UPR Sexual Rights Database

National Report:
Para 43) Domestic violence is the most common form of gender-based violence which predominantly affects women and girls. Within the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, several institutions and agencies are involved in providing service to victims of domestic violence, facilitating the report of incidents to the relevant authorities.
Para 44) Through assistance from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), The Domestic Violence and Sexual Violence Complaints and Response Protocol was launched in November, 2018. The policy educates key stakeholders in the healthcare, education, childcare, social support, legal and criminal justice system sectors and provides guidelines for training on the appropriate procedures to follow when a crime of this nature materializes. It addresses first response procedures, best practices for law enforcement, emergency and medical services, social services, victim advocacy and legal action. The Department of Gender Affairs has held various sensitization workshops, consultations and panel discussions, aimed at increasing the awareness of stakeholders about this Response Protocol and its use throughout 2019. Para 45) Saint Kitts and Nevis is also an avid participant of the annual 16-day campaign on Violence against Women and Girls. The 16-Day Campaign which was observed in the Federation from November 25 to December 10, 2019 was designed to demonstrate solidarity with survivors of domestic and gender-based violence, raise awareness, prevent the occurrence wherever possible, and advocate for relief and justice for the victims.
Para 46) In 2018, the Special Victims Unit (SVU) relocated to a more conducive, safe and comfortable space for victims to report incidents of sexual violence without fear of reprisals. In addition, the Department of Gender Affairs in partnership with several faith-based organisations, provide financial support and temporary shelters for victims of domestic violence who have no alternate housing solution. This rental allowance covers a period of three months.
Para 47) Different public campaigns were also lead by the Ministry of Gender Affairs which featured primarily on popular call-in radio programmes. Guest panelists included staff from the Special Victims Unit of the Royal Saint Christopher and Nevis Police Force, and the National Men’s Council.
Para 48) Collaboration with the Ministry of Education resulted in the involvement of primary school children in public service announcements to condemn domestic violence and promote a kinder, gentler society; and secondary school children in public awareness raising activities, such as marches and street theatre.
Para 83) … the Ministry [of Social Services] has a directory of private lawyers who have indicated an interest in providing pro-bono services to victims of domestic violence.

National Report:
Para 13) The ratification of the OPs to the CRC is currently under discussion by the government. A review of our legislation was conducted several years ago, and, it was noted that some elements of the legislation would require adjustment as it relates to the OP on children in armed conflict. This is currently being reviewed and the government will consider signing the OPs and declare any possible reservations with regard to children in armed conflict.

National Report:
Para 97) [The Equal Pay Act 2012] defines equal pay as a rate or scale of remuneration for work in which there is no element of differentiation between male and female employees.

Para 98) It ensures equal pay for men and women in the workplace and makes it an offence for an employer or his or her agent not to comply with the law.

Para 99) Moreover, the Act makes a provision for the removal and prevention of discrimination based on the gender of the employee in paid employment, and to provide for related or incidental matters.

Para 100) It empowers a court to order the payment of arrears of remuneration against an employer who is convicted of such an offence.

UN Compilation:
Para 14) The subregional team stated that the Government was currently undertaking initiatives to open the way for encouraging more women into entrepreneurship through programmes supported by multilateral partners, such as the Economic Partnership Agreement. The People's Employment Programme, a poverty reduction programme, had also opened some space for entrepreneurship and asset-building among men and women.

UN Compilation:
Para 15) The subregional team stated that societal negative attitudes towards the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community impeded the operation of organizations working for such individuals and their free association. It asserted that public discourse on the rights of such individuals indicated that there remained strong sentiment against homosexuality and gay marriage, and reported that the former Prime Minister had publicly advocated a review of the country's anti-sodomy laws and tolerance for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals

Stakeholder Summary
Para 10) JS2 reported that during the 2011 review, despite several recommendations made to decriminalize consensual same sex relations, Saint Kitts and Nevis stated that a popular "mandate" was necessary for state protection of the rights of sexual minorities, and that continued criminalization of consensual sex under sections 56 and 57 of the Offences against the Person Act was justified because of "strong opposition" by citizens to repeal these laws.

National Report:
Para 39) The continued work of the Women's Support Centre which was established in 2001 has aided in ensuring that victims of domestic abuse are able to obtain access to shelter, counselling, social support and protection from the abuse which they have been exposed to. Furthermore, the Women's Support Centre often works in tandem with the police and family court to provide legal redress and additional protection for victims. Finally, in cases where the abused woman is unemployed and her current living environment puts her at risk for further abuse, the support centre would endeavour to source alternative housing and job placements for that individual.

Para 40) The Vulnerable Persons Team is a unit which was established within the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force in 2003. This Unit's mandate is to respond solely to cases of violence against women and children on island with the aim of resolving such matters with necessary care and attention.

Para 41) The Government, through the Division of Gender Relations has addressed the issue of violence against women through a series of awareness raising activities supplemented by training programmes for the police, healthcare providers and other relevant parties in order to aid in the better handling of matters of domestic violence.

UN Compilation:
Para 3) The United Nations subregional team for Barbados indicated that Saint Lucia participated in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Family Law and Domestic Violence Legal and Judicial Reform Project, as part of which four bills were developed and submitted to Eastern Caribbean Governments for consideration: ... the Domestic Violence Bill, which aims to protect victims of domestic abuse. The bills were before the Attorney General's Chambers for final review and submission to Cabinet for approval.

Para 20) According to the subregional team, the legislative framework addressing domestic and sexual violence has not been adequately implemented or enforced. Saint Lucia enacted the Domestic Violence Law in 1994 and amended the Criminal Code nine years later to conform with the Law. However, there were critical shortcomings in the Law, such as the absence of provisions on marital rape, which left women highly vulnerable to abuse. No provisions had been incorporated to define violence against women as distinct from intrafamily, family or domestic violence. Alleged perpetrators of sexual and domestic violence were only prosecuted if the victim pressed charges. Lawyers in Saint Lucia indicated to the subregional team that it could be difficult to meet the legal requirements to prosecute alleged perpetrators of rape and other sexual violence due to a lack of corroboration.

Para 21) The subregional team indicated that in 2012 the Government had launched an island-wide initiative to curb domestic and gender-based violence. The Department of Gender Relations also ran the Women's Support Centre, which provided shelter, counselling and residential services, a 24-hour hotline and assistance in finding employment for victims. Various non-governmental organizations also provided counselling, referral, education and empowerment services. However, crisis centres in Saint Lucia were significantly underfunded.

Para 22.)The subregional team noted that the police had indicated an increase in the reporting of sexual crimes against women and children. However, there was no evidence that due process was followed, and no indication that there had been an increase in prosecutions. Given that marital rape was still not acknowledged within the legal framework, the team called into question the effectiveness of the response of the justice system to sexual violence against women

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 27) JS3 noted that Saint Lucia had not taken any action to address the accepted recommendation relating to reforms to better combat gender and domestic violence that would allow prosecution of perpetrators without the necessity for the victim to lodge a complaint ...

National Report:
Para 25) The GOSL has demonstrated a willingness to engage openly with civil society organisations representing lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons, as is evident from these organisations participating in the Department of External Affairs’ national human rights consultations which took place from 2018–2020. The GOSL reaffirms its commitment to continue engaging such organisations and further commits to addressing unfair anti-discrimination regarding this community.

UN Compilation:
Para 9) The subregional team observed that although Constitution of Saint Lucia contained language on anti-discrimination, neither the Constitution nor legislation protected against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. The subregional team noted that Saint Lucia was a very conservative society where non-heteronormative expression was deeply frowned upon. Civil society activists reported that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons who lived openly in society, particularly those from lower economic brackets, faced stigma and discrimination, including challenges in accessing basic health care, and social services, and greater difficulty in finding jobs. In past years gay men had sought and been granted asylum in other countries on the grounds of the homophobic violence experienced in Saint Lucia.
Para 10) The subregional team noted that, in contrast to other countries in the region, Saint Lucia had supported recommendations to fight against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity and to carry out awareness-raising campaigns regarding nondiscrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. Although the Government had not led those efforts, civil society organizations had facilitated numerous LGBTI sensitivity training sessions for law enforcement officers and community service providers.
Para 11) The subregional team observed that same-sex relations between consenting adults were illegal in Saint Lucia. The crime of “buggery” carried a maximum sentence of 10 years and the crime of “indecency” carried a potential sentence of 5 to 10 years. The subregional team recommended that Saint Lucia decriminalize consensual sexual activity between persons of the same sex.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 5) Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated that Saint Lucia did not have comprehensive laws that prohibited discrimination on grounds of gender identity and sexual orientation. HRW indicated that during the previous cycle of the universal periodic review, Saint Lucia had not supported recommendations to repeal legislation that discriminated against LGBT and intersex people or recommendations to decriminalize consensual sexual relations between consenting adults of the same sex. Section 131 of Saint Lucia’s 2006 Labour Act did prohibit employers from “unfairly dismissing” a person on the basis of their sexual orientation, but did not prohibit such dismissal on the basis of gender identity.
Para 7) HRW noted that Section 133 of Saint Lucia’s Criminal Code on “buggery” criminalized consensual same-sex conduct. Additionally, Section 132 of the Criminal Code on “gross indecency” exempted from punishment any act “committed in private between an adult male person and an adult female person, both of whom consent” but did not protect private acts between same-sex couples. JS2 made similar observations noting that the penalty for buggery was imprisonment for ten years.
Para 8) HRW stated that while buggery and gross indecency laws in Saint Lucia were seldom enforced against consenting persons, their impact was pernicious. Laws criminalizing same-sex conduct reinforced already-existing societal prejudices, effectively giving social and legal sanction for discrimination, violence, stigma, and prejudice against LGBT individuals. JAI made similar observations indicating that LGBTQ+ citizens faced verbal harassment on a daily basis, and even physical threats. JAI added that they were also often denied access to healthcare, the job market, and protection from the police.