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Barbados High Court strikes down ‘buggery’ and ‘indecency’ laws
In yet another historic decision that will echo loudly around the remaining criminalising countries in the Caribbean, the High Court of Barbados yesterday struck down discriminatory criminal laws that targeted lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.
Sections 9 and 12 of the Barbados Sexual Offences Act, also known as the “buggery” and “indecency” laws, were remnants of the British colonial era and criminalised consensual same-sex intimacy. Under Section 9, punishment for breaking the law could be as severe as life imprisonment for men who engaged in same-sex sexual activity. Under Section 12, both men and women were criminalised and liable to imprisonment of up to 10 years.
Téa Braun, Chief Executive of the Human Dignity Trust, an international human rights organisation, said, ‘This is a resounding victory for LGBT people in Barbados, which is the third country in the region to decriminalise through the courts this year. The Trust is immensely proud to have provided technical assistance to these cases since 2015, and we heartily congratulate the whole team, especially the local litigants and lawyers who have doggedly pursued justice in the many years leading up to this momentous day.’
Barbados was one of only seven remaining criminalising countries in the Western Hemisphere, after the courts of both Antigua and Barbuda and St Kitts and Nevis struck down similar laws earlier this year.
The case was filed by two Barbadian LGBT advocates with local organisation Equals joining the case as community support, and regional LGBT umbrella organisation, the Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality, convening the process.
René Holder-McClean-Ramirez, one of the claimants in the case, said, ‘I must thank everyone that was a part of this process. When I got into civil society organising, I quickly understood I was building on the work of countless others before me. I was benefiting from the gains they made, and I had lived examples from the hardships they faced. Today’s ruling is one step, one action of many impacting the LGBTQ+ community of Barbados. As it resonates with me, I already know there is more work to be done. We will continue on together.’