> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.scenemag.co.uk/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Historic court ruling for LGBTQ+ rights in Jamaica
- URL: https://www.scenemag.co.uk/historic-court-ruling-for-lgbtq-rights-in-jamaica/
- Published: 2021-02-20T10:30:39.000Z
- Updated: 2021-02-19T18:12:33.000Z
- Description: A human rights advocacy court has ruled that Jamaica’s criminalisation of same-sex relations violates the rights of its LGBTQ+ citizens
- Author: Rachel Badham
- Tags: News, Politics, Human Dignity Trust, LGBTQ, LGBTQ+ equality, LGBTQ+ rights

![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/inter-american-commission-on-human-rights-1.jpg)

For the first time ever, a human rights advocacy court has ruled that **Jamaica’s** criminalisation of same-sex relations violates the rights of its LGBTQ+ citizens, urging the government to change its laws. According to [*Reuters*](https://www.reuters.com/article/jamaica-lgbt-lawmaking/jamaica-should-repeal-gay-sex-ban-says-americas-top-rights-body-idUSL8N2KN5V0?ref=scenemag.co.uk), the **Inter-American Commission on Human Rights** (IACHR) ruled that the persecution of LGBTQ+ people is a violation of international law, after **Human Dignity Trust** (an LGBTQ+ legal advocacy group) brought forward the case.

![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/lgbt-jamaica-1.jpg)

Jamaica is one of nine Caribbean countries that persecutes people for engaging in same-sex relations, with the penalty being up to 10 years imprisonment. A case was first brought against Jamaican authorities in 2011 by two citizens who were attacked by homophobic gangs in the country. **Gareth Henry** and **Simone Edwards** subsequently sought asylum elsewhere, and argued that the 1864 ban on the *“abominable crime of buggery*” and *“gross indecency”* legitimised violence against LGBTQ+ people.

![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/jamaica-lgbt-1.jpg)

Following the IACHR’s decision that Jamaican authorities are violating the rights of LGBTQ+ people, Henry, who emigrated to Canada, said: *“I’m overwhelmed with joy. Gays and lesbians continue to be killed and tortured because they are deemed to be different.”* **Téa Braun**, the director of the Human Dignity Trust, referred to the verdict as a *“highly significant step forward that must now accelerate the repeal of these stigmatising and discriminatory laws.”* However, Braun also highlighted that the court’s decision is non-binding and the Jamaican government has yet to formally legalise same-sex relations.