Summary Jurisdiction (Offences) (Amendment) Act of 2021

The Summary Jurisdiction (Offences) (Amendment) Act of 2021 repeals Section 153(1)(xlvii) of the Summary Jurisdiction (Offenses) Act, which had criminalized appearing in public while "cross-dressing for an improper purpose.” The repeal brings the statute into conformity with the Caribbean Court of Justice’s 2018 decision in Quincy McEwan et al v. Attorney General of Guyana (2018), which held that the provision was unconstitutional. The amendment removes a statutory basis for policing gender expression and eliminates a law historically used against transgender and gender-nonconforming people. The act of "cross-dressing for an improper purpose" in public is no longer an offense in Guyana.