St. Vincent upholds laws criminalizing gay sex in Caribbean island nation in setback for activists
Source: Associated Press
St. Vincent upholds laws criminalizing gay sex in Caribbean island nation in setback for activists
BY DÁNICA COTO
Updated 4:14 PM EST, February 16, 2024SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — A top court in St. Vincent and the Grenadines upheld laws on Friday that criminalize gay sex, a blow to activists who have long decried the violence the LGBTQ+ community has faced on the conservative Caribbean archipelago.
The ruling by St. Vincent’s High Court stems from a 2019 case filed by two gay men from St. Vincent who live in the U.K. and U.S. They sought to strike down colonial-era laws that call for 10 years in prison for anal intercourse and five years for “gross indecency” with another person of the same sex.
Cristian González Cabrera, a senior researcher at Human Rights Watch, called the ruling “a travesty of justice” and said it represents “tacit state endorsement” of the discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community.
“It is a sad day for human rights in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and the ruling will weaken the rule of law for everyone in the country,” he said.
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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/st-vincent-gay-rights-law-c3a720a8448138fba88d735cac5cc73e