Will Guyana election end LGBTQ+ criminalisation in South America?

BERLIN - Most of the political parties running in Guyana's general election next week have promised to repeal a colonial-era law that bans consensual sex between men, South America's last remaining statute that outlaws same-sex relations.

Parties contesting Guyana's Sept. 1 election that are promising to end the prohibition on gay intercourse are also pledging to go further, including support for legislation to fight discrimination against LGBTQ+ people in the workplace.

Here is what you need to know.

What rights do LGBTQ+ people enjoy in Guyana?

Male same-sex relations have been illegal in this small country with fewer than 800,000 inhabitants since it was under British colonial rule.

While the law hasn't been enforced for decades, activists said it encourages stigma and discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.

"There's also a lot of indirect enforcement, including police extortion, but often victims don't want to go public because it involves outing themselves," Joel Simpson, who leads Guyana's main LGBTQ+ rights group SASOD, told Context in a video call.

"It's even more challenging because we don't have any laws on our books which protect LGBTQ people from discrimination."

A 2022 study commissioned by SASOD showed that 72% of Guyanese citizens have positive attitudes towards LGBTQ+ people, up from 58% in 2013.

Guyana held the first Pride march in the English-speaking Caribbean region in 2018 in the capital of Georgetown.

Other Anglophone countries in the Caribbean, including Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Dominica and, most recently, Saint Lucia have all decriminalised same-sex relations in recent years.

Six Anglophone Caribbean countries, from Jamaica to Grenada to Trinidad and Tobago, still criminalise gay sex.

But in South America, every country other than Guyana has decriminalised homosexuality.

What do LGBTQ+ activists in Guyana want?

SASOD has released a list of LGBTQ+ rights it is seeking ahead of the election, including the repeal of the law criminalising gay sex.

It also wants anti-discrimination legislation to protect LGBTQ+ people, efforts to fight homophobic and transphobic bullying in schools and emergency shelters for LGBTQ+ youth fleeing violence.

SASOD has called for the training of teachers, healthcare professionals and other public officials on LGBTQ+ issues and encouraging greater economic inclusion of sexual and gender minorities, who often struggle to get a job or start their own businesses.

"Working-class LGBTQ+ people still face a great deal of challenges to access public services, but they can't afford to go to private services, which can be more LGBTQ-friendly," Simpson said.

Guyana, one of the world's fastest-growing economies as its oil sector rapidly expands, could see economic benefits from ending its restrictions on LGBTQ+ rights, advocates have said.

The tourism industry has estimated that decriminalisation of same-sex relations could help the sector reach $1 billion in annual revenue, if it positions itself as a destination for LGBTQ+ tourists.

What have politicians said?

At a meeting with activists in late July, representatives from five of the six political parties contesting the election vowed to decriminalise same-sex relations and fight discrimination against the LGBTQ+ minority.

The leader of the ruling People's Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) expressed support for anti-discrimination legislation but rejected legalising gay marriage - something that LGBTQ+ activists are not seeking at this time.

Seven South American countries, including Colombia, Brazil and Argentina, have legalised same-sex marriage in the past two decades.

At the meeting, the Assembly for Liberty and Prosperity (ALP), formed earlier this year, was the only party that did not back the decriminalisation of same-sex intimacy in Guyana. The ALP did not reply to a request for comment.

(Editing by Anastasia Moloney and Ayla Jean Yackley.)