Dominica High Court decriminalizes consensual same-sex in historic judgement

The Dominica High Court passed a historic judgement this week, decriminalizing consensual same-sex relations. With this, it has become the fourth Eastern Caribbean country to strike down the legal provisions and decriminalize gay sex.

Earlier, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and Barbados have made such historic decisions.

As part of the Dominica Sexual Offences Act earlier, buggery was punishable with up to 10 years in imprisonment, and the court could order that the convicted person shall be admitted to a psychiatric hospital for treatment.

The decision comes after LGBTQ+ groups gathered in Dominica this week for a capacity-building workshop hosted by The Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality (ECADE)

Besides this, “Gross Indecency” was also punishable with up to five years of imprisonment.

While announcing the historic ruling, the High Court of Dominica said that previous previsions of the Sexual Offences Act violated the country’s constitution, most specifically the “the right to liberty, freedom of expression, and protection of personal privacy”.

The landmark judgement was made possible by the continuous efforts by the regional civil society groups working to challenge anti-LGBT legislation in the Eastern Caribbean.

Notably, Belize Supreme Court made its first historic ruling for the Anglophone Caribbean in 2016, ordering to decriminalize same-sex intimacy, and calling it unconstitutional. After that Trinidad and Tobago High Court followed suit back in 2018.

Even in 2024, five countries in the Caribbean – Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines still have their versions of “buggery” and “indecency” laws in their books.

Moreover, the criminalization of same-sex conduct violates international standards, with its unlawful interference with one’s private and family life.

The landmark ruling by the Dominica High Court resulted in the island’s feature on the international platforms, with coverage coming in from BBC and more.