Being gay in Saint Lucia is walking a fine line between expressing desire and love mixed with fear of being caught, convicted or bashed. Here is an online-researched report that summarizes various findings about homosexuality in this beautiful, scenic, appealing tourist-friendly island nation where same-sex behavior is criminalized and HIV is highly stigmatized.
Saint Lucia is an island nation in the eastern Caribbean Sea on the boundary with the Atlantic Ocean. Great Britain took control of the island from 1663 to 1667 then went to war with France over it fourteen times and finally took complete control in 1814. On February 22, 1979, Saint Lucia became an independent state within the British Commonwealth of Nations. The population is of mostly African descent. Not surprising, tourism is vital to the economy. In St Lucia, homosexuality is a crime penalized by imprisonment: The laws state that “a person who commits buggery is guilty of an offense and liable on conviction to imprisonment for (a) life, if committed by an adult on a minor; (b) twenty-five years if committed by an adult on another adult; (c) in this section buggery means sexual intercourse per anus by a male person with a male or by a male person with a female.”
GlobalGayz does not recommend this destination because of its laws against homosexuality.
Name: Saint Lucia
Population: 161000
Capital: Castries - Pop. 11000
Area: 620 sq. km/ sq. miles
Language: English, French Creole
Religion: Roman Catholic
Status of Homosexuality: Illegal
Telephone Country Code: 175
St. Lucia (Caribbean) Activist Says: ‘We Are Here to Stay!’
An interview with St Lucia’s outspoken LGBT lesbian activist reveals her optimism and courage in the face of daunting circumstances for gays in her island nation where homosexuality is still criminalized and Christian homophobia runs high. Kenita Placide (photo right) is at the forefront of the Gay and Lesbian movement in Saint Lucia. Dressed