Antigua and Barbuda Stakeholder Report for the United Nations Universal Periodic Review: LGBTIQ+ Rights
Country: Antigua and Barbuda
Partners: Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality (ECADE), ILGA–North America and the Caribbean (ILGA-NAC), Jason Jones People's Foundation, Khaleem Ali
Issues: LGBTIQ+ Rights
Mechanism: UN Universal Periodic Review
Report Type: Stakeholder Report
Antigua and Barbuda has made significant progress toward equality and non-discrimination for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, and other sexual and gender minorities (LGBTIQ+) in 2022 by decriminalizing consensual same-sex sexual activity. The lived realities for LGBTIQ+ individuals in Antigua and Barbuda, however, continue to be shaped by persistent discrimination and gaps in legal protection. Discrimination against LGBTIQ+ individuals persists for several reasons. Antigua and Barbuda lacks comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation in key areas such as employment, housing, healthcare, and access to public services. The absence of legal recognition for same-sex relationships further contributes to unequal treatment. In addition, the country has not implemented comprehensive sexuality education, particularly regarding HIV/AIDS, which perpetuates stigma and deters those affected from seeking care. Finally, Antigua and Barbuda has no explicit policies or laws to protect LGBTIQ+ people from violence or harassment, nor does it have the legal infrastructure to ensure that such incidents are adequately resolved. Antigua and Barbuda does not have legal gender recognition, nor does it recognize non-binary identities, meaning that individuals are only recognized as their sex assigned at birth. There are also no laws that restrict or prohibit non-medically necessary interventions on intersex minors with the aim to conform their sex characteristics to binary endosex sex characteristics without their informed consent.
In this report, we use the acronym LGBTIQ+ to refer to individuals who self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, and other sexual and gender minorities. These terms necessarily do not include everyone who may experience violations of their human rights on the basis of their real or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, and/or sex characteristics (“SOGIESC”), which is why we also include a “+” with the acronym. Any use of a modified acronym is intentional in that we are speaking only about certain members of the LGBTIQ+ population.
