The Cook Islands recently made history by decriminalizing same-sex sexual relations, following the footsteps of other Pacific Island nations who have done the same. However, while this is a significant step forward, LGBTQ+ activists warn that there is still a long way to go in the fight for basic rights and equality for queer people in the region.
For over a decade, activists have been campaigning for the Cook Islands to decriminalize same-sex sexual relations. Finally, on April 14, lawmakers passed a bill to repeal the colonial-era law that had criminalized homosexuality, which was a crime punishable by up to seven years in prison, although it was rarely enforced. The new measure is expected to become law on June 1.
Prime Minister Mark Brown announced his support for the change in parliament, stating that the previous law went against the nation’s constitution and values. Karla Eggleton, the leader of Pride Cook Islands, an LGBTQ+ group, expressed her elation at the news, saying that there were “lots of tears, lots of hugging.”
However, the change in law is just the beginning of the fight for LGBTQ+ rights in the Cook Islands. Same-sex couples still lack legal recognition and adoption rights, and transgender people cannot legally change their gender. LGBTQ+ activists in the Pacific Islands region face similar obstacles.
While some Pacific Island nations, such as the Marshall Islands, Fiji, Palau, and Nauru, have decriminalized homosexuality, bans remain in place in other nations, including Kiribati, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Tonga, and Tuvalu. These bans, although rarely enforced, still perpetuate prejudice against LGBTQ+ people and put them at risk of discrimination or worse.
In Tonga, Taufu’i ‘Ae Valu Naufahu, the country’s first openly gay lawyer and LGBTQ+ activist, warns of the dangers faced by LGBTQ+ youth in the country. Naufahu cites the case of Polikalepo Kefu, a leading figure in Tonga’s LGBTQ+ community, who was murdered in 2021 in what he calls a “hate crime.” LGBTQ+ youth often seek assistance from activists because they face abuse at home and in their communities.
Phylesha Brown-Acton, a fakafifine person from Niue, where same-sex sexual relations between men are illegal, expressed hope that the Cook Islands’ vote could inspire change in her country. However, she also notes that conservative factions may be working to change the country’s tradition of accepting fakafifine people. Brown-Acton points out that religious leaders are coming down harder on LGBTQ+ people, citing two cases where LGBTQ+ Pacific islanders were refused entry to church shelters during floods due to their gender identity or sexuality.
Despite the lingering discrimination and anti-LGBTQ+ laws in the region, activists are hopeful for change. Naufahu believes that society in Tonga has undergone “major changes” in recent years and that progress towards LGBTQ+ acceptance will continue. As he puts it, “Sooner or later, we will get there.”