A TOP court in Barbados has struck down British colonial-era laws that criminalised gay sex on the eastern Caribbean island.

Barbados became the third Caribbean nation this year to make these changes.

The ruling issued on Monday by the Barbados High Court is a pivotal moment for activists and non-profit organisations that have long fought against such laws on the island, including one that could mean a life sentence for gay men found guilty of having sex.

Tea Braun, chief executive of London-based human rights organisation, the Human Dignity Trust, said: “It’s gone from a certain ripple effect to a tidal wave in the Caribbean, which is what everyone involved set out to achieve.”

While the laws were rarely invoked, they signal that LGBTQ people are criminal and lesser citizens, Ms Braun said.

“The striking down of the laws reverses that and overnight tells the entire society that this is consensual contact and that what people choose to do with their private relationships is not the business of the law,” she said.

Several Christian churches and organisations across the Caribbean have opposed the abolition of such laws, with support from some political leaders who invoke God in their arguments.

Ms Braun said that there are now only six remaining countries in the Americas with similar laws, including Guyana, Grenada, Dominica, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Jamaica. 

Earlier this year, Caribbean courts have found such laws in Antigua 
and Barbuda and St Kitts and Nevis unconstitutional.

A further case in St Lucia is waiting to be heard. 

Worldwide, 67 jurisdictions still criminalise private, consensual same-sex activities, Ms Braun said.

The Barbados High Court issued only an oral ruling and won’t release a written judgement detailing its reasons until late January. 

It wasn’t immediately clear if the government planned to appeal. 

Barbadian Prime Minister Mia Mottley once called for abolition of the laws when she was the island’s attorney general.

The case in Barbados was filed by two LGBTQ advocates with the support of local organisations including the Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality Inc, which said the court’s decision “consolidates the rights of all Barbadians to privacy and freedom of expression.”

“The striking down of these laws doesn’t solve all problems of course,” Ms Braun said.

She added: “The dismantling of these laws is the first major step, but not the last step.”