{"id":68,"area":"Latin America & Caribbean","region_name":"St Kitts & Nevis","iso_2":"KN","region_sub":null,"legal_code_title":"Offences Against the Person Act, Act No.7 from 1873","legal_code_title_citation_1":null,"legal_code_title_citation_2":null,"legal_code_body":"Article 56 - “Any person who is convicted of the abominable crime of buggery, committed either with mankind or with any animal, shall be liable to be imprisoned for a term not exceeding ten years, with or without hard labour.”\n\nArticle 57 - “Any person who attempts to commit the said abominable crime, or is guilty of any assault with intent to commit the same, or of any indecent assault upon any male person, commits a misdemeanour, and, on conviction, shall be liable to be imprisoned for a term not exceeding four years, with or without hard labour.”","legal_code_body_citation_1":null,"legal_code_body_citation_2":null,"legal_code_body_citation_3":null,"legal_code_body_citation_4":null,"legal_code_ilga_comments":"Saint Kitts and Nevis did not accept any of the eight recommendations regarding decriminalisation and non-discrimination at its 1st cycle UPR in January 2011, the State delegation noted that it protects, not excludes, MSM in its HIV programming, and that despite the existence of the criminalising legislation, LGBT people enjoyed the same freedoms as everyone else in the “tolerant society” that is Saint Kitts and Nevis. It also asserted that LGBT persons did enjoy the same rights and privileges as everyone else, and no reports had been received about violence against LGBT people or exclusion from employment (para. 35). \nAt its 2nd UPR cycle in 2015, the State also received eight recommendations concerning the same issues: decriminalisation and non-discrimination. During the interactive dialogue, the delegation completely denied the existence of any formal or positive legal discrimination against persons based on their sexual orientation or gender identity in Saint Kitts and Nevis and reiterated that even though no laws prohibited such discrimination, the Government had received no reports of violence or discrimination on that basis (para. 16). The delegation added that the Ministry of Education had adopted the Health and Family Life Education (HFLE) core curriculum in schools, supported by UNICEF and that a “theme unit of that document addressed sexuality and sexual health, whereby students learned about sexuality in terms of the total expression of who they are as human beings.” Interestingly, the delegation indicated “it was envisaged that gaining an understanding about this critically important topic would prevent any discrimination against persons on the basis of their sexual orientation or sexual identity” (para. 87). \nAs a member of the General Assembly of the Organisation of American States (OAS), Saint Kitts and Nevis has joined the resolutions on Human Rights, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity and Expression adopted by this body since 2008 (see all OAS-GA Resolutions since 2008). However, in 2013, Saint Kitts and Nevis joined Dominica and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to insert a joint footnote stating that the delegations of these three countries were “unable to join consensus on the approval of this resolution” (fn. 2). It bears mentioning that Saint Kitts and Nevis withdrew from the list of countries that inserted further footnotes in 2014 and 2016 resolutions (there was no resolution in 2015). \nIn 2013, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) welcomed the statement delivered by the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Denzil Douglas, at a press conference regarding discrimination, stigma and HIV. In fact, he recommended “having a very serious look” at laws that criminalise “those who are engaged in sex work for pay”, and “those who are considered to be homosexuals”. However, less optimistic press reports indicated that, despite giving pro-LGBT comments to international audiences, Douglas had done nothing to remove the laws while he was in office, and that he had even been caught on camera making homophobic statements. \nIn late-2015, a media outlet spoke to three gay men from St Kitts and Nevis who said that “violence and harassment against the LGBT community is common and that police do little to stop it”. The 2016, US Department of State Human Rights Report indicates that “negative societal attitudes towards the LGBTI community impeded the operation of LGBTI organizations and the free association of LGBTI persons”. In fact, it has been reported that the country’s first LGBT organisation, the St Kitts/Nevis Gay-Straight Alliance for Progress, had its first meeting in January 2016. Moreover, the US DOS report explains that LGBT people are reluctant to report incidents of violence or abuse for fear of retribution or reprisal and an increase in threats of blackmail and fear of discrimination. \nThe publication Speaking Out offers a snapshot of some progress in the socio-political sphere through 2015 in this State, pointing out to trainings of State agents and statements by public officials.","legal_code_ilga_comments_citation_1":"339 See Saint Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla. & Lewis, P. C The Revised Laws of St. Christopher, Nevis and Anguilla: Prepared under the authority of the Revised edition of the laws ordinance, 1959 (London: 1964). See also, Reding, A. Sexual orientation and human rights in the Americas (New York: World Policy Institute, 2003), available at: http://www.worldpolicy.org/sites/default/files/uploaded/image/WPR-2003-Sexual%20Orientation%20and%20Human%20Rights%20in%20the%20Americas.pdf","legal_code_ilga_comments_citation_2":null,"legal_code_ilga_comments_citation_3":null,"legal_code_ilga_comments_citation_4":null,"legal_code_ilga_comments_citation_5":null,"legal_code_ilga_comments_citation_6":null,"legal_code_scruff_comments":null,"prison_term_min_length":null,"prison_term_max_length":10,"prison_term_notes":null,"prison_term_not_specified":null,"prison_term_years":true,"prison_term_life":null,"prison_term_mandatory":null,"fine_min_amount":null,"fine_max_amount":null,"fine_currency":null,"fine_notes":null,"fine_not_specified":null,"fine_amount":null,"fine_mandatory":null,"penalty_death":false,"penalty_death_notes":null,"penalty_corporal_punishment":null,"penalty_corporal_punishment_notes":null,"penalty_hard_labor":true,"penalty_hard_labor_notes":null,"penalty_banishment":null,"legal_code_explicitly_references_same_sex_acts":true,"legal_code_explicitly_references_acts_against_nature":null,"legal_code_differentiates_anal_sex_from_other_acts":null,"legal_code_indicates_hiv_as_aggravating_factor":null,"legal_code_indicates_age_of_consent_homosexual_acts_over_18":null,"existing_laws_used_to_target_gays_but_not_anti_gay":null,"islamic_sharia_law":null,"islamic_sharia_law_notes":null,"laws_subregional_variance_or_contradiction":null,"laws_subregional_variance_or_contradiction_notes":null,"laws_not_specifically_homophobic":null,"laws_status_unclear":null,"laws_status_unclear_notes":null,"persecution_non_state_agents":null,"criminalization_under_consideration":null,"recently_decriminalized":null,"propaganda_law_under_consideration":null,"propaganda_law_title":null,"propaganda_law_title_citation_1":null,"propaganda_law_body":null,"propaganda_law_body_citation_1":null,"propaganda_law_ilga_comments":null,"legal_developments_2023_2024_summary":null,"legal_developments_2023_2024_citations":"ILGA World, Laws On Us: A Global Overview of Legal Progress and Backtracking on SOGIESC, 1st Ed. (Geneva, May 2024) (country not referenced in Ch.1/2 narrative).","status_change_type":"Unchanged (not mentioned in 2024 report)"}