Barbados

The country’s transition away from the British monarchy underlines its active confrontation with the Barbadian colonial legacy. The population of Barbados is predominantly Black and of African descent. The island retains the brutal legacy of being England’s first “slave society”, and in the face of its collective trauma of enslavement, the country recognizes freedom and equality as the most fundamental features of its national identity. Barbados is actively involved in the movement to seek reparatory justice for slavery, with representatives from the country serving as leading members of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Reparations Commission. The population is also predominantly Christian. Demographic homogeneity paired with a firm government commitment to human rights, justice, and progressive social policy have minimized ethnic cleavages in the country. Nonetheless, the GSoDI highlight deficiencies in the country’s respect for social rights and equality. Efforts to achieve equal social rights and legal protections for the LGBTQIA+ community have exposed some major fault lines in the public conscience. LGBTQIA+ persons in Barbados face discrimination and harassment, and same-sex relationships remain constitutionally unlawful. The government, regarded as supportive of LGBTQIA+ rights, postures toward progressive change, but rights advocates remain skeptical. In recent years, the government has gestured toward raising the question of same-sex marriage in a public referendum, and it has yet to act within its power to repeal draconian anti-LGBTQIA+ laws. Despite the country’s relative prosperity in the region, Barbados also faces challenges pertaining to poverty alleviation. Individuals on the island are impacted by poverty at a concerning rate and households headed by women are disproportionately affected. The Covid-19 pandemic also dealt a major blow to the country’s economy and exacerbated the effects of poverty for children and other vulnerable groups. The government has since responded with a rights-based Social Protection Policy, attentive to the complex and multidimensional nature of poverty.

As the Barbadian government lauded the country’s transition to a parliamentary republic, much of the populace felt detached from the process, as it was undertaken without their consultation. In light of concerns over self-determination for Barbadian citizens, the government initiated a constitutional reform process. With a sweeping mandate, the Constitutional Reform Commission commenced work in June 2022 and has urged widespread citizen participation in the process through various consultation mechanisms. It is uncertain at this time whether the reform process will achieve its lofty deliberative goals or stimulate greater public mobilization. Voter turnout in Barbados recently dipped to an all-time low and the country scores in the low to middle ranges in the GSoDI attribute Participatory Engagement. In the coming years, the constitutional reform process, implementation of social protection policies and overall emergence of a new governing ethos could lead to shifts in any attributes of the GSoDI. At this critical juncture in Barbadian political history, however, the country seems well-positioned to bolster its commitments to democracy and human rights.