LGBT rights in Anguilla

LGBT rights in Anguilla
Location of LGBT rights in Anguilla (red) in North America (grey)  –  [Legend]
Status	Legal since 2001; unequal age of consent
Gender identity	No
Military	Yes
Discrimination protections	None
Family rights
Recognition of relationships	No recognition of same-sex couples
Adoption	No

Part of a series on
LGBT rights in the United Kingdom
By location
United Kingdom Scotland Northern Ireland
Crown dependencies Guernsey Jersey Isle of Man
Overseas Territories Anguilla Akrotiri and Dhekelia Bermuda British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Falkland Islands Gibraltar Montserrat Pitcairn Islands Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Turks and Caicos Islands
Same-sex marriage by territory United Kingdom Scotland Northern Ireland Guernsey Jersey Isle of Man Akrotiri and Dhekelia Bermuda British Antarctic Territory British Indian Ocean Territory Cayman Islands Falkland Islands Gibraltar Pitcairn Islands Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
Policy aspects
Sexual orientation Adoption Age of consent Blood donation Christian nation Civil partnership History of violence HIV/AIDS Military policy Same-sex marriage
Gender identity, sex and intersex Transgender rights Intersex rights NHS Gender Identity Development Service Gender Recognition Panel
Legislation
Criminality Buggery Act 1533 Offences Against the Person Act 1828 Offences Against the Person Act 1861 Labouchere Amendment Wolfenden report Sexual Offences Act 1967 Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980 Homosexual Offences Order 1982 Section 28 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000 Sexual Offences Act 2003 Policing and Crime Act 2017 Alan Turing law Merchant Shipping (Homosexual Conduct) Act 2017 Historical Sexual Offences (Pardons and Disregards) (Scotland) Act 2018
Protection and recognition Public Order Act 1986 Sex Discrimination (Gender Reassignment) Regulations 1999 Adoption and Children Act 2002 Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003 Civil Partnership Act 2004 Gender Recognition Act 2004 Equality Act 2006 Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007 Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 Equality Act 2010 Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Act 2014 Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths (Registration etc) Act 2019 Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019
Litigation Corbett v Corbett (1969) X v United Kingdom (1978) Dudgeon v United Kingdom (1981) R v Brown (1993) Sutherland v United Kingdom (1994) Smith and Grady v United Kingdom (1999) Goodwin & I v United Kingdom (2002) HJ and HT v Home Secretary (2010) National AIDS Trust v NHS Service Commissioning Board (2016)
Culture
By city Brighton Cardiff London Liverpool Leeds Manchester
Gay villages Birmingham Gay Village The Calls Canal Street (Manchester) Old Compton Street Pride Quarter, Liverpool Vauxhall
Gay male Polari Saunas Cruising
Organisations
LGBT advocacy & support Stonewall Hall–Carpenter Archives Black Gay Men's Advisory Group Akt Naz and Matt Foundation FFLAG LGBT Foundation LGBT Network Outright Scotland Switchboard (UK) NUS LGBT LGBT+ Liberal Democrats LGBT+ Conservatives LGBT+ Labour Labour Campaign for Trans Rights Mermaids Press for Change The Gender Trust
Pride events BiCon (UK) Big Gay Out Birmingham Pride Bourne Free Brighton Pride Bristol Pride Doncaster Pride GFest – gayWise LGBT Arts Festival Glasgay! Festival Homotopia (Liverpool) Leeds Pride Leicester Pride LGBT History Month BFI Flare: London LGBT Film Festival Manchester Pride Mr Gay UK Mr Gay Wales Northern Pride Nottinghamshire Pride Pride Cymru Pride Glasgow Pride in Hull Pride in Liverpool Pride in London Pride Scotia Reading Pride Swansea Pride Worthing Pride
Former groups OutRage! Campaign for Homosexual Equality Homosexual Law Reform Society Gay Liberation Front Gay Rights Working Party Order of Chaeronea
History
Topics Timeline List of politicians First LGBT officeholders Violence against LGBT people HIV/AIDS crisis Death penalty
Timeline 342 MSM activity made illegal 1533 Death penalty introduced for MSM activity 1543 Buggery Act extended to Wales 1828 Offences Against the Person Act 1828 1835 James Pratt and John Smith executed 1861 Death penalty for buggery abolished 1885 Labouchere Amendment introduced 1889 Cleveland Street scandal 1895 Oscar Wilde found guilty of gross indecency 1912 The Cave of the Golden Calf opens 1921 Plans to make lesbian activity illegal defeated 1936 Mark Weston transitions 1952 John Nott-Bower begins crackdown 1954 Pitt-Rivers, Montagu, Wildeblood imprisoned 1954 Alan Turing commits suicide 1957 Wolfenden report released 1967 MSM activity made legal (England & Wales) 1972 First British Gay Pride Rally 1976 Jeremy Thorpe resigns as Liberal leader 1981 MSM activity made legal (Scotland) 1981 First case of AIDS reported in the UK 1982 MSM activity made legal (NI) 1983 Gay men barred from donating blood 1984 Chris Smith elected as first openly gay MP 1987 Operation Spanner begins 1988 Section 28 comes into force 1989 Stonewall UK forms 1994 Age of consent for MSM becomes 18 1997 Angela Eagle becomes first openly lesbian MP 1998 Bolton 7 found guilty 1998 Lord Alli becomes first openly gay Lord 1999 Admiral Duncan bombing 2000 Gay men allowed in HM Armed Forces 2001 Age of consent equalised to 16 2001 MSM activity involving multiple men legal 2002 Same sex couples granted equal rights to adopt 2003 Section 28 repealed 2004 Civil partnerships introduced 2004 Gender Recognition Act 2004 2006 Discrimination made illegal 2008 Equalised access to IVF for lesbian couples 2008 Incitement to homophobic hatred made a crime 2009 Public apology to Alan Turing 2010 Equality Act 2010 2011 Gay men allowed to donate blood (1 yr deferral) 2013 Nikki Sinclaire becomes first openly trans MEP 2013 Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 2014 First same-sex marriages take place 2016 MSM activity not grounds for military discharge 2017 Turing law implemented 2017 Blood donation deferral 3 months (excl. NI) 2019 MPs legislate for gay marriage in NI 2020 Gay marriage legal across UK, incl. NI 2020 Blood donation deferral 3 months (incl. NI) 2021 Blood donation deferral equalised
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Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Anguilla face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Anguilla, but same-sex couples cannot marry or obtain civil partnerships. Anguillian law does not forbid discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

Law regarding same-sex sexual activity

Same-sex sexual activities have been legal in Anguilla since 2001. The legalisation of homosexuality was the result of an order of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom and affected the laws in four other overseas territories of the United Kingdom.^[1]

The age of consent is higher for homosexuals (18) than it is for heterosexuals (16).^[2]

Recognition of same-sex relationships

Same-sex marriage and civil unions are not legal in Anguilla, and it is one of the British overseas territories not to have legislated for civil partnerships. Non-legal ceremonies of same-sex couples have occurred on the island.^[3]

The Marriage Act states that "'marriage' means the union of a man and a woman as husband and wife".^[4]

Discrimination protections

No known legislative protections exist for LGBT people in Anguilla's local laws.^[5] The Constitution of Anguilla outlaws discrimination on the basis of "race, political opinions, colour, creed, sex or place of origin", though makes no mention of sexual orientation or gender identity.^[6]

Living conditions

Due to Anguilla's small population, there is virtually no gay scene on the island. There are no gay organisations, venues, bars and clubs, or pride events. A small protest occurred on 17 May 2011 in The Valley for the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.^[7]

Several same-sex couples who have travelled to the island on vacation report that the island is "gay-friendly" and has "warm people, the best beaches and sunset in the world, and fantastic restaurants", but also "very quiet".^[7] The couples further said that "nobody was discriminatory in any way". However, the situation for locals might be different. Anguilla, much like other Caribbean islands, is believed to have a "subdued and subtle climate of homophobia", which has contributed to secrecy among LGBT locals.^[7]

Summary table

Same-sex sexual activity legal	(Since 2001)
Equal age of consent
Anti-discrimination laws in employment
Anti-discrimination laws in the provision of goods and services
Anti-discrimination laws in all other areas (incl. indirect discrimination, hate speech)
Same-sex marriage
Recognition of same-sex couples
Stepchild adoption by same-sex couples
Joint adoption by same-sex couples
LGBT people allowed to serve openly in the military	(UK responsible for defence)
Right to change legal gender
Access to IVF for lesbians and automatic parenthood for both spouses after birth
Commercial surrogacy for gay male couples	(Banned for heterosexual couples as well)
MSMs allowed to donate blood

See also

• LGBT rights in the Americas
• LGBT rights in the United Kingdom
• Recognition of same-sex unions in the British Overseas Territories

References