Government will support stronger anti-discrimination laws to protect LGBTQ+ community

The Government will not support same-sex marriage but will strengthen anti-discrimination protections for citizens regardless of their sexual orientation as part of its broader commitment to human rights and equal access to public services.
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo, speaking at his weekly press conference on Thursday, confirmed that the administration is open to legislative reforms aimed at preventing discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals, particularly in areas such as education, healthcare, and employment.

“SASOD (Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination) came, and they made a presentation here. They came to our consultation, and they asked us whether we will support strengthening legislation to prevent discrimination against people based on sexual orientation. And the answer is yes, we will do that. And it will probably be reflected in our manifesto because we don’t believe that people should be denied any opportunity because of their race, their religion, their gender, or their sexual orientation to get access to health care or education, et cetera,” he disclosed.
Jagdeo, who is also the General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), confirmed that these anti-discrimination commitments will likely be reflected in the party’s upcoming election manifesto, along with proposed reforms to increase accountability in law enforcement and other areas tied to the protection of human rights.
The announcement comes as civil society groups continue to push for more inclusive legal protections in Guyana, which currently criminalises same-sex intimacy under colonial-era laws but has seen growing calls for reform.
While the Government maintains its position against same-sex marriage, the renewed commitment to combat discrimination signals a step forward in expanding civil protections for all Guyanese, regardless of sexual orientation.
“I said, ‘not gay marriage’. I told SASOD this: ‘We’re not going to support that, but we will support any legislation to prevent discrimination’. And they said to me, ‘We’re not even seeking that’. So that is something we don’t want to discriminate against our people for education or health or jobs based on any factor whatsoever… We have already had some accountability in law enforcement up there. That’s an important issue for us – greater accountability,” he added.
Back in 2023, SASOD launched a campaign to increase tolerance and respect for LGBTQ+ people and repeal same-sex laws. Over the past nine years, there has been a 15 percent increase in acceptance and a 13 percent reduction in hatred against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) people.
In fact, just three days ago, SASOD launched a manifesto, ahead of the 2025 General and Regional Elections, calling for political parties to commit to addressing legislative, socio-economic, and other critical issues affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual and other (LGBTQIA+) Guyanese.
The document lists ten priority issues for political parties to address.
On Tuesday, SASOD hosted a town hall meeting where representatives of five of the six political parties contesting the September 1 elections shared their views on several issues relating to the LGBTQIA+ community. The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) was represented by Susan Rodrigues.