Saint Lucia’s court has struck down colonial-era sodomy laws, decriminalizing same-sex relations and securing a landmark LGBTQ rights victory that boosts equality and welcomes all visitors.
LGBTQ+ travelers vacationing in at least one Caribbean country can now breathe easier with the knowledge that it’s no longer a crime for them to have sex there.
A court in Saint Lucia overturned laws criminalizing same-sex relations last month. The colonial-era laws had prescribed up to ten years in prison for offenders, but the enforcement of the law had been virtually non-existent in recent years. Still, LGBTQ+ rights activists are counting the decision as a win, considering the mere existence, rather than enforcement, of such laws to be obstacles to the country’s LGBTQ+ community.
“The mere existence of this provision is itself a violation of human rights and underpins further acts of discrimination,” according to Human Dignity Trust, a U.K. organization that provided legal support.
Veronica Cenac, who worked on the case, responded to criticism that the efforts to repeal the law were largely directed from outside the country. “Many persons believe that [they are] a part of our cultural identity and that those persons who are asking for their repeal are promoting a western, global north agenda – which is clearly not the case considering that these laws were imposed on us during colonial times,” she told a press conference after the ruling.
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The decision is another win in an ongoing effort by the Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality, which has been working to repeal similar laws in the region since 2019. Many of the laws are rooted in British common law, which applied when those countries were part of the British Empire. Many of those countries declared independence from the United Kingdom in during the 20th Century, but their legal systems were closely modeled on the British system.
The United Kingdom decriminalized gay sex acts in 1967, but the laws remained in many countries throughout what is now the Commonwealth. Some Caribbean countries that are still dependent territories of the United Kingdom, including Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, and Turks and Caicos had their laws overturned by order of the British government in 2001. Caribbean islands under the current or historic administration of France or the Netherlands repealed their sodomy laws during the 19th Century.
The Alliance has successfully had similar laws overturned in Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Dominica.
Same-sex relations between consenting adults remain illegal in Jamaica, Grenada, Guyana, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago, where earlier this year an appeals court overturned a lower court’s ruling decriminalizing the law.
The laws are not widely enforced in countries where they remain, and enforcement isn’t generally directed at foreign visitors, unless they’re caught having sex in public, which typically violates a different statute.
LGBTQ+ residents of many countries in the Caribbean, whether they have active sodomy laws or not, often face significant legal and social barriers not faced by non-LGBTQ+ residents. Many of these countries are welcoming to LGBTQ+ visitors.
LGBTQ+ residents of Saint Lucia also have limited protections against discrimination in employment and in other areas, including protections against domestic violence. The country’s laws also allow adoptions by single people regardless of sexual orientation. Saint Lucia was the only United Nations member in the Americas to formally oppose the UN declaration on sexual orientation and gender identity, while several other UN members in the region chose to neither oppose nor support the declaration.
Saint Lucia is a popular vacation destination for visitors from the U.S. and Europe. Frequently used as a bargaining chip among colonial powers in the Caribbean, tradition on the island holds it was “Seven times French; and seven times British”, drawing local traditions from both cultures. The island declared independence from Britain in 1979, but remains part of the Commonwealth, retains the British sovereign as their figurehead monarch.
Several in Saint Lucia’s tourism community applauded the ruling.
“This is a deeply meaningful moment for Saint Lucia,” Nick Prattas, managing director of Windjammer Landing said in a press release celebrating the move. “We believe love is love and this ruling affirms the values of acceptance, equality, and human connection that we hold dear. We are proud to stand with the LGBTQ+ community and to welcome guests from around the world to celebrate life and love, freely and openly, here on our island.”