The Dominica High Court has ruled that sections 14 & 16 of the Sexual Offences Act which punishes homosexual sex, is unconstitutional.
The judgement was made via Zoom this morning.
That decision makes the country part of a global community that recognizes the right of same-sex adults to have consenting sexual activities in privacy.
Cara Shillingford represented the Claimants, the Attorney General Office represented the Defendant, Joelle Harris represented the Bishop of Roseau (Catholic Church) and the Anglican Church, and Joshua Francis represented the Dominica Association of Evangelical Churches as intervening parties.
The ruling effectively decriminalizes homosexual sex in the country. The decision has far-reaching implications for human rights and the role of religion in Dominica.
The case was first brought before the court in 2022 by a gay man who sought to have two sections of the Sexual Offences Act (SOA) that criminalize consensual same-sex activities ruled unconstitutional. The case to end the criminalization of LGBT people in Dominica was supported by Minority Rights Dominica (MiRiDom) and the HIV Legal Network, working alongside the claimant who was not named because of risk to his safety, according to the claimants.
Under sections 14 and 16 of the SOA, sexual activity between consenting partners of the same sex is prohibited — offences that were first enacted in 1873, when Dominica was under British colonial rule. The man who launched claims to have faced “discrimination, hostility, and horrific violence” in Dominica because he is gay.
“Dominica’s 1978 Constitution guarantees the rights to privacy, protection from discrimination, liberty, security of the person, freedom from inhuman or degrading punishment, freedom of expression, and freedom of assembly and association,” declared MiriDom in a press statement issued when the matter was first brought to trial in 2022. “Sections 14 and 16 of the SOA violate these rights in numerous ways.”
Today’s ruling effectively makes Dominica a member of the global community recognizing the rights of same-sex adults to engage in consensual sexual activities without fear of prosecution.
Founder and Coordinator of Minority Rights Dominica (MiRiDom), Daryl Phillip, has called a press conference for later today to discuss the ruling.
Full judgement is attached below:
The Judges erred in their judgement. The British law governing homosexuality was implemented to prevent the destruction of the moral fabric of our society. These laws served that purpose. the ruling should have ensured that interpretation was based on that rationale . what was the purpose of the law? so..yes we respect everybody’s freedoms. These freedoms should not be acts that corrupt our society. I am truly dissappointed in the jurist. SMH. poor intellectual application of law.
It’s about time they got rid of this backwards nonsense. What do I care what grown people do in their bedrooms? Afterall, if we’re gonna punish sex crimes using the bible and religion, we should also be convicting the adulterers and fornicators as well. Never really understood why one sex act was deemed more ‘sinful’ than the other anyway.
Kudos to the Dominica High Court for finally choosing to respect human rights
OK, so all joking aside I find nothing wrong with the ruling. The only difference between then and now is that males cant be charged or arrested for pushing each other poopoo further in once there is consent. Nothing else because them man been buggering each other like its normal since time immemorial. Women been washing each other plate the same way too. But mostly the high and mighty in society been practicing that nastiness. But as hypocrites, when we engage in anal sex with women, we call it advance sex
. So you see, thats why I say Dca people especially men to damn hypocrite. To each his own and religion have nothing to do with it because these days very few believe in religion.
Plus, we so dam hypocrites we condemn homosexuality and adultry but accept fornication like its not a sin too. Yoe toute cest mem! Man leave them people alone in their homo thing and lets put our energy into removing the SOS from office.
having anal sex with a woman and having sex with a man is 2 different things garcon
Under the old law (section 16 of the sexual offences act) anal sex between a man and woman was considered a criminal offence punishable by 10 years imprisonment. the buggery law affected both heterosexual and homo sexuals. Here is a link to the act
https://dominica.gov.dm/laws/1998/act1-1998.pdf
why?
So these judges rather encourage legalize borgaring and keep sending out youngsters to prison for marijuana rather than encourage its legalization?
I believe if same-sex marriage can be legalized we should legalize stealing too, seeing no sin is greater than the other
Stealing from someone implies that there’s a victim. Having sex with another consenting adult cannot be the same, where’s the victim? Apples and oranges
Why do you think adults loving each other are sinners?
Correction…It is God’s heaven.
Leviticus 18:22.
You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.
The Living Bible puts it this way.
“Do not practice homosexuality,having sex with an other man as with a woman.It is a detestable sin.”
In the New Testatament 1Corinthians 6:8-11 Paul mentioned some sins including Fornicators,adulterers,Homosexuals and Sodomites,and called these people “Unrighteous” and said they will not enter His heaven.
we must always remember “Who laughs last, laughs the best”
JJ, it’s the white man’s heaven. Try something else and get a life, you even making corrections?
uhhh so the Bible only condemns bogar? so it’s ok for women to be with women?
what do u expect the Creator to do to a country that goes against His laws. what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah. the were burned down. I need to tell the ungodly people of dominica that” where there is no vision the people will perish. God will surely demonstrate His ersth on our small vulnerable island. our turn is coming
What kind of creator is this who says adults loving each other are sinners?
Remember when the prime minister said that signing on to the Samoa agreement or whatever it’s called wouldn’t affect our laws? That was pretty damn fast but then again we are signed on to the Paris accords which also have the same kind of agenda
Lawyers can win any weak prosecutor. This is NOT human rights any more than the lady or man who have sexual relationships with their handsome son or pretty daughter instead of letting them get exploited by others who don’t care.
and that is y the church laws should be in charge of country laws. because as they are seperate it seems hypocrital for a God fearing person to accept legal punishment for homosexual or bisexual and suchlike sins yet they have no problems and are tolerant of fornication, adultery, and suchlike socially acceptable norms
Doesn’t it say in the same biblical texts that if there is but one person I (God) will not destroy it? From the comments here it seems Dominica has at least one God fearing person.
Parents talk to your sons protect them from these batty men out there. They will try to fool them with all sorts of material things. I hope they stay in their lane and stay away from people’s children.
So you don’t understand the ruling? It’s about consensual sex between adults. Nothing else changed.
Amazing. This is wonderful news.
I love how some people turn legalizing loving same sex into pedophilia like they are the same thing… You don’t have to be gay or les to be a pedo….. No one ever spoke about legalizing pedohilia.. How people can just hate two consenting adults loving is beyond me.. Focus on your life and stop trying to bring down other people.. its not like they are gonna be doing the dirty in the street like some of you weird ppl.. It’s anyone’s right to love whoever they please as long as they are a legal age and both parties consent. Get a life and stop b****ing…
Dominicans are hypocrites. Dominica always had gay people, you don’t need no foreign people to influence anything. I don’t believe in homosexuality, but I am not the Taliban. Each one have to answer to God for himself.
So Dominica has become a part of the global community as far as homosexuality is concerned? Well, this is not surprising.
Homosexuality was not practiced in Kemet (Africa). We have learned the way of our oppressors ever since they left the caves of Europe, in the Caucasus mountains. They left with a vengeance and destroyed the African way of life. They gave us their names, their god, their religion, educational systems, their court systems etc., and we became subordinate to them. This kind of lifestyle is about population control because two men nor two women can bring fort life (procreate).
What are we going to tell our youth?
Wow, wow, wow!.
My people, it’s time that we wake out of our sleep, that we need to go back to our Spirituality that the Europeans have demonized. Not even the churches can stop what our oppressors are doing in the earth.
By your logic, if a woman is barren or ‘past her prime’ she should not be allowed to be in a relationship?
Make it make sense please
Dominica is following the rules of the Americas and Europe because they will sanction them. Africa stood firm against the nonsense Biden administration tried to impose on them but Dominica crumbled. Shame, shame, shame. But what a country show that it will also reap. Dominica you have just opened yourself up to more seducing spirits and whatever spirits that will come and cause havoc on the country. Watch it and you all will see. Be not deceived God is not mocked.
the LGBTQ community are really stretching their wings. do not be fooled into believing that it only ends with the decriminalization of homosexuality. they want to ensure that our children are reeducated to believe that they can identify as whatever they feel like. they want to ensure that the family can also be 2 or 2 women. they want to ensure that our church marries gay people, and that gay people can become priests and pastors. they are the degradation of society. If we do not act now, we shall lose our country for good.
Well, what do you have against same sex families and marriage? What do have against people just loving each other? It’s legal and normal in my country and guess what: Nothing bad happened. Gay couples just live their happy family lives. Why do you want them not to be able to do this?
Dominica has become a part of the global community so we know that we were forced to comply to that kind of lifestyle which did not originate with us as African people. That kind of lifestyle was not practiced in Kemet (Africa). We have always walked in the footsteps of our oppressors like we have no brain to think for ourselves. This is another form of population control because two men nor two women can give birth. What message are we sending to our youth? The Europeans have been dictating our lives from the time they left the caves in the Caucasus mountains. They came out with a vengeance on African people and to this day they have not stopped.
They gave us their god, their names, their religions, their educational systems, their court systems and we have kept them all ever since. We can’t do anything on our own without their interference.
I trust that one day our eyes will be opened to the truth about who we really are as a people. It is time to wake up, my…
We must now abolish the Obeah Act. Check my previous article on the matter here
https://dominicanewsonline.com/news/homepage/features/commentary/obeah-reparations-slavery/
Dominica finally takes its first step into the 21st century. Fantastic news.
I notice what de court will give priorty
Although I wonder if de signature of de Samoa agreement had any influence in dat decision.
De agreement didn’t address proper democratic electoral reforms but it made a defining clamoring call for de rights of same sex interests.
you see dat word “unconstitutional”…………….HUH!
Skerrit going to beat us down with dat word…….again soon time.!!!!
If I have a constitutional right to form a group with a particular interest……..then I will have constitutional authority to act as my group thinks.
Well is now man going for bull for a living papa
. Linclown and his various personalities must be elated.
well if Gays can do as they like well maybe a theft can do as you want it his job LMAF Dominica done done done.
Well a theft has a victim. Which victim do you see when two adults love each other?
“The decision has far-reaching implications for human rights and the role of religion in Dominica,” DNO what does this mean. The role of the media is to report unbiased. You all copy and pasted what Joshua Francis stated but was that part even worth staying in the story.
It is 2024 and homosexuality is only now recognized as legal! Welcome to the 21st century, Dominica!
Instead of focusing on the issues that actually matter in this country, such as our rubbish bin of an economy, our political leaders and figures spend their time pushing pedophilia unto the population. Dominica is a country with one of the lowest iq citizens in the world. Instead of improving the intelligence of our citizens, we are trying to turn them into pedo victims.
If you want the truth about homosexuality read ‘And the Band Played On’ by Randy Shilts. It was written by a gay man and gives a none biased look at the AID crisis and how it got so out of hand. Hint: gay men are incredibly promiscuous and have no sexual inhibitions. Also, read the essay ‘Surviving Gay…Barely. Gay men are what men would be without women… Disgusting freaks who procreate via child abuse.
Many of you are naive, but those who have been around Gays, male and female alike, know fully that many in the community do in fact live up to the stereotypes of child abuse.
https://www.lawteacher.net/cases/knuller-v-dpp.php
a case that should be used as precedent. I should go work for the app. SMH. why would the judge not use the ‘Golden Rule’ of interpretation. homosexuality is immoral. smh
well…appeal to the CCJ. why would a society accept immoral acts as rights? crazy logic. interpretation of the constitutional law should be done by applying more than just the literal meaning of words. SMH. the judges should have ruled that these acts are immoral. not actual rights. and these acts will perverse society.
What consenting adults do in the privacy of their homes is not my business. It is not for me to tell adults how to live their lives.
Live and let live.
would you say the same about pedophiles who view child pornography?
pedophilia involves participants who cannot consent, so it is very different. you can disagree with how people live their lives, but the government should not step in unless someone is being abused
or even Catholic priests?
I was tempted not to respond to that foolishness, but I will just ask, what does pedophilia have to do with homosexuality?
That is all you are going to get from me. I do not engage in senseless arguments.
Paedophilia is rife in the gay community. Anybody who has gay friends or is familiar with them knows this. Read the essay “surviving gay…barely”, and you will see for yourself how this sort of behaviour is truly repulsive and has no place in a morally healthy society. Gay men are both abused and abuse children at higher rates than the heterosexual population. All stereotypes come from somewhere. Remember that.
You missed the part about consenting adults
@Beemo This is not consensual sex and therefore can’t be compared.
There’s pedophiles in same sex and opposite sex so I don’t see how they are not the same so that comment has no base as a negative… You find all kinds of people in all classes!
how does that correlate?
@Zandoli – It always stunning to see the type of fallacious, illogical, dotish reasoning some of you all come up with in order to justify nonsense. So, based on your ‘logic’ (or lack thereof), I suppose two consenting adults packing, using, stashing cocaine in the privacy of their home is fine & out of bounds from the police.
You know full well that the homosexual agenda has very little interest per se in just this ‘doing their thing in the privacy of their homes’.
You know full well that that’s why they take their lifestyle out of the privacy of their bedroom & into the streets via their Gay Pride Marches, Pride Month….
* …..that’s why they take their lifestyle out of their bedroom & use it to maliciously & deliberately target business people, Christians etc to browbeat them to accept their perversion by force or else…..
* …..that’s why they take their lifestyle out of their bedroom and push it on preschoolers, toddlers etc in the education system…….ETC
@Zandoli
You are just repeating what you have heard others say. This carnal behaviour should be of concern to you, unless you are……………….
Start to think for yourself. Stop parroting people when they are spewing nonsensicalities.
okay so what if somebody and their sibling want to do all kind of nasty things with each other? should that be legal?!
You aren’t allowed to abuse children or murder someone in the privacy of your own home. You aren’t allowed to sell or even own several types of substances IN THE PRIVACY OF YOUR OWN HOME. You aren’t allowed to have a firearm IN THE PRIVACY OF YOUR OWN HOME unless you go through a whole bunch of red tape.
This is a stupid argument.
And based on the precedent set in other countries that are further ahead on this issue than us, it’s not about what “adults” do “in the privacy of their own home”. Because once they got that allowance they started parading around publicly and now this stuff is all over the media and they are targetting children.
This is about people who want to open up the doors to all kinds of degenerate behaviour that have no bounds. Once they get one door open they will keep going. Next we will be at the transgender stage like they are in the US currently and having to deal with this nonsense in PUBLIC not “in the privacy of their own homes”
Dominica has long passed the point of no return. Parents will now have to tightly monitor their young male children from those who may want to prey on them.
You call this the EUROPEANIZATION and AMERICANIZATION of Dominica!
This needs to be apealed emediately!!!
There was a major fundamental error in this case!!!!!
The crime is Buggery or Sodomy.
just as Bill Clinton won his case based on the fact that he did not have sex with the young woman.
Sex is between a penis and a vagina!
There is no such thing as ‘homosexual’.
The law books have Buggery or Sodomy.
Children are not part of this ruling as they can’t be “consenting adults”.
And what about the young female children? Do you tightly monitor them, because some heterosexual man may want to prey on them?
@Rick
You are woefully NAIVE to think that they wont target children. How old are you? Are you a toddler?
@WOW!! You didn’t answer my question.
It if the churches were praying “EFFECTIVELY”, signs, wonders and miracles would be happening, right “NOW” as we speak.
This matter would not even have made it to the court.
We shall see and hear what the God who created the Universe says in His Court, the Court of all courts, both in HEAVEN and on the EARTH.
When it was to prevent Tommy Lee from coming into the country they had big march. They ended up ruining a man’s business in the process. But where they at now? Nobody talking about this. No marches, no protest. Just goes to show you that all these churches are corrupt
Utter nonsense!!! It would be interesting to find out whether there are foreign agents (governments and/or non-government organizations/persons) who are/were operating behind the scenes on the part of the claimants.
But what am I reading dere nuh. “Cara Shillingford represented the claimants….”
Wait nah, is this the same Cara……? If so, I’m very, very disappointed in her. I wonder what motivated her to represent claimants challenging these morals/values of the country she grew up in.
What next? The legalization of pedophilia (there’s currently an increasingly emboldened movement materializing to reprogram society to reclassify & accept pedophilia as another one of these alternate sexual orientations ie the Minor Attracted Persons movement), incest, polygamy, bestiality, transgenderism etc since ANYBODY can claim they were born with such & such sexual preferences & want their rights as well.
SEXUAL PERVERSION & FANTASY ARE NOT HUMAN RIGHTS!!!!!
let he who has not sinned cast the first stone
I noted that the case was FIRST brought in 2022. Two years later, a decision is handed down. However, there are folks inarcerated at Stock Farm for YEARS waiting for their day in court!!! Go figure
You should advocate for the children being abused by family members, and advocate for the reduction of rampant alcoholism by police officers and those in power. Those are behaviour that also have negative effects on our society. Dominica needs more prayers less sewò.
What about love? Is this a human right?
And why to you compare this ruling to pedophilia? How can pedophilia be consensual?
The sections 14 & 16 are not about “morals/values”, they are about criminalization and descrimination. What does your god say about discriminating other people that love each other?
They will soften you till you break. They have successfully made it human rights, the same as genocide. They are also part of the MBLA (Men Love Boy Association) that are still lobbying to lower the age of consent for young juicy boys from 14 to 12 years old (babies) in some U.S jurisdictions as human rights.
Pat of the depopulation drive masked as human rights.
One of these days these hypocrites will stop this insidious conflating of peadophilia with homosexuality to try to support their own nasty prejudice. Cara Shillingford often represents positions with which I disagree but to argue that as an officer of the court she (or any one else) should deny advocacy to a party with a legitimate case to argue is nonsensical . What next ? So long as there are laws on our books which unfairly deny rights afforded to others they must be struck down. It is clear that neither beastiality nor peadophilia qualify as niether animals nor children have the power of consent. Martial rape , however, should be the next thing under the spotlight. About time a few of these violent and cruel spouses claiming divine rights over their partners bodies see in inside of a jail cell.
The constant urge to align homosexuality with pedophilia is not only incorrect but honestly so stupid .
Ask any woman in town is not no gay man that touch them when they was 11 & 12 in high school.
It was grown cis gender masculine presenting some even married men.
Y’all need to stop that cause y’all know pedophilia effects woman more than it does men and two grown men doing whatever they want to do ( some doesn’t even bugga) in the privacy of their own home is their business and theirs alone .
Not everyone believes in the Bible and God is not human!! he knows who doing it cause that’s just who they are and those doing it for power money or whatever else .
Let people live .
The law was never stopping nobody from doing what they wanted before .
lastly instead of saying gays gonna touch your little boys let’s look at the real issue of grown married men praying on innocent little GIRLS FEMALES and talking about if it old enough to bleed u know the rest. THOSE ARE THE PEDOS…
Yes it is the same as a pedophile, same human rights as genocide.
Never mind, rember pm signed the SAMOA and other accords? Well, you’re in.