UPR Sexual Rights Database

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 13) JS3 recalled that during its first review, the Government rejected recommendations to decriminalize consensual relations between consenting same sex adults and deferred the matter to the then pending report of the Constitutional Reform Committee. This report had considered decriminalizing sexual acts between consenting adults of the same sex, without making specific recommendations. Additionally, the report had not taken into account recommendations that sexual orientation be afforded any constitutional protection but had recommended that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation be addressed under separate legislation.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 4) JS3 welcomed that, in 2012, Saint Lucia implemented the Labour Code Act of 2006 which captured some concerns under ILO Conventions in areas of unfair dismissal, child labor, sexual orientation, and workers' rights but regretted that there had been no revision of the Civil Code to eliminate gender based discriminatory provisions as accepted by the State during its previous review.

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 8) In 2020, the GOSL ensured that the rights of those with disabilities were top priority through its ratification of the CRPD and the accession to its OP.
Para 2) … in June 2020 it had ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and had requested technical assistance from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) to support the implementation of the Convention.

UN Compilation:
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.