LGBT rights in Grenada | |
---|---|
Status | Illegal |
Penalty | Up to 10 years in prison (not enforced) |
Gender identity | No |
Military | Has no military |
Discrimination protections | None |
Family rights | |
Recognition of relationships | No recognition of same-sex relationships |
Adoption | No |
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Grenada may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. The penal code makes same-sex acts on Grenada proper illegal with a punishment up to 10 years in prison, it also does not address discrimination or harassment on the account of sexual orientation or gender identity, nor does it recognize same sex unions in any form, whether it be marriage or partnerships. Household headed by same-sex couples are also not eligible for any of the same rights given to opposite-sex married couples.
Homosexuality is illegal in Grenada proper. Under the Grenada Criminal Code, Section 431, the offence of “unnatural crime” is committed by way of sexual intercourse per anum, i.e., anal penetration. Such offence is punishable by imprisonment for ten years. [1]
The Criminal Code does not specify the ‘penetrating’ object, although by reliance on the common law, the penetrating object is the penis. The offence is committable by male person with/to male person and/or male person with/to female. The offence cannot, however, be committed by two female persons. However, in section 7, the criminal law prohibits "Committing grossly indecent act; is stated in gender-neutral terms. By implication it covers both opposite-sex and same-sex acts. The act of gross indecency must be committed wilfully and in public." Under this section female homosexuality is illegal under public indecency laws. [2]
In May 2013, the president of the Senate of Grenada called the island to reconsider its ban on same-sex sexual relationships and said that “the day is fast approaching” for Grenada and other Caribbean countries to repeal their sodomy laws. [3]
There are no explicit clause on equality or protection of privacy in the Grenada Constitution of 1973. [4]
Grenadan law does not address discrimination or harassment on the account of sexual orientation or gender identity.
Same-sex sexual activity legal | (Penalty: Up to 10 years' imprisonment, not enforced) |
Equal age of consent | |
Anti-discrimination laws in employment | |
Anti-discrimination laws in the provision of goods and services | |
Anti-discrimination laws in all other areas (incl. indirect discrimination, hate speech) | |
Same-sex marriages | |
Recognition of same-sex couples | |
Step-child adoption by same-sex couples | |
Joint adoption by same-sex couples | |
Gays and lesbians allowed to serve openly in the military | Has no military |
Right to change legal gender | |
Access to IVF for lesbians | |
Commercial surrogacy for gay male couples | |
MSMs allowed to donate blood |
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Chad face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female forms of same-sex sexual activity are illegal in the country. Before the new penal code took effect in August 2017, homosexual activity between adults had never been criminalised. There is no legal protection against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Nigeria face severe challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. LGBT rights are generally infringed upon; homosexual activity is illegal in Nigeria and punishable by up to 16 years of prison in the conventional court system. There is no legal protection for LGBT rights in Nigeria—a largely conservative country of more than 225 million people, split between a mainly Muslim north and a largely Christian south. Very few LGBT persons are open about their sexual orientation, as violence against them is frequent. According to PinkNews, Nigerian authorities generally target the LGBT community. Many LGBT Nigerians are fleeing to countries with progressive law to seek protection.
The age of consent in Africa for sexual activity varies by jurisdiction across the continent, codified in laws which may also stipulate the specific activities that are permitted or the gender of participants for different ages. Other variables may exist, such as close-in-age exemptions.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Tanzania face severe challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Homosexuality in Tanzania is a socially taboo topic, and same-sex sexual acts are criminal offences, punishable with life imprisonment. The law also criminalises heterosexuals who engage in oral sex and anal intercourse.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in the Gambia face significant challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Same-sex sexual activity is illegal for both males and females in the Gambia. Criminalisation commenced under the colonial rule of the British. The 1933 Criminal Code provides penalties of prison terms of up to fourteen years. In 2014, the country amended its code to impose even harsher penalties of life imprisonment for "aggravated" cases. While the United States Department of State reports that the laws against homosexual activity are not "actively enforced", arrests have occurred; the NGO Human Rights Watch, reports regular organised actions by law enforcement against persons suspected of homosexuality and gender non-conformity.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Sri Lanka face significant challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Article 365 of the Sri Lankan Penal Code, which dates from the time of colonial British Ceylon, criminalizes sexual acts deemed "against the order of nature". This has been ruled unenforceable by the Supreme Court, but the court does not have the power to remove laws outright. A private members' bill submitted to parliament in August 2022 has been given the support of the ruling government and is likely to be passed by parliament in 2023.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Dominica face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Sodomy, also known as "buggery", is illegal for both heterosexuals and homosexuals. Dominica provides no recognition to same-sex unions, whether in the form of marriage or civil unions, and no law prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Guinea face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Both male and female expressions of same-sex sexual activity are illegal in Guinea, and discriminatory attitudes towards LGBT people are generally tolerated in the nation.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Malawi face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Zambia face significant challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Same-sex sexual activity is illegal for both males and females in Zambia. Formerly a colony of the British Empire, Zambia inherited the laws and legal system of its colonial occupiers upon independence in 1964. Laws concerning homosexuality have largely remained unchanged since then, and homosexuality is covered by sodomy laws that also proscribe bestiality. Social attitudes toward LGBT people are mostly negative and coloured by perceptions that homosexuality is immoral and a form of insanity. However, in recent years, younger generations are beginning to show positive and open minded attitudes towards their LGBT peers.
A sodomy law is a law that defines certain sexual acts as crimes. The precise sexual acts meant by the term sodomy are rarely spelled out in the law but are typically understood by courts to include any sexual act deemed to be "unnatural" or "immoral". Sodomy typically includes anal sex, oral sex, manual sex, and bestiality. In practice, sodomy laws have rarely been enforced against heterosexual couples, and have mostly been used to target homosexual couples.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Antigua and Barbuda may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT citizens.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Montserrat face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal in Montserrat since 2001.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Sierra Leone face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Male same-sex sexual activity is illegal in Sierra Leone and carries a possible penalty of life imprisonment, although this law is seldom enforced.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Niue face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Male same-sex sexual activity is illegal in Niue, although there is no recent instance of it being actively prosecuted. Same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex married couples.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. The Penal Code makes same-sex acts illegal with a punishment up to 10 years in prison, although the law is not enforced and is being challenged in the courts. In addition, it outlaws the practice of "buggery", whether homosexual or heterosexual and irrespective of whether the act was consensual. The country's laws also do not address discrimination or harassment on account of sexual orientation or gender identity, nor recognize same-sex unions in any form, whether it be marriage or partnerships. Households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for any of the same rights given to opposite-sex married couples.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Tonga face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Male homosexuality is illegal in Tonga, with a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment, but the law is not enforced.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Tuvalu face challenges not faced by non-LGBT people. Sections 153, 154 and 155 of the Penal Code outlaw male homosexual intercourse with a penalty of up to 14 years in prison, but the law is not enforced. Employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation has been banned since 2017.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Kiribati face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Male homosexuality is illegal in Kiribati with a penalty of up to 14 years in prison, but the law is not enforced. Female homosexuality is legal, but lesbians may face violence and discrimination. Despite this, employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation has been prohibited since 2015.
Article 365 of the Sri Lankan Penal Code criminalizes "carnal intercourse against the order of nature" and provides for a penalty of up to ten years in prison.