Jamaica

Consensual same-sex sexual conduct is criminalized in Jamaica under sections 76, 77, and 79 of the Offences Against the Person Act. Section 76 criminalizes engaging in the “abominable crime of buggery,” while section 77 criminalizes any attempt to engage in buggery. These offenses apply to both male and female persons. In practice, however, they have a disproportionate impact on gay men and men who have sex with men. Section 79 makes it an offense for a male person to commit, procure, or attempt to commit an “act of gross indecency” with another male person. It is widely acknowledged that sections 76, 77, and 79 of the Offenses Against the Person Act contribute to a culture of hostility, discrimination, exclusion, and violence against LGBTIQ persons, leading to serious rights violations. Discrimination in school settings leads trans and gender nonconforming people to drop out, negatively impacting their employability and contributing to precarity. There are no laws protecting LGBTIQ persons from discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. 

In 2020, the Inter-American Commission, upon conclusion of its consideration of a petition filed by a gay man and a lesbian woman, determined that Jamaica’s same-sex criminalization laws violate key articles of the American Convention on Human Rights. In particular, they violate the right to humane treatment, privacy, equal protection, and judicial protection. However, in 2023, a challenge to the constitutionality of Jamaica’s buggery and gross indecency laws failed in the local court. The Supreme Court of Jamaica made it clear in Maurice Tomlinson v. Attorney General of Jamaica that, due to a constitutional amendment that protected these laws from judicial scrutiny, the Court could not inquire into their constitutional validity. The matter must be dealt with by the Parliament and not the Court. The Court determined that “The constitutionality of sections 76, 77, and 79 of the Offences Against the Person Act cannot be enquired into in the light of the savings law clause in section 13(12) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms in the Constitution of Jamaica.” Constitutional reform is taking place in Jamaica, but the state has indicated that the reform is not currently focused on human rights issues. 

Despite the lack of progress towards the decriminalization of consensual same-sex conduct between adults, there is some measured progress. Pride has been organized by LGBTIQ activists and organizations since 2015, despite backlash that has forced organizers to cancel some Pride events outside the capital. LGBTIQ organizations have been working to address issues of discrimination, particularly in the provision of public services. Additionally, the latest survey commissioned by J-FLAG, the leading LGBTQ organization, found that while negative attitudes continue to be high, there has been an attitudinal shift where fewer Jamaicans reject LGBT people and more Jamaicans tolerate, accept, and support LGBT people.

*Outright research indicates that the bodily autonomy of intersex people is not respected and protected in this country.