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In a landmark judgment, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council has ruled against the laws criminalising consensual same-sex intimacy in Trinidad and Tobago, affirming that such legislation has no place in a society that respects fundamental human rights and freedoms.
The decision follows years of legal campaigning led by activist Jason Jones, who first challenged the country’s discriminatory laws in 2017. His case was successful in 2018, when the High Court ruled that provisions criminalising same-sex intimacy were unconstitutional. However, that decision was overturned by the Court of Appeal in 2025, prompting Jones to take his fight to the Privy Council in London.
In its judgment, the Privy Council found that the country’s ‘buggery’ and ‘serious indecency’ laws violated fundamental rights, including the rights to private life, dignity, equality before the law and freedom of thought and expression.
The ruling is an important affirmation that the rights and dignity of LGBTI+ people must be protected, and that discriminatory laws have no place in a society committed to equality.
This victory also forms part of a growing movement for decriminalisation across the Caribbean. In recent years, courts in Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, St Kitts and Nevis, Barbados, Dominica and Saint Lucia have all ruled against laws criminalising consensual same-sex intimacy.
In referencing these decisions, the Privy Council recognised the growing momentum across the region, observing that ‘the trend is clear’.
These victories demonstrate the power of strategic litigation, sustained advocacy and the courage of activists who continue to challenge laws that undermine the rights and freedoms of LGBTI+ people.
Kaleidoscope Trust has a longstanding commitment to supporting LGBTI+ communities in Trinidad and Tobago, working alongside our local partner, I AM ONE, to strengthen advocacy, community leadership and economic empowerment.
Over the years, our partnership has supported opportunities for connection, learning and change. In 2019, we helped bring together trans men and masculine-presenting LBQ activists and community members from across the Caribbean, Africa and beyond through the King Conference & Show in Trinidad and Tobago. We also supported the creation of a documentary capturing the gathering and the experiences of those involved.
In 2021, we supported I AM ONE to deliver advocacy training, equipping trans men and masculine-presenting LBQ women with skills in policymaking, stakeholder engagement and strategic management. The following year, we funded research exploring the barriers faced by LGBTI+ people with disabilities in adapting to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, helping to highlight the importance of more inclusive and accessible support.
More recently, in 2025, we awarded I AM ONE a Rapid Response Grant to support a social enterprise project advancing the economic empowerment and self-determination of LGBTI+ communities in Trinidad and Tobago.
This is what sustained, locally led investment looks like. Kaleidoscope Trust is committed to working alongside communities to strengthen advocacy and create lasting change on their own terms.
We welcome this landmark decision and celebrate everyone whose determination and courage helped make it possible.
Progress is never inevitable. It is driven by people who refuse to accept discrimination, who challenge injustice and who stand together for a fairer future.
We will continue to stand alongside our partners and the global LGBTI+ movement in the fight for a world where everyone is free, safe and equal.
The pressing LGBTI+ human rights challenges of our day can only be solved through collaboration, whether that be with grassroots or international human rights organisations, governments and funding bodies – and people that really care, like you.
Will you donate and help us create a free, safe and equal world for LGBTI+ people everywhere?
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