LGBTQ rights in Trinidad and Tobago | |
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Status | Legal since 2018 |
Gender identity | No |
Military | No |
Discrimination protections | No |
Family rights | |
Recognition of relationships | No |
Adoption | No |
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LGBTQ rights |
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Lesbian ∙ Gay ∙ Bisexual ∙ Transgender ∙ Queer |
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Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Trinidad and Tobago face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same rights and benefits as that of opposite-sex couples.
In April 2018, the Trinidad and Tobago High Court declared the country's buggery law unconstitutional, as it infringed on the rights of LGBT citizens and criminalised consensual sexual acts between adults. The law stipulated that those found guilty of buggery would be sentenced to 25 years in prison, while other sexual acts (such as oral sex) carried a 5-year sentence. In 2016, Prime Minister Keith Rowley said that "the State has a duty to not persecute citizens, regardless of whom they sleep with."[1]