Trinidad and Tobago has long positioned itself as a socially tolerant nation, but LGBTQI+ rights organizations and community advocates are pushing back against that narrative, pointing to deeply entrenched homophobia and gender-based discrimination that plays out even in the country’s highest legislative chamber: Parliament.
Advocates document repeated patterns of disrespectful taunting and personal insults targeted at male politicians, ranging from damaging insinuations about their sexuality to the deliberate use of feminine pronouns as a weapon of ridicule. These verbal attacks, they argue, are not just petty legislative squabbling—they are clear evidence that anti-LGBTQI+ bias and gendered bigotry remain embedded in the nation’s political culture.
In an interview outlining the community’s ongoing challenges, Johannah-Rae Reyes, project and community outreach officer for CAISO: Sex and Gender Justice, explained that harmful behavior in formal spaces like Parliament and informal digital spaces like social media is merely a reflection of deeper, widespread societal problems.
“Homophobia, transphobia, and biphobia are pervasive across our society, and so are gender-based bullying and sexual harassment,” Reyes explained. “No one is safe, especially LGBTQI+ people, women, and persons who are gender non-conforming. This is why we need to have serious conversations about stigma and discrimination and how these forms of violence are connected. No one should be bullied in their workplace for any reason.”
Reyes emphasized that Parliament, as the heart of the nation’s democratic governance, should be held to a far higher standard of conduct. “Many of our ancestors fought and died so we can now take charge of our own affairs, and we’re seeing too many instances of disrespect and personal attacks from both sides of the House happening in Parliament and on social media. Our leaders need to take leadership more seriously. They need to understand the impact this kind of discourse has on society.”
While the country publicly touts its tolerance, Reyes noted that lived experiences vary dramatically for LGBTQI+ people across different demographics. “Trinidad and Tobago is very diverse and LGBTQI+ people get a range of responses, from tolerance and acceptance to indifference all the way to hate. There is a lot of misinformation and pressure from religious entities to maintain the status quo of harmful gender and sexual norms and exclude people, especially LGBTQI+ people. But every day we meet people who are willing to bridge the gaps and find understanding. There is hope here.”
Access to safety and support, Reyes added, is heavily shaped by intersecting factors of class, geography, and community connection. “It depends on a few other factors—if you’re queer, but you have money and status and live in a city or a town, then there are social protections that would buffer one person from a lot of the challenges that someone who is working class and from a rural area would experience. One person might be working class, but they have the acceptance and support of their family and community—that person would have a more positive experience than someone who does not have support but may be middle or upper class. Obviously, you can imagine someone who doesn’t have family nor community support, is hustling to make ends meet or living on the streets, they would be even more challenged if they are LGBTQI+.”
Intersecting disadvantages create even greater barriers for marginalized subgroups within the LGBTQI+ community, Reyes noted: “Imagine if you are living with a disability or a migrant with no protections or documentation and also LGBTQI+. Being safe for many people depends on a range of social factors and legal protections, as well as recognition of human rights and dignity for all.”
Chinyere Brown, research and programme officer at CAISO, expanded on how overlapping systemic disadvantages compound hardships for LGBTQI+ Trinidadians and Tobagonians, pointing to poverty, disability, migration status, and gaps in existing legal protections as key amplifiers of risk. “Many of these challenges could be avoided if we ensure the rights of all people, including the LGBTQI+ community. Sexual orientation is explicitly excluded in the Equal Opportunity Act, and the courts have recriminalised consensual same-sex relationships. There are things we can do to improve the circumstances of the most marginalised and make a good life even better for those who have more support.”
Brown also outlined widespread failures by public service providers to meet the needs of LGBTQI+ people experiencing violence. Many LGBTQI+ survivors who report harm to law enforcement face additional abuse at the hands of officers, she explained, including forced outings, public ridicule, and harassment from the very people tasked with protecting them. CAISO’s programming recognizes police inaction and mistreatment as a form of violence in itself, as it denies LGBTQI+ people equal protection under the law and obstructs access to justice.
“Too often, clients have also been ill-advised or dismissed when they presented cases of same-sex intimate partner violence at police stations prior to intervention by the programme,” Brown said. “This not only exposes community members to repeated harm but also fosters a sense of impunity for perpetrators of violence.”
Beyond law enforcement, LGBTQI+ people also report dehumanizing treatment when accessing healthcare and other public services, Brown added. “Yes, we have had reports of duty bearers; police, as well as healthcare workers, dropping the ball when it comes to their duty to support any person who needs help. This often happens because of biases, stigma and what they may feel like is their ‘right’ to discriminate. Clients and community members have shared reports to us of being humiliated when attempting to seek needed services. And far too often, the fear of being dismissed or not believed causes LGBTQI+ people to not seek help at all.”
To address these gaps in support, CAISO has launched its Growing Spaces initiative under the broader Wholeness and Justice Programme, which provides direct navigation support to LGBTQI+ community members. The programme offers practical help ranging from assisting with police reports to accompanying clients to medical appointments, and the organization’s legal team also pursues formal complaints against public service providers that fail in their duty to serve all people equally.
“We hope everyone can rise to the occasion and do better, if not their absolute best, in their delivery of services to all people,” Brown said.
