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Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in
Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis, officially the Federation of Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis, is an island country consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain of the Less ...
face legal challenges not experienced by non-
LGBTQIA LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The group i ...
residents. In 2022, Saint Kitts and Nevis rescinded its criminalization of homosexuality. However, the national penal code does not address discrimination or harassment on the account of
sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring personal pattern of romantic attraction or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. Patterns ar ...
or
gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent and consistent with the in ...
, nor does the law recognize same sex unions in any form, whether it be marriage or partnerships. Households headed by same-sex couples are also not eligible for any of the same rights given to opposite-sex married couples.


Legality of same-sex sexual activity

Following a ruling of the
Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (ECSC) is a superior court of record for the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), including six independent states: Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts and N ...
on 29 August 2022, consensual same-sex intercourse between adult males, in private, is no longer illegal in Saint Kitts and Nevis. Previously, Sections 56 and 57 of the "Offences Against the Person Act" criminalized same-sex sexual activity. The Court ruled that the sections violated the Saint Kitts and Nevis constitutional provisions guaranteeing a right to privacy and freedom of expression. The ruling had immediate effect. In 2011, the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis said it had “no mandate from the people” to abolish the criminalisation of homosexuality among consenting adults. However, despite the existence of the law on the books, there had been no known prosecution of same-sex sexual activity, according to the government.


Social conditions

On 23 March 2005, the island of
Nevis Nevis ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea that forms part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. Nevis and the neighbouring island of Saint Kitts constitute the Saint Kitts and Nevis, Federation of Saint Kitts ...
—part of the nation of Saint Kitts and Nevis—barred a cruise ship carrying 110 American passengers, mostly LGBT, from docking. A police boat halted the Source Events/Windjammer Barefoot Cruises ship and took the captain to shore for a meeting with port, police, customs and immigration officials, after which the ship was ordered to sail on. Port authority Acting General Manager Oral Brandy told reporters that Nevis does not want homosexuality "to be a part of our culture".


Summary table


See also

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Politics of Saint Kitts and Nevis The politics of Saint Kitts and Nevis takes place in the framework of a federal parliamentary democracy. Saint Kitts and Nevis is an independent Commonwealth realm with Charles III as its head of state, viceregally represented by a Governor-Gen ...
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LGBT rights in the Commonwealth of Nations The majority of the countries of the Commonwealth of Nations, formerly known as the British Commonwealth, still criminalise sexual acts between consenting adults of the same sex and other forms of sexual orientation, gender identity and expressio ...
*
LGBT rights in the Americas Laws governing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) rights are complex and diverse in the Americas, and acceptance of LGBTQ persons varies widely. Same-sex marriages are currently legal in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colo ...
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LGBT rights by country or territory Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Not ...


References

{{Title country Law of Saint Kitts and Nevis Society of Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Kitts and Nevis, officially the Federation of Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis, is an island country consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain of the Less ...