Local Minority Rights Group ‘MiriDom’ wants Dominica to follow Belize and strike down an anti-gay laws

Local Minority Rights Group ‘MiriDom’ wants Dominica to follow Belize & strike down an anti-gay laws. MiriDom has been insisting that Section 16 of the Sexual Offences Act of Dominica impedes the sexual expression of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) citizens of Dominica.
This week the Supreme Court in Belize struck down Section 53, an anti-sodomy law, from the criminal code saying, it is unconstitutional. Section 53 criminalizes consenting intercourse between adults of the same sex, but the court ruled that it violates human dignity, the right to privacy, the right to freedom from discrimination, freedom of expression and the equal protection of the law.
On Thursday, MiriDom said it is pleased with the ruling, and released a statement saying “MiriDom has been advocating for a similar cause in Dominica where Section 16 of the Sexual Offences Act impedes the sexual expression of the LGBT citizens of Dominica”.
According to Section 16 of the Sexual Offences Act of Dominica, anyone who commits buggery is guilty of an offence and can be imprisoned for up to 25 years and subjected to psychiatric treatment. The section defines buggery as anal sex between a male person and another male person, or a male person and female person.
MiriDom said now that the Belize ruling has set a precedent, “we hope the Government of Dominica will take a more serious look at Section 16 through a Human Rights Commission, as prescribed by the United Nations, with the mandate to look at the laws of the country that are against the Human Rights of citizens. This will allow everyone to have equal rights under the law.”