Dominica High Court overturns ban on gay sex
The High Court of Dominica has overturned a ban on gay sex – a big step forward for the small country in the Caribbean.
Considering the application by a gay man living in Dominica – who said that the ban violated his constitutional rights – the court ruled that parts of the law that criminalised gay sex went against the constitution of Dominica.
The claimant stated that the laws had condemned him “to live in constant fear of criminal sanction for engaging in consensual sexual activity” and further argued that these laws incited “hateful and violent conduct towards him and other LGBT persons” which he said prevented him “from living and expressing himself freely and in dignity”.
The ruling of the court specifically highlighted section 14 and section 16 of Dominica’s Sexual Offences Act as being unconstitutional.
Writing in the ruling, Justice Kimberly Cenac-Phulgence said the court found that these sections – which ban gay sex – breached the right to liberty, freedom of expression and protection of personal privacy, as enshrined in the country’s constitution.
The systemic homophobia that has been enshrined in the laws of countries such as Dominica can be directly traced to the laws imposed by the British government during the colonial era.
In recent years, a number of Caribbean nations have repealed the historical anti-gay laws, including Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Trinidad and Tobago.
Caribbean nations where gay sex is still criminalised include Guyana, Grenada, Jamaica, and St Vincent and the Grenadines.