Gay rights groups hail the decision to overturn colonial-era anti-gay laws in the eastern Caribbean nation.
A high court for nine eastern Caribbean nations and territories has ruled that sexual orientation and homosexual activity are protected under the right to privacy, overturning colonial-era laws criminalizing homosexual behavior in Saint Kitts and Nevis.
The anti-sodomy laws were challenged in court by the St. Kitts and Nevis Alliance for Equality (SKNAFE) and Jamal Jeffers, a gay man, in January last year according to Loop, a Caribbean news outlet.
“This decision firmly establishes that a person’s sexuality should never be the basis for any discrimination. We welcome the recognition of this fact, which we have long advocated for,” said Tynetta McKoy, SKNAFE’s executive director, according to Loop.
Homosexuals have faced discrimination in the region and the decision has been celebrated by gay rights groups as a step towards equality and freedom. SKNAFE and Jeffers had argued that the right to liberty includes the right to consensual sex and partnership with a person of their choosing.
They further argued that the right to privacy is not limited to protection against illegal searches.
The St Lucia-based court upheld the claim, with High Court judge Trevor Ward stating that sections of the 1873 anti-sodomy law infringed “the right to determine how they, as individuals, choose to express their sexuality them privately with the consent of another. adult.”
Ward said in the ruling that those laws are “null and void.”
The local government unsuccessfully argued that sexual orientation was not covered by freedom of expression guarantees. They also argued that tolerating homosexual activity would open “the floodgates to practices that could alter and compromise the survival of the culture and personality of the Federation,” which they argued was based on “faith in Almighty God and the dignity of naturally of each individual”. .
Evangelical groups had also led efforts to support the law. The head of the St. Kitts Evangelical Association, made up of about 30 Christian churches, had submitted an affidavit supporting the law, arguing that “the moral and religious fiber of the community must influence any interpretation of the Constitution.”
The court rejected these claims, stating that “public morality is not synonymous with religious dogma or public opinion.”
The law was rarely used but was amended in 2012 to increase the maximum sentence for indecent assault on men from four years to 10 years, including the possibility of hard labour. According to Loop, enforcement remains in place in cases of non-consensual sex and sex with minors.
“We have made history,” said Kenita Placide, executive director of the Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equity. “A positive decision means a yes to privacy and a yes to freedom of expression.”
The Joint United Nations Program on HIV and AIDS supported the decision on Twitter, calling it “great news.”
Great news!
St Kitts and Nevis becomes the latest country to declare laws that have criminalized LGBT people unconstitutional.
Read our statement 👉🏾 https://t.co/Q2s2qtmmZk pic.twitter.com/P9AyDPpEnW
— UNAIDS (@UNAIDS) August 30, 2022
Courts in Belize, Trinidad and Tobago and Antigua and Barbuda have previously found similar laws unconstitutional. Other cases in Barbados and St Lucia are pending, and Loop reported that LGBTQ organizations expect these challenges to be completed by the end of 2022.
