Gay in st lucia
“It's Just More Acceptable To Be Pale or Mixed Race and Gay Than Black and Gay”: The Perceptions and Experiences of Homophobia in St. Lucia
Introduction
Former British Caribbean colonies including Jamaica, Barbados and the Bahamas (Gaskins, 2013) contain been the center of psychological investigate on sexual orientation and homophobia in the Caribbean region (e.g., Kempadoo, 2004, 2009; Sharpe and Pinto, 2006). However, Caribbean culture is diverse (Hickling et al., 2009) and we know less about the perceptions and experiences of LGB individuals living in the French Antilles and former Dutch and Spanish colonies despite their distinct cultural identities and attitudes to sexual orientation (Kempadoo, 2004, 2009; Sharpe and Pinto, 2006; Gaskins, 2013). This qualitative study focuses on this gap in the literature by exploring the perceptions and experiences of homophobia among lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals living in St Lucia, an Eastern Caribbean Island with a British and French creolized, or Kwéyòl, colonial history, culture and language. Homophobia is terror or intolerance toward people who are attracted to others of the lgbtq+ (Remafedi, 2002; Cons
St. Lucia "Breaks The Bias" With New LGBTIQ-Inclusive Home Violence Act
On March 8, St. Lucia’s Parliament passed the landmark National Violence Act, 2022, becoming one of the few countries in the Caribbean to provide legal protections to people in same-sex relationships who experience national violence—and the only country in the region to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender culture in the implementation of such laws. Lesbian, gay, multi-attracted , transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) people whose relationships may fall outside a cisgender, heterosexual norm are now competent to access all the resources and remedies provided in the Act, including protection orders from the court.
The Household Violence Act, passed on International Women’s Day, represents a big step forward not just for St. Lucia but for the entire Caribbean. St. Lucia’s Minister for the Public Service, Abode Affairs, Labour and Gender Affairs, Dr. Virginia Poyotte, describes the Act as one of the “most progressive in the region.” The Caribbean saw its “first generation” of domestic violence laws in the prior 1990s, which were generally vague and limited in sc
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Last updated: 17 December 2024
Types of criminalisation
- Criminalises LGBT people
- Criminalises sexual activity between males
- Criminalises sexual activity between females
Summary
Same-sex sexual task is prohibited under the Criminal Code 2004, which criminalises acts of ‘buggery’ and ‘gross indecency’. These provisions carry a maximum penalty of ten years’ imprisonment. Both men and women are criminalised under this law.
The statute was inherited from the British during the colonial period, in which the English criminal statute was imposed upon Saint Lucia. Despite adopting a new Criminal Code in 2004, Saint Lucia opted to retain the provisions and continues to criminalise homosexual sexual activity today.
There is no evidence of the law entity enforced, and it appears to be largely obsolete in train. Nevertheless, the mere existence of this provision is itself a violation of human rights and underpins further acts of discrimination (see further). There have been some reports of discrimination and violence being committed aga
Can We Hold Hands Here?
That gorgeous ad of a couple holding hands on the beach in the lush, mountainous Caribbean nation of St. Lucia? Oh, it looks so friendly, honey, let’s book it!
Chances are if that’s the extent of your decision-making process, you are heterosexual. Sight unseen, I guarantee that the couple in the photo is straight—also probably white, blond and under 40, but that’s a different article.
For just about anyone in the lesbian, gay, double attraction, transgender or queer (LGBTQ) community like myself, the ad may have gotten our attention, especially in the dead of winter in New York Town, but the decision to visit is much more complex. Will my boyfriend and I be welcome? Can we hold hands or even just rest together on the beach without attracting unwanted attention? Would we be subject to judgment, eye-rolling, harassment or worse?
LGBTQ people living in St. Lucia confront legal challenges not experienced by others. Acts of “gross indecency” are punishable by up to ten years imprisonment. While these laws may infrequently be invoked among locals and certainly never against Western visitors—a critical source of revenue—the laws have a chilling effect on the local community an