COURT FINDS ANTI-BUGGERY LAWS IN ANTIGUA UNCONSTITUTIONAL

By Shanieka Smith

Staff Writer

#Antiqua, July 15, 2022 – “The selection of an intimate partner is a private and a personal choice -” That is the basis of the ruling of the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court on Tuesday July 5.  The verdict is that a law in Antigua and Barbuda criminalizing gay sex is unconstitutional.

The ruling also said the island’s 1995 Sexual Offences 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.”

The law states that if two consenting adults are found guilty of having anal sex, they will face 15 years in prison.  They would face five years in prison if found guilty of serious indecency.

Courts in Belize and Trinidad & Tobago have also found such laws unconstitutional; other cases in the region like in Barbados, St Lucia, and St Kitts and Nevis are pending.

As the Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality was pleased and welcoming of the ruling, the director, Kenita Placide, said that these laws “legitimize hate speech, discrimination and violence and tears at the fabric of our society.”

Before the ruling, a gay man who works at Antigua’s Ministry of Health and a local group called Women Against Rape Inc had asked that the law be unconstitutional.  He testified that he has been persecuted and assaulted and that patients have refused treatment from him because of his sexual orientation.

Likewise, the anti-rape group in the country expressed concern over breaches of confidentiality, which have prevented the LGBTQ community from seeking AIDS testing or treatment.  They said they had received inhumane treatment from health care providers.

In the ruling by High Court Judge Marissa Robertson, she said, “the Constitution is often described as a living instrument, which gives significant room for the realization and enjoyment of individuals’ human rights.  The very rights that the document espouses and protects are capable of evolution since concepts, attitudes and the understanding of human rights and dignity evolve over time.”