LGBT rights in Trinidad and Tobago
| LGBT rights in Trinidad and Tobago | |
|---|---|
|
|
| Same-sex sexual activity legal? | Illegal |
|
Penalty:
|
25 years (Buggery), 5 years (other sexual acts) |
| Gender identity/expression | Surgery available; No legal recognition |
| Military service | No |
| Discrimination protections | None |
| Family rights | |
| Recognition of relationships |
No recognition of same-sex relationships |
| Adoption | No |
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Trinidad and Tobago may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity is illegal in Trinidad and Tobago.
The Trinbagonian Criminal Code prohibits sex between two people of the same sex, as is the case in much of the English-speaking Caribbean.
Section 13 of the Sexual Offences Act 1986 (Strengthened in 2000) criminalises "buggery". This section states:
Section 16 relates to "serious indecency":
The Government has not specifically targeted homosexuals under the "buggery" or "serious indecency" laws; however, in limited historical cases, individuals have been charged and convicted of these offences when coupled with other serious crimes. Currently, the law is not known to be enforced.
On 21 February 2017, Trinidad-born LGBT activist Jason Jones filed a case before the Supreme Court of Trinidad and Tobago seeking to have both Section 13 and Section 16 declared null and void. The hearing will take place by November 2017.
Under Section 8 of the Immigration Act, homosexual men and women who are not citizens are not allowed to enter Trinidad and Tobago. However, this law is not known to have been enforced.
The law forbidding immigration is not known to have been enforced.
In 2007, a highly vocal campaign opposed Elton John's entry into the country. This was led by the local Anglican Church, in particular Archdeacon Philip Isaac. The Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago rejected the call to bar Elton John from entry, and the concert went ahead as planned in May 2007.
A challenge by Jamaican activist Maurice Tomlinson was filed in 2013 to the immigration ban in both Trinidad and Tobago and Belize. Tomlinson asked Jamaica, his home country to insist that the travel bans of these countries be removed based on CARICOM provisions for free movement of citizens of member countries. Jamaica refused, and Tomlinson petitioned the Caribbean Court of Justice asking leave to file the case with them directly. In May 2014, Tomlinson was granted leave to challenge the immigration laws of both countries. In October 2014, CARICOM joined the case as an interested party supporting Tomlinson's arguments. On 18 March 2015, the challenge was heard with allegations that the immigration bans abridge the rights of free movement for Caribbean citizens contained in the Treaty of Chaguaramas. On 10 June 2016, the CCJ ruled that neither Trinidad and Tobago nor Belize had violated Tomlinson's freedom of movement, dismissing his case. As clarification, the judgment noted that neither state can ban homosexuals from CARICOM countries from entering their countries due to their treaty obligations, "notwithstanding their laws that ban the entry of gays".
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Wikipedia