Buggery and indecency laws, or “the remnants of draconian laws of our colonial past”—according to the Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality (ECADE)—will soon be challenged in courts throughout the region. In an October 31 press statement the organisation announced its intention to file the claims before the year-end in Barbados, St. Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada and Saint Lucia.
In a statement, ECADE’s Executive Director Kenita Placide disclosed that this move has been four years in the making. She said that they needed to demonstrate “how these laws contribute to the stigmatisation of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders, queers and intersex (LGBTQI); how they legitimize hate speech, discrimination and violence and tear at the heart of the family that our society, including our governments, has sworn to protect”. The release noted that the laws “unfairly target LGBT people” but in the same breath acknowledged that custodial sentences are rarely imposed. Those convicted under these laws, the release continues, can face sentences of up to ten years’ imprisonment.
Saint Lucia’s so-called ‘buggery law’ criminalizes men having anal sex with men. It remains uncertain how the law, which is not enforced, contributes to stigmatisation, and legitimizes hate speech, discrimination and violence. Asked recently to comment, Prime Minister Allen Chastanet said no definitive decision had been reached but highlighted that no one has been arrested under the law. ECADE’s Executive Director Kenita Placide was unavailable for comment at press time.
Reacting to news of the planned legal challenge, Presiding Bishop of the Pentecostal Assemblies of the West Indies, Dr. Thomas Eristhee, warned that the country is heading down the wrong direction. He added that he was not surprised that the activists have turned to the courts. Since the majority of the population is against the lifestyle, he says, the LGBTQ community is now trying to force the court to grant them their wishes. The bishop said that there are some things that they will never accept as anything but wrong—“that can destroy communities and the nation”. He also questioned why disagreeing with a particular position on biblical grounds can be considered hate speech.
“Just because we have a different opinion than theirs,” he said, “just because we oppose them, they say that it’s hate speech. They say what they want about the church, but the church cannot even respond to say that we don’t hate you but we disagree with your stand because we consider it immoral and wrong and undeserving of support.” He continued: “We don’t hate anybody. I don’t think the country hates these people. It’s what they do, their lifestyle, that we don’t agree with.”
The outspoken bishop expressed concerns that the legal challenge spells trouble. A “devilish and sinful” agenda, he warns, is afoot. “We are definitely going in the wrong direction. I still don’t believe it’s going to succeed. If they can succeed with that, then what is left to stand on?”
