Marriage equality has come to the tiny Pitcairn Islands. Equality Case Files has posted a copy of the Same Sex Marriage and Civil Partnership Ordinance 2015, which allows for same-sex unions. It was signed last month. The British territory has its own assembly, but a population of fewer than 50 people. It has a well-known history – it’s inhabited by the descendants of the 1789 Mutiny on the Bounty, when Fletcher Christian seized control of the ship and led mutineers to start the new settlement. Its more recent history has been underscored by the sexual assault trials held in New Zealand in 2004, where a number of men were convicted over sexual encounters with children. All have now finished their sentences, served in a prison on the island. Tourism is the Pitcairns' major earner, but it’s only accessible by passenger ship.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Monday, 22nd June 2015 - 9:38am