Guyana

Guyana is one of only five countries in the Western Hemisphere that still criminalize consensual same-sex conduct between adults as of 2026. Section 352 of the colonial-era Criminal Law Act of Guyana criminalizes “gross indecency” between men. Section 353 criminalizes attempted buggery and indecent assault, while Section 354 criminalizes buggery between men as well as between people of different genders and imposes life imprisonment for those found guilty. Though rarely enforced, the law contributes to ongoing negative perceptions of LGBTIQ people, facilitates their exclusion from legal and social policies, and leaves them vulnerable to stigma and discrimination. In 2025, five of the six political parties that contested the general election, including the ruling party, declared that they supported the call to decriminalize same-sex intimacy.

Until 2018, Guyana also criminalized cross-dressing under Section 153(1)(xlvii) of the Summary Jurisdiction (Offences) Act, which unfairly targeted transgender people and was used to arrest trans women. This law was successfully challenged by activists in the case of McEwan et al. v. The Attorney General of Guyana. Section 153(1)(xlvii) was found to be unconstitutionally vague and contrary to the rule of law. Also in 2018, Guyana became the first country in the Anglophone Caribbean to host a Pride march, inspiring others to follow suit.

Evangelical Christian groups have publicly opposed the human rights of LGBTIQ people. In 2024, civil society reported widespread discrimination against queer and trans people in Guyana in employment, education, health care, and public life. Despite this, a 2022 study showed that 72 percent of Guyanese people accepted or tolerated homosexual people. Compared to a 2013 poll, it found a 13 percent decline in negative attitudes toward LGBT persons.

Intersex people in Guyana are largely made invisible by a lack of information. Nonconsensual medical interventions on intersex children are not prohibited, leaving them vulnerable to violence.