Trinidad and Tobago’s gay sex ban has been overturned by the country’s highest court, ending a decade-long legal battle led by LGBT+ activists seeking to remove criminal penalties for consensual same-sex relations between adults.
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, the final court of appeal for Trinidad and Tobago, issued a unanimous ruling on Tuesday declaring that the country’s 1986 Sexual Offences Act could not be used to criminalise private, consensual sexual relations between adults of the same sex.
The decision marks a significant development for LGBT+ rights in the Caribbean, where laws inherited from the colonial era continue to criminalise same-sex relationships in several countries. In Trinidad and Tobago, the legislation had imposed prison sentences of up to two years for what it described as “serious indecency” and up to five years for “buggery”.
The legal challenge was led by Trinidadian LGBT+ activist Jason Jones, whose campaign against the law had continued for more than a decade. Following the ruling, Jones said he intended to extend his advocacy beyond Trinidad and Tobago to address discrimination against LGBT+ people across the Caribbean.
“What I’m going to be doing in the coming months is very targeted activism about how the Caribbean, not just Trinidad and Tobago, deals with endemic homophobia,” Jones said after the decision was announced.
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The law firm Freedom Law Chambers, which represented Jones, welcomed the judgment, describing it as a “phenomenal victory for gay rights, equal dignity and respect for private and family life in Trinidad and Tobago.”
In its decision, the Privy Council emphasised that constitutional rights must be interpreted in a way that reflects contemporary society rather than outdated legal standards. The court said those rights should remain “practical and effective in the present day, not in the past.”
The ruling was also welcomed by United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, who described the decision as an important milestone for equality and fundamental rights.
“I hope the judgment will help remove a longstanding source of stigma, exclusion, barriers and violence experienced by Trinidadians and Tobagonians based on sexual orientation and gender identity,” Turk said.
The decision represents an important legal victory for LGBT+ activists in Trinidad and Tobago, particularly those who have spent years challenging legislation that exposed people to criminal prosecution because of their sexual orientation. It also brings renewed attention to the wider struggle for equal rights across the Caribbean, where legal and social discrimination against LGBT+ communities remains a significant concern.
