# LGBTQ rights in Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha

Part of a series on :
LGBTQ 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
21st-century anti-trans movement
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)
Bell v Tavistock (2021)
AB v CD and others (2021) :
Culture :
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Gay villages
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Gay male
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Cruising :
Organisations :
LGBT advocacy and 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 :
LGBTQ portal UK portal :
vte :
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha have gradually evolved over the years. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is banned in the entire territory through the Constitution Order 2009 and same-sex marriage has been legal on the islands since 2017.

## Legality of same-sex sexual activity

Homosexuality is legal in Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.

## Recognition of same-sex relationships

Same-sex marriage has been legal on Ascension Island since 1 January 2017, on Tristan da Cunha since 4 August 2017, and since 20 December 2017 on Saint Helena.

### Ascension Island

An ordinance allowing same-sex marriage was approved by the Ascension Island Council on 31 May 2016, in a 5–0 vote. It was signed by the Governor and published in the official gazette on 20 June. On 23 December 2016, the Governor issued an order to commence the law on 1 January 2017.
31 May 2016 vote in the Ascension Island Council :
| Votes for | Votes against | Absent |
| 5 Jacqui EllickKeturah GeorgeNicholas JohnCyril LeoCaroline Yon | 0 | 1 Samantha Arms-Lawrence |

### Tristan da Cunha

On 23 February 2017, after consultation with the Governor of Saint Helena, the Tristan da Cunha Island Council agreed that a law to legalise same-sex marriage would go forward formally for adoption. On 4 August, the Marriages (Tristan da Cunha) Ordinance, 2017, extending the application of the Marriage (Ascension) Ordinance, 2016 to Tristan da Cunha, was signed by the Governor and published in the official gazette. It took effect upon publication.

### Saint Helena

On 27 April 2016, the Saint Helena Executive Council announced a public consultation on a draft of a new marriage ordinance, which, if approved, would allow same-sex couples to marry. The consultation lasted until 25 May, and revealed a majority of respondents in favour of same-sex marriage. On 15 November 2016, the Executive Council decided to allow a same-sex marriage bill to proceed to the Legislative Council, after the draft bill underwent a number of technical issues addressed by the Attorney General.
On 12 December 2016, after a lengthy debate, the Legislative Council passed an amendment removing the provisions allowing same-sex marriage from the bill, which led to the entire bill being withdrawn.
In January 2017, a same-sex couple applied to marry in Saint Helena. The registrar was in the process of obtaining legal advice as to how to proceed (the existing Marriage Ordinance 1851 being unclear on same-sex marriage) when two members of the public filed caveats (objections) to the marriage notice. Subsequently, the registrar referred the issue to the Chief Justice of the Saint Helena Supreme Court for a decision. A preliminary hearing took place in the court on 23 February 2017. The parties in the case were given until July 2017 to submit their arguments.
At the Legislative Council meeting on 22 September 2017, members agreed to notify the Council as to their opinions on the subject at a later meeting. This would allow another same-sex marriage ordinance to be debated before the end of the year, and avoid a full Supreme Court hearing on the issue, which was expected in January 2018.
On 6 October 2017, the Legislative Council decided to conduct a series of public consultations on the bill throughout the month. On 4 December, the Social & Community Development Committee, which conducted the consultations, recommended the Executive Council to approve the draft ordinance with one minor technical amendment, which the Executive Council did the following day. On 19 December, after a failed attempt to remove the same-sex marriage portion of the legislation, the ordinance was approved by the Legislative Council by a 9–2 vote. It was subsequently signed by the Governor of Saint Helena, becoming the Marriage Ordinance 2017, and took effect upon publication on 20 December 2017.
19 December 2017 vote in the Legislative Council of Saint Helena :
| Voted for | Voted against | Abstained |
| 9 Clint BeardCruyff BuckleyGavin EllickAnthony GreenLawson HenryKylie HerculesChristine Scipio-O'DeanDerek ThomasRussel Yon | 2 Brian IsaacCyril Leo | 1 Corinda Essex |
The first same-sex marriage in Saint Helena took place on 31 December 2018.

## Discrimination protections

The St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Constitution Order 2009 bans discrimination based on sexual orientation. Article 21 reads:
    [T]he expression "discriminatory" means affording different treatment to different persons on any ground such as sex, sexual orientation, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, age, disability, birth or other status.
The Equality and Human Rights Commission is charged with monitoring human rights laws in Saint Helena, promoting "understanding of the importance of equality" and working towards the elimination of unlawful discrimination. The Commission may also conduct inquiries and investigations on persons suspected of having committed an unlawful act. This includes whether a person has unlawfully discriminated on the basis of sexual orientation or "gender reassignment". Under the Commission for Equality and Human Rights Ordinance 2015, sexual orientation is defined as "a person's sexual orientation towards— (a) persons of the same sex; (b) persons of the opposite sex; or (c) persons of either sex". Gender reassignment is defined as "an intended, current or past process (or part of such a process) for the purpose of reassigning a person's sex by changing physiological or other attributes of sex or the state of mind whereby a person psychologically identifies with a gender inconsistent or not culturally associated with their assigned sex at birth".

## Adoption and parenting

Under the Saint Helena Welfare of Children Ordinance 2010 (which applies to Saint Helena and Tristan da Cunha) and the Ascension Island Child Welfare Ordinance 2011 (which applies to Ascension Island), single and married people may adopt, regardless of sexual orientation.
According to a 2006 UK Government report, there have been no adoptions in Saint Helena or Ascension Island for many years.

## Summary table

| Same-sex sexual activity legal | |
| Equal age of consent | |
| Anti-discrimination laws in employment only | (Since 2009) |
| Anti-discrimination laws in the provision of goods and services | (Since 2009) |
| Anti-discrimination laws all other areas (incl. indirect discrimination, hate speech) | (Since 2009) |
| Same-sex marriage | (Since 2017) |
| Recognition of same-sex couples | (Since 2017) |
| Stepchild adoption by same-sex couples | (Since 2017) |
| Joint adoption by same-sex couples | (Since 2017) |
| LGBT allowed to serve openly in the military | (Since 2000, UK responsible for defence) |
| Right to change legal gender | |
| Access to IVF for lesbians | |
| Commercial surrogacy for gay male couples | (Banned for heterosexuals as well) |
| MSMs allowed to donate blood | |