Trinité-et-tobago
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people in Trinidad and Tobago face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Homosexual sexual activity is illegal, and 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 LGBTQ citizens and criminalised consensual sexual acts between adults. However, in March 2025, the Court of Appeal overturned this decision, making buggery and gross indecency once again illegal in Trinidad and Tobago.
The Trinbagonian Criminal Code prohibits anal sex and oral sex between any sexes.
Prior to 2018, when these provisions were struck down by a court, Section 13 of the Sexual Offences Act 1986 (strengthened in 2000) criminalised "buggery", with 25 years imprisonment. The law punished oral and anal sex between heterosexuals as well.
In March 2025, the Court of Appeal overturned the ruling that decriminalized buggery, but replaced its penalty with a maximum 5-year sentence. In the same judgement, the court reinstated section 61 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1925, maintaining legal prohibitions against acts of gross indecency with a penalty of up to two years of imprisonment.
The Trinidad and Tobago Government had not targeted homosexuals under the "buggery" or "serious indecency" laws; however, in limited historical cases, individuals had been charged and convicted of these offences when coupled with other serious crimes.
