an important step forward in ensuring equality and dignity for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in St. Kitts and Nevis and the whole Caribbean,” said Luisa Cabal, UNAIDS Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean. “Today, St. Kitts and Nevis joins a growing list of Caribbean nations that have overturned these colonial-era laws that deny people’s human rights and hold back the response to the HIV pandemic. Everyone benefits from decriminalisation.”
In addition to violating the human rights of LGBT individuals, laws that criminalize consensual same-sex relationships provide a significant barrier to bettering health outcomes, notably in the fight against HIV. Such laws prevent LGBT individuals from seeking and receiving healthcare out of fear of being fined or imprisoned, and they contribute to the perpetuation of stigma and discrimination against them. Criminal justice reform both saves and transforms lives.
Jamal Jeffers, a resident, and the St. Kitts and Nevis Alliance for Equality filed the complaint against the St. Kitts and Nevis government with the help of the Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality. The High Court decision was made in response to a judgment rendered in a related case for Antigua and Barbuda in July.
Sections of the legal codes that made same-sex relationships illegal have been abolished by courts in Trinidad and Tobago, Belize, and Trinidad and Tobago.
There are still seven former British colonies in the Caribbean that forbid gay sex between consenting adults. They are Jamaica, St. Lucia, Guyana, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
“Caribbean civil society is determined, and Caribbean courts are clear. The clock is ticking on these damaging colonial laws,” said Luisa Cabal. “Countries that have still not taken these laws off the books need to do so as a matter of urgency, for the health and human rights of all their people.”
The Court’s decision brings the number of nations that outlaw same-sex relationships to 68. Singapore made the announcement earlier this month that it is doing rid of the law that made having gay intercourse punishable by up to two years in jail.
