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Kenita Placide

Biography

Kenita Placide is a Saint Lucian human-rights advocate whose work spans LGBTQ+ rights, HIV and health advocacy, women's rights, youth, and broader social justice across the Caribbean. They are co-founder and Executive Director of the Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality (ECADE), a regional organization working to advance equality and human rights across the Eastern Caribbean.


Before ECADE, Placide served in leadership at United and Strong, a Saint Lucian organization advocating for the rights and well-being of LGBTQ+ people. Their regional advocacy has included capacity building, community organizing, policy advocacy, and work addressing the intersection of sexual orientation, gender identity, health, and human rights.


Placide was a founder and organizer of the Caribbean Women and Sexual Diversity Conference, launched in 2013 to strengthen advocacy, leadership, and connections among Caribbean women and gender-diverse communities.


Through ECADE, Placide has been closely involved in regional strategic litigation challenging laws criminalizing consensual same-sex intimacy. In July 2025, Saint Lucia's High Court declared provisions criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual activity unconstitutional, marking a significant development in the country's LGBTQ+ rights movement.


Placide identifies as nonbinary and queer and has spoken publicly about identity, gender, sexuality, and LGBTQ+ rights. Their work has received regional and international recognition, including the ILGA GO Visible Award, Saint Lucia Person of the Year People's Choice recognition, and the PANCAP Champion of Change award.


BQW Impact

Placide's work connects LGBTQ+ rights, feminist advocacy, HIV and health justice, and broader human-rights organizing across the Caribbean. Through ECADE and earlier community-based organizations, they have helped build regional infrastructure for LGBTQ+ advocacy while creating spaces for women and gender-diverse people whose experiences have often been marginalized within human-rights movements.


The 2025 Saint Lucia decriminalization ruling represents a significant part of Placide's advocacy legacy. The litigation formed part of a broader Eastern Caribbean strategy challenging colonial-era laws criminalizing consensual same-sex intimacy.


Notable Works

  • Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality (ECADE)

    Regional LGBTQ+ rights organization co-founded by Placide, bringing together organizations working on equality, human rights, health, research, advocacy, and social justice across the Eastern Caribbean.

  • Caribbean Women and Sexual Diversity Conference

    Regional conference founded and organized by Placide to strengthen advocacy, leadership, networking, and knowledge-sharing among Caribbean women and gender-diverse communities.

  • United and Strong

    Saint Lucian LGBTQ+ rights organization where Placide held senior leadership, working on human rights, HIV, health, and social inclusion.

  • Eastern Caribbean Decriminalization Campaign

    Regional strategic-litigation effort challenging laws criminalizing consensual same-sex intimacy, including the successful 2025 challenge in Saint Lucia.

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