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Saint Lucia decriminalises same-sex activity in historic ruling

By Sam Damshenas

30th July 2025

In a major win for LGBTQIA+ rights in the Caribbean, Saint Lucia’s law banning homosexuality has been declared unconstitutional.

On Tuesday (29 July), Saint Lucia’s high court struck down colonial-era laws — “buggery” and “gross indecency” — found in sections 132 and 133 of the Criminal Code, which criminalised same-sex relations. Consensual male homosexuality, even in private, was punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

The court found that the laws singled out LGBTQIA+ individuals in a way that violated basic human rights — including the right to privacy, freedom of expression, and protection from discrimination.

Saint Lucia is now the fifth country in the Eastern Caribbean to decriminalise same-sex activity, following Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, and St Kitts & Nevis.

“This decision is deeply personal. For many years we’ve worked to see the rights, lives and dignity of LGBTQ+ persons in Saint Lucia and the OECS protected,” said Kenita Placinde, Executive Director of ECADE (Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality).

“Today’s ruling is not just a win in the courts, it also represents a step towards justice for the many lives lost to violence simply for being themselves. It signals that our Caribbean can and must be a place where all people are free and equal under the law.”

While the high court’s recent ruling marks an undeniable victory for LGBTQIA+ rights in Saint Lucia, the wider region continues to face significant challenges, including the fight for same-sex marriage, legal recognition of same-sex couples, adoption rights and broader protections against discrimination.

And, as of writing, there are still five countries in the Caribbean that criminalise gay sex between consenting adults: Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, Guyana and Saint Vincent and Grenadines.

Although Trinidad and Tobago was one of the first countries in the Eastern Caribbean to decriminalise gay sex in 2018, the decision was reversed in March of this year.