It's bee 20 years sce the age of nsent was fally equalised for gay and bisexual men the UK after a bisg, years-long mpaign.
Contents:
- LOVE WS! AGE OF NSENT EQUALISED FOR GAY AND BI MEN
- THE AGE OF NSENT FOR GAY AND BI MEN WAS FALLY EQUALISED 20 YEARS AGO TODAY, MARKG A MAMMOTH VICTORY FOR LOVE
LOVE WS! AGE OF NSENT EQUALISED FOR GAY AND BI MEN
Securg an equal age of nsent for gay and bi men was a long procs and provoked ugly bat ground harmful stereotyp. * gay sexual consent age uk *
To mark LGBT + History Month, this blog post draws on a recently released Prime Mister’s Office file which documents a signifint advance gay rights soon after the turn of the lennium. The Sexual Offenc Act of 1967 reprented a partial crimalisatn of male homosexualy: allowed two men to have sex private England and Wal provid they were over 21; much later, this provisn was extend to Stland and Northern Ireland.
THE AGE OF NSENT FOR GAY AND BI MEN WAS FALLY EQUALISED 20 YEARS AGO TODAY, MARKG A MAMMOTH VICTORY FOR LOVE
In 1994 Conservative MP Edwa Currie troduced an amendment to lower the age of nsent for homosexual acts, om 21 to 16 le wh that for heterosexual acts. Movg the amendment on 21 Febary 1994, Mrs Currie clared: ‘It is the first time over a quarter of a century that the age of nsent for homosexuals has been discsed by the Hoe of Commons. The next polician to take up the mantle and advote for change on the age of nsent for gay men was Jack Straw, who served the Cabet om 1997 to 2010 unr the Labour ernments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.
In his memoirs Straw gave powerful ttimony about the terrible st ed by the burns of shame and huiatn that were borne by young gay men. Note the formaly of the phrase ‘Homosexual rights’ which is ed to scribe the document (and appears on the file ver) rather than ‘Gay rights’, for example, but this is to be expected when referrg to ernmental documents of this perd.
The file shows that he had only been Office for ls than two months when he started to prs for reform on the homosexual age of nsent. In this letter to John Prtt, the Home Secretary’s stated aim is clear: ‘the purpose of this letter is to seek lleagu’ agreement to rcg the homosexual age of nsent to sixteen’. At the age of 17, 1994 Mr Sutherland had plaed to the Commissn that the higher age of nsent for homosexuals (18) as opposed to that for heterosexuals (16) was a breach of his right to privacy unr Article 8 of the European Conventn for the Protectn of Human Rights and his right not to be discrimated agast his private life unr Article 14.