The 1967 Sexual Offences Act
Just a short post to note that today is the 50th anniversary of the day that the Sexual Offences Act (1967) received the Royal Assent (27th July 1967). This Act partially decriminalised sex between two male adults provided both were over the age of 21 at the time. I’ve emphasised `partially’ because the number of prosecutions of men for consensual sexual acts actually went up in the years following this law. It was not until 2000 that the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000 equalised that age of consent at 16 for both homosexual and heterosexual behaviours throughout the United Kingdom. The 1967 Act was problematic in many ways, but it was a start…
Follow @telescoper
In the Dark 
July 28, 2017 at 1:05 am
It is eye-opening to look at the language used at the time by the promoter of the 1967 Act, Leo Abse, MP for Pontypool and Cardiff solicitor, who referred in the Commons to the “lamentably different” direction of homosexual behaviour and the “terrible fate” to be a homosexual. These words need to be seen in the context of the times, and I don’t mean to denigrate the work he did. It is a measure of how society has changed for the better that these words now jar.
August 2, 2017 at 7:07 pm
blog feminino
The 1967 Sexual Offences Act | In the Dark