The twin-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda has signaled it is actively reviewing longstanding provisions of its Sexual Offences Act, responding to a fresh wave of international calls to close legal loopholes that currently fail to fully criminalize marital rape under all circumstances. The public commitment was laid out by Foreign Affairs Minister E.P. Chet Greene during the country’s fourth Universal Periodic Review (UPR) session at the United Nations Human Rights Council, a regular global accountability mechanism that assesses member states’ compliance with international human rights standards.
Greene confirmed to the UN body that the administration is actively weighing targeted amendments to the existing sexual offences legal framework, with planned revisions set to cover not just the marital rape clause, but also updated provisions governing the legal age of sexual consent. In a commitment to inclusive governance, the minister emphasized that no draft amendment will move forward without extensive cross-society public consultation, including dedicated outreach and feedback sessions with religious leaders, civil society organizations, survivor advocacy groups, and ordinary community members across both islands.
Two separate UN member states submitted formal targeted recommendations during the UPR process: Finland urged Antigua and Barbuda to codify full, unconditional criminalization of marital rape in national law, paired with full, unwavering implementation of its existing national action plan to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls. Cyprus echoed that call for full marital rape criminalization, additionally pushing the government to expand and formalize survivor-centred support services, and ensure consistent enforcement of existing national gender equality and gender-based violence mitigation policies.
Greene reaffirmed that tackling pervasive gender-based and sexual violence sits at the top of the current administration’s public safety and human rights agenda, pointing to existing state-run support infrastructure overseen by the Directorate of Gender Affairs and the national Support and Referral Centre, which currently delivers free forensic medical care, dedicated legal advocacy, and 24/7 crisis response support for survivors of gender-based harm. In a separate key policy update, the government confirmed that its Cabinet has already signed off on plans to construct a dedicated, purpose-built emergency shelter exclusively for survivors of domestic violence, filling a longstanding gap in critical residential support services.
As of the close of the UPR session, Antigua and Barbuda has not issued a formal acceptance or rejection of the full set of human rights recommendations submitted during the review. The national delegation stated that all proposed measures will be subject to the same broad public and stakeholder consultation process before the government submits its official, final response to the UN Human Rights Council in the coming months.