St. Kitts and Nevis

Demographics

Estimated Total Population:

52,000

World Bank, 2018

Estimated SGM Population:

N/A

N/A

Estimated Total SGM Adult Population:

N/A

N/A

Estimated % of SGM Adults (18+):

N/A

N/A

The dual island Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis is one of nine Latin American and Caribbean countries to criminalize same-sex consensual activity, punishable by up to ten years in prison. In a 2011 statement at the United Nations, a representative of the Federation claimed that there was “strong opposition to [the criminalization law] being repealed,” but that it had not been recently enforced. Tourists report that while the resorts that make up most of St. Kitts and Nevis’s industry are largely welcoming to SGM people, the island itself remains rooted in conservative religious views. There is very little literature regarding the status of non-cisgendered individuals’ experiences in St. Kitts and Nevis. There are also very few resources for local SGM folk.

St. Kitts and Nevis' Laws and Policies from ILGA World Report (2019)

RECOGNITION
Marriage for Same-Sex Couples
No
Civil Unions
No
Joint Adoption
No
Second Parent Adoption
No
PROTECTION
Employment Nondiscrimination Laws
No
Broad Protections
No
Criminalization of Violence
No
Ban of Conversion Therapy
No
CRIMINALIZATION
Consensual Same-Sex Acts are Legal?
No
Gender
Male Only
Max Penalty (Yrs in Prison)
10

Selected Published Studies, Reports, and Other Documents

Gay Life in Saint Kitts & Nevis. (n.d.). Retrieved August 5, 2020, from https://www.globalgayz.com/gay-life-in-saint-kitts-nevis/2606/

Is St. Kitts & Nevis LGBT Friendly? (n.d.). Two Gays And A Puppy. Retrieved August 5, 2020, from https://twogaysandapuppy.com/blog/2019/6/5/is-st-kitts-amp-nevis-lgbt-friendly

Peter Clegg, Fred Dunwoodie-Stirton & Phillip Cole (2016) Human rights in the overseas territories:in policy but not in practice?, Commonwealth & Comparative Politics, 54:1, 46-68, DOI:10.1080/14662043.2015.1126886

Refugees, U. N. H. C. for. (n.d.). Refworld | Saint Kitts and Nevis: The situation of homosexuals; state protection and availability of support groups. Refworld. Retrieved August 5, 2020, from https://www.refworld.org/docid/49b92b2614.html

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR),Submission by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights' Compilation Report -Universal Periodic Review: Saint Kitts and Nevis, July 2010, available at:https://www.refworld.org/docid/4c3abf6d2.html [accessed 5 August 2020]