Overturning judgments of the local courts, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) yesterday ruled in favour of a group of Guyanese transgender women that the law prohibiting cross-dressing violates their freedom of expression and said it should be struck from the laws of Guyana.
Declaring Section 153 (1) (XLVII) of the Summary Jurisdiction (Offences) Act to be unconstitutional, the court said the law was from a different time and no longer served any legitimate purpose in Guyana.
In its action against the state, the appellants—Quincy McEwan, known as Gulliver, Seon Clarke, known as Angel Clarke, Joseph Fraser, also known as Peaches Fraser, and Seyon Persaud, known as Isabella Persaud—had argued that the law discriminated against them.
