreme Court last year ruled against a gay man who challenged it.
A judge on St. Vincent and the Grenadines’s top court in February dismissed two cases that challenged the country’s sodomy laws.
“Decriminalization helps create an environment where LGBTQ individuals can live openly without fear of persecution, enabling them to access health care, education, and employment without facing discrimination,” said Outright Executive Director Maria Sjödin on Monday in response to the Dominica ruling. “The repeal of these discriminatory laws is a testament to the tireless efforts of activists, advocates, and allies who have long fought for justice and equality. It is a victory for human rights and a significant milestone in the ongoing struggle for LGBTQ rights in the Caribbean.”
Caribbean
Same-sex couple seeks recognition of Fla. marriage in Turks and Caicos
Tim Haymon denied spousal exemption under territory’s immigration law
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 — a law then-Gov. John Rankin signed that allows same-sex couples to enter into domestic partnerships as opposed to get married — 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, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba in 2022 ruled Aruba and Curaçao, 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 Curaçao case.
Caribbean
St. Vincent and the Grenadines judge dismisses challenges to country’s sodomy laws
‘Freedom and equality are worth fighting for’
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 Sjödin 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 Sjödin. “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 country’s Supreme Court last year ruled against a gay man who challenged it.
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