UPR Sexual Rights Database

UN Compilation:
Para 11) The subregional team observed that same-sex relations between consenting adults were illegal in Saint Lucia. The crime of “buggery” carried a maximum sentence of 10 years and the crime of “indecency” carried a potential sentence of 5 to 10 years. The subregional team recommended that Saint Lucia decriminalize consensual sexual activity between persons of the same sex.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 5) Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated that Saint Lucia did not have comprehensive laws that prohibited discrimination on grounds of gender identity and sexual orientation. HRW indicated that during the previous cycle of the universal periodic review, Saint Lucia had not supported recommendations to repeal legislation that discriminated against LGBT and intersex people or recommendations to decriminalize consensual sexual relations between consenting adults of the same sex. Section 131 of Saint Lucia’s 2006 Labour Act did prohibit employers from “unfairly dismissing” a person on the basis of their sexual orientation, but did not prohibit such dismissal on the basis of gender identity.
Para 7) HRW noted that Section 133 of Saint Lucia’s Criminal Code on “buggery” criminalized consensual same-sex conduct. Additionally, Section 132 of the Criminal Code on “gross indecency” exempted from punishment any act “committed in private between an adult male person and an adult female person, both of whom consent” but did not protect private acts between same-sex couples. JS2 made similar observations noting that the penalty for buggery was imprisonment for ten years.
Para 8) HRW stated that while buggery and gross indecency laws in Saint Lucia were seldom enforced against consenting persons, their impact was pernicious. Laws criminalizing same-sex conduct reinforced already-existing societal prejudices, effectively giving social and legal sanction for discrimination, violence, stigma, and prejudice against LGBT individuals. JAI made similar observations indicating that LGBTQ+ citizens faced verbal harassment on a daily basis, and even physical threats. JAI added that they were also often denied access to healthcare, the job market, and protection from the police.

National Report:
Para 35) In recent years, the role of women in Saint Lucian society has undergone an incredible transformation. Through numerous initiatives and most notably through education, women in Saint Lucia have achieved levels of empowerment, which they have never been exposed to before. However, this does not mean that parity has been fully realised in all walks of life, and it is this fact that has led to the Government initiating programmes and bolstering existing ones which address women’s issues.

Para 36) The Government, through its Division of Gender Relations, launched an awareness campaign entitled 'Share the Care'. This initiative was geared towards promoting male participation in caregiving which has traditionally been viewed as a woman's role.

Para 37) In ensuring that women in rural areas have better access to education and vocational training programmes, the Government of Saint Lucia, through the Saint Lucia Network of Rural Women Producers, has created an avenue for women in rural communities to gain access to a number of training and capacity building initiatives which has also allowed many of these women to be introduced to various forms of information technology.

Para 39) The continued work of the Women's Support Centre which was established in 2001 has aided in ensuring that victims of domestic abuse are able to obtain access to shelter, counselling, social support and protection from the abuse which they have been exposed to. Furthermore, the Women's Support Centre often works in tandem with the police and family court to provide legal redress and additional protection for victims. Finally, in cases where the abused woman is unemployed and her current living environment puts her at risk for further abuse, the support centre would endeavour to source alternative housing and job placements for that individual.

Para 40) The Vulnerable Persons Team is a unit which was established within the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force in 2003. This Unit's mandate is to respond solely to cases of violence against women and children on island with the aim of resolving such matters with necessary care and attention.

Para 41) The Government, through the Division of Gender Relations has addressed the issue of violence against women through a series of awareness raising activities supplemented by training programmes for the police, healthcare providers and other relevant parties in order to aid in the better handling of matters of domestic violence.

Para 42) In 2015, the Government introduced the National Social Protection Policy in order to ensure that sustainable development in Saint Lucia is inclusive and equitable. This rights-based approach to social policy in Saint Lucia will be spearheaded by the Ministry of Social Transformation and places clear obligations on the state to ensure that a certain standard of living is realised by its citizenry. This new policy also comes with what is referred to as a 'Gender Aware Beneficiary Analysis' which takes into account the needs of both men and women in society and tailors the approach taken in addressing these needs based on the unique circumstance that each may be faced with.

Para 43) In 2012, the Government introduced the Single Mothers in Life Enhancement Skills (SMILES) programme, with the intention of aiding single mothers who have encountered difficulties in maintaining their households in the absence of the father. In doing so, SMILES provides these mothers with the opportunity to gain the requisite skills to either gain employment or to start their own micro enterprise.

Para 44) In keeping with its 2014-2021 strategic priority of 'providing an enabling environment for women, from all walks of life to contribute and enjoy the benefits of sustainable development and peace', UNESCO has provided aid in the amount of twenty-six thousand dollars ($26,000.00 (USD)) to fund the Women in Equality Empowerment Program (WEEP). This initiative, will be headed by the National Skills Development Centre (NSDC), and is geared towards providing comprehensive training to women, in order to improve the likelihood of them obtaining and securing employment.

Para 45) As articulated in Saint Lucia's previous report, the Education Act of 1999, in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of Child, affirmed the rights of all children to receive an education and prohibits refusing admission of students to schools on any discriminatory grounds. Furthermore, both the Convention and the Act seek to remedy inadequacies along gender lines. To this end, Saint Lucia has eliminated such discrimination as it pertains to access to education. It has been realised however, a trend of female students out-performing their male counterparts at every level of the education system on island. The underperformance of male students is by no means ideal, and is something that is currently being addressed by the Government. However it does speak to the tremendous progress that has been made by the Government and people of Saint Lucia in ensuring that women succeed in education.

Para 46) The country's last general election saw the highest number of female candidates in Saint Lucia's electoral history, with ten (10) females vying for the opportunity to become parliamentary representatives. Of the 10 candidates three (3) were successful, two of which hold ministerial portfolios; with the Honourable Alvina Reynolds being the Minister of Health, Wellness, Human Services and Gender Relations and the Honourable Emma Hippolyte being the Minister of Commerce, Business Development, Investment and Consumer Affairs, both being very prominent ministerial portfolios.

Para 47) In February of 2015, the Honourable Emma Hippolyte became Saint Lucia's first female acting Prime Minister, which exhibited the heightened regard for women in Saint Lucian society.

Para 48) Another accomplishment for women in politics was realised when, the parliamentary opposition appointed the country's first female leader of the opposition in Dr. Gayle Rigobert.


UN Compilation:
Para 3) The United Nations subregional team for Barbados indicated that Saint Lucia participated in the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Family Law and Domestic Violence Legal and Judicial Reform Project, as part of which four bills were developed and submitted to Eastern Caribbean Governments for consideration: ... the Domestic Violence Bill, which aims to protect victims of domestic abuse. The bills were before the Attorney General's Chambers for final review and submission to Cabinet for approval.

Para 20) According to the subregional team, the legislative framework addressing domestic and sexual violence has not been adequately implemented or enforced. Saint Lucia enacted the Domestic Violence Law in 1994 and amended the Criminal Code nine years later to conform with the Law. However, there were critical shortcomings in the Law, such as the absence of provisions on marital rape, which left women highly vulnerable to abuse. No provisions had been incorporated to define violence against women as distinct from intrafamily, family or domestic violence. Alleged perpetrators of sexual and domestic violence were only prosecuted if the victim pressed charges. Lawyers in Saint Lucia indicated to the subregional team that it could be difficult to meet the legal requirements to prosecute alleged perpetrators of rape and other sexual violence due to a lack of corroboration.

Para 21) The subregional team indicated that in 2012 the Government had launched an island-wide initiative to curb domestic and gender-based violence. The Department of Gender Relations also ran the Women's Support Centre, which provided shelter, counselling and residential services, a 24-hour hotline and assistance in finding employment for victims. Various non-governmental organizations also provided counselling, referral, education and empowerment services. However, crisis centres in Saint Lucia were significantly underfunded.

Para 22) The subregional team noted that the police had indicated an increase in the reporting of sexual crimes against women and children. However, there was no evidence that due process was followed, and no indication that there had been an increase in prosecutions. Given that marital rape was still not acknowledged within the legal framework, the team called into question the effectiveness of the response of the justice system to sexual violence against women

Para 38) The subregional team stated that although women comprised the majority of civil servants, they were underrepresented in roles of political leadership. There were currently three women elected to Parliament representing approximately 17 per cent of the country's parliamentarians.

Para 40) The subregional team stated that gender stereotyping still resulted in a traditional division of labour that relegated women to less stable, lower skilled and lower paying areas of work. According to reports on the impact of the global financial crisis on the labour market in Saint Lucia, unemployment had increased among both men and women, with women still having higher rates of unemployment, although the gap was much narrower than before the crisis. Recent reports also noted that the poorest 40 per cent of households in Saint Lucia were more likely to be female headed

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 2) AI stated that, in 2005, Saint Lucia initiated a process of constitutional reform and that, in May 2013, the report of the Constitutional Reform Commission had been tabled in Parliament with a series of recommendations. The reform process had not been pursued despite important recommendations to strengthen gender equality and the protection of children.

Para 4) JS3 welcomed that, in 2012, Saint Lucia implemented the Labour Code Act of 2006 which captured some concerns under ILO Conventions in areas of unfair dismissal, child labor, sexual orientation, and workers' rights but regretted that there had been no revision of the Civil Code to eliminate gender based discriminatory provisions as accepted by the State during its previous review.

Para 27) JS3 noted that Saint Lucia had not taken any action to address the accepted recommendation relating to reforms to better combat gender and domestic violence that would allow prosecution of perpetrators without the necessity for the victim to lodge a complaint ...

National Report:
Para 12) The GOSL continues to work assiduously to eliminate gender discrimination in its society and most notably in the education sector. The Education Sector Development Plan (ESDP) 2015-2020, commits to increase the accessibility and affordability of education for all citizens as well as promote gender equality. There have been significant strides in realising this vision. 13. Equal educational opportunities are available at the primary and secondary levels to all individuals regardless of their gender. Girls are accorded the same rights to education as boys. According to the Department of Education’s 2018 Statistical Digest, the net enrolment of males to females at the primary level was almost equal from 2006-2016. For the 2017/2018 academic year, the percentage of girls increased from the ten-year trend of forty-nine percent (49%) to fifty percent (50%). At the secondary level, the percentage of girls enrolled was slightly higher than that of boys. Similar to the primary and secondary levels, gender parity exists at the tertiary level. The enrolment figures at these institutions however tend to be higher among females than males. 14. The enrolment by main divisions of the tertiary institutions on island shows that there is growth in subscription of females in non-traditional bodies of knowledge. Through the efforts of the Aspire Artemis Foundation (UN), efforts are in progress to create more access for female students in the area of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). The outcomes of the Summer Institutes 2018/2019 for teachers of primary and secondary schools pointed to demonstrating a classroom practice, which shows how female students can be nurtured in accessing opportunities in Science, Technology and Innovation (STI).

UN Compilation:
Para 34) The subregional team reported that more than 90 per cent of girls in Saint Lucia attended primary school, and it was estimated that more than 75 per cent of them would attend secondary school. The primary school attendance figures were comparable to those for boys. In recent years, the primary school dropout rate for girls had significantly increased, reaching the same or a higher level than for boys. For secondary schools, the picture was not much different, as the average dropout rate for the past ten years had varied from 2.4 per cent to 1.6 per cent. Boys had historically been two and a half times more likely to drop out of school, but in recent years the dropout rate for both sexes had become more similar.
Para 35) The subregional team highlighted the fact that adolescent pregnancy was a contributing factor in the dropout rate for girls and that there was currently no legislation or official policy in place for pregnant learners to re-enter the formal education system.