GRENADA – On the eastern Caribbean island of Grenada, officials have arrested a man for engaging in sexual activities with another male, the Associated Press reported.
The 41-year-old man was charged for allegedly having sex with a 17-year-old man, Grenada’s director of public prosecution, Christopher Nelson, said last week.
The age of sexual consent in Grenada is 16.
Grenada is one of several Caribbean nations that have laws banning sex between men, specifically prohibiting sodomy, under the charge of “unnatural connection.” It is rarely enforced. Sex between two females, however, is legal.
The penalty in most islands, including Grenada, is up to 10 years in prison, although Barbados and Guyana have life imprisonment, according to a 2010 United Nations report. The AP report says a gay rights activist was killed there last year, three gay men were beaten in St. Lucia this year and gay cruises continue to draw protesters.
Grenada is known as the “Island of Spice” due to the production of nutmeg and mace crops of which it is one of the world’s largest exporters. Grenada has an estimated population of 110,000 and gained independence from the UK in 1974.
