Trinidad & Tobago

Legal Code Summary

Sexual Offences Act 1986, Consolidated Version

Legal Code Text

Section 13. “(1) A person who commits buggery is guilty of an offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment— (a) if committed by an adult on a minor, for life; (b) if committed by an adult on another adult, for twenty-five years; (c) if committed by a minor, for five years. (2) In this section “buggery” means sexual intercourse per anum by a male person with a male person or by a male person with a female person.”

Section 16. “(1) A person who commits an act of serious indecency on or towards another is guilty of an offence and is liable on conviction to imprisonment— (a) if committed on or towards a minor under sixteen years of age for ten years for a first offence and to imprisonment for fifteen years for a subsequent offence; (b) if committed on or towards a person sixteen years of age or more for five years. (2) Subsection (1) does not apply to an act of serious indecency committed in private between— (a) a husband and his wife; or (b) a male person and a female person each of whom is sixteen years of age or more, both of whom consent to the commission of the act. (3) An act of “serious indecency” is an act, other than sexual intercourse (whether natural or unnatural), by a person involving the use of the genital organ for the purpose of arousing or gratifying sexual desire.”

ILGA Analysis & Notes

In October 2011, Trinidad and Tobago commenced its 1st UPR sessions. The State had received six recommendations, and had accepted two of these: to undertake policies to promote the rights of LGBT people, and to institute policy to prevent and prosecute crimes based on SOGI. Three of the remaining four recommendations that were ‘noted’ (rejected) concerned repeal of the criminalising law, and the fourth rejection called for wide-ranging legislative and political reforms to address discrimination, including public awareness campaigns, based on “sexual preference”. In its 2nd cycle UPR, the State received 14 SOGI-related recommendations, all of which were rejected. Ten of these recommendations referred to decriminalisation. During the interactive dialogue, the delegation did not answer any of the comments made by other countries on SOGI issues. Trinidad and Tobago’s next UPR is in May 2021. As a member of the General Assembly of the Organisation of American States (OAS), Trinidad and Tobago 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, Trinidad and Tobago announced, along with Saint Lucia and Honduras, it would insert a footnote to that year’s resolution (fn. 7). The following year, Trinidad and Tobago did so stating it was unable to support the resolution and recalled that “the act of sodomy whether between same sex partners or heterosexual partners is illegal” (fn. 10). In the 2016 resolution (there was no resolution in 2015), the State slightly shifted the tone of its footnote stating that Trinidad and Tobago was unable to join the consensus “as some areas are contrary to the laws of the Republic”, but that it remained “firmly committed to the promotion and preservation of the rule of law; the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms of all people as enshrined in the Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago”. In June 2016, Prime Minister, Keith Rowley, stressed that there were no plans to change the buggery law. However, he stated that the police should protect every citizen “regardless of who they sleep with, they don’t sleep with or how they do it” .Moreover, the Caribbean Court of Justice delivered its judgment in a case brought forward by Maurice Tomlinson seeking to invalidate immigration laws which prohibit the entry of “homosexuals” into Belize and into Trinidad & Tobago. Although the decision safeguarded the right of CARICOM gay nationals to enter those two countries, it failed to declare these laws invalid. The decision has been analysed by Andre Bagoo and Colin Robinson. Although the Equal Opportunities Commission urged the inclusion of sexual orientation in the State’s non-discrimination provision, no legislative developments have been enacted to protect the rights of LGBT people in Trinidad and Tobago. In fact, the Coalition Advocating for Inclusion of Sexual Orientation (CAISO) along with other organisations, submitted a detailed shadow report for the State’s 2nd cycle UPR which follows up on the recommendations made to Trinidad and Tobago in 2011. In early 2017, Jason Jones, a Trinidad-born gay human rights activist, brought a claim before local courts seeking to repeal the buggery laws. After filing his brief, Jones reported receiving dozens of death threats.