Caribbean court overturns colonial-era gay sex ban in Antigua and Barbuda
A Caribbean court has deemed a colonial-era gay sex ban to be unconstitutional. The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, the superior court of record for six Caribbean states including Antigua and Barbuda and Saint Kitts and Nevis, found that “the selection of an intimate partner is a private and a personal choice”.
The court also ruled that Antigua and Barbuda’s 1995 Sexual Offenses Act “offends the right to liberty, protection of the law, freedom of expression, protection of personal privacy and protection from discrimination on the basis of sex”.
This comes after a gay man who worked for Antigua’s Ministry of Health challenged the law alongside a local anti-rape group after he claimed to have experienced discrimination at work.
The 1995 act, which had roots in British colonial-era legislation, criminalized acts of “buggery” and “serious indecency,” which were punishable by up to 15 years in prison.
