LONDON, November 10, 2026 — In a landmark unanimous ruling, the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, Trinidad and Tobago’s highest court, has struck down laws criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual activity between adults.
Popular blogger and commentator Rhoda Bharath on Sauce Nation quipped “The Privy Council has ruled allyuh could have consensual , legal aged anal sex in peace”
The victory belongs to Trinidad-born LGBTQ+ activist Jason Jones, who launched his constitutional challenge in 2017 against sections 13 and 16 of the Sexual Offences Act 1986, which carried penalties of up to five years for buggery and two years for gross indecency.
Jones first won in the High Court in 2018, but the Court of Appeal partially overturned that decision in March 2025. On November 10, 2026, the Privy Council delivered its final ruling in his favour.
Lord Sales, delivering the judgment, affirmed that constitutional protection for private and family life extends to sexual orientation and consensual intimacy between adults.
The provisions originated in colonial-era legislation dating to 1925, subsequently replaced by Trinidad and Tobago’s 1986 legislation.
The Government opposed Jones’s challenge, alongside religious organisations including the Trinidad and Tobago Council of Evangelical Churches and the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha.
The law has changed. But has society already been privately exploring what it publicly condemns?
ARIMA TOPS GAY PORN SEARCHES — IS T&T READY?
Here is where the story gets interesting!
A September 23, 2026 report by journalist Gavin Riley, drawing on Google Trends data covering September 21, 2025 to September 20, 2026, ranked Trinidad and Tobago third among 80 countries for relative Google searches for “gay porn”, scoring 61 out of 100.
Jamaica placed eighth, scoring 40.
And which communities topped the Trinidad and Tobago rankings?
Arima led with 100, followed by Couva-Tabaquite-Talparo (99); Penal-Debe, Princes Town and Siparia (98); Sangre Grande and Chaguanas (88); San Fernando (76); Port of Spain (69); Western Tobago (66); Tunapuna-Piarco (65); Diego Martin (60); Eastern Tobago (49); and Point Fortin (36).
Related searches reportedly surged, with “new black gay porn” up 800% and “live gay sex” up 600%.
However, these are relative Google search-interest scores, not actual pornography viewing figures or percentages of gay residents. They cannot establish anyone’s sexual orientation or support for legal reform.
THE LAW HAS CHANGED. HAS SOCIETY?
The historic decision could influence legal challenges in Jamaica, Guyana, Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines, where restrictions on same-sex activity remain.
For nearly a decade, Jason Jones fought to remove laws inherited from British colonial rule, challenging both the Government and deeply rooted religious opposition.
Now the country’s highest court has settled the constitutional question, although the wider debate about culture, religion and sexuality will undoubtedly continue.
The irony? While some publicly oppose homosexuality, the country’s online search patterns reveal substantial curiosity about gay sexual content.
But curiosity is not consent, and search activity is not a public opinion poll.
The law has changed. The search history is revealing. But is Trinidad and Tobago’s society ready to follow?