The report of the Departmental Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution, also known as the Wolfenden Report, was published in Britain on 4 September 1957. It was established as a response to the number of previously reputable men who had been convicted of homosexual offences, as well as the growing number of men being sent to prison for acts of homosexuality. By the end of 1954 alone, more than one thousand men in England and Wales had been sent to prison for specifically that reason. It was the intention of the committee, therefore, to decriminalize private homosexual acts, as it was beginning to come into light that “homosexuality cannot legitimately be regarded as a disease, because in many cases it is the only symptom and is compatible with full mental health in other respects” (The Wolfenden Report, 1957). Homosexuality aside, there was also much focus on “cleaning up the streets” of Britain by enforcing the privatization of prostitution by increasing fines and incarceration periods for those caught in the public display of such acts. Based on these and other recommendations made by the committee however, it is evident that, although a need to decrease the number of men being criminalized for homosexual acts was necessary, the committee, as well as the public, was not yet ready to fully decriminalize homosexuality or prostitution themselves. However, in bringing such subjects to light, they themselves also manage to break the barriers dividing their own specified definitions.
The committee makes several recommendations in regards to changing the laws and legislations surrounding the incrimination of homosexuals for what had previously been considered sodomy. The basic premise being that “homosexual behaviour betwe...
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...mittee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution (1957). Report of the Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution. London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office.
Devlin, Patrick, Lord (1965). The Enforcement of Morals. London, New York: Oxford University Press.
Duffett, Rachel (2014, March). Consumption, Secular Rituals and Sexuality. Mass Media and Modern Life. Lecture conducted from University of Essex, Colchester, UK.
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The Street Offences Act 1959, section 3.
The persecution of homosexuals during this age of McCarthy proved exactly how vulnerable they were to attack and discrimination. Out of those persecutions came some of the first organized “gay rights” groups, known as Homophile organizations, the first two being the Mattachine Society and the Daughters of Bilibis (who focused their efforts on Lesbian rights). Founded in 1950 by Harry Hay, the...
When the Nazi party came to power Paragraph 175 was put in place. This law was adjusted to include further punishment for homosexual men and the code was used as the main tool to arrest both known homosexuals and men suspected of homosexual a...
This essay will discuss the many different types of sex offenses that are considering a crime. It will then talk about some of the historical sexual offenders laws that have shaped society as a whole. It will also define the role religion plays on the emergence of new Sex offender’s laws that we have in contemporary societies. And finally talk about the emergence of some currents sex offenses laws we have in our nation.
Young, Alan. "The state is still in the bedrooms of the nation: the control and regulation of sexuality in Canadian criminal law." The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality 17.4 (2008).
McFall, J. Arthur. "Ill-Fated Crusade Of The Poor People." Military History 14.6 (1998): 26. MAS
Homosexuality is a sensitive topic and often avoided in conversation. For centuries the human race has oppressed and persecuted others strictly because they are gay, lesbian, bisexual etc. Although disturbing to most of us, these actions still occur in our society today, as many believe that homosexuality is abnormal and disgraceful. One supporter of this belief is Michael Levin, who strongly believes that homosexuality is highly abnormal and thus, undesirable. Although his beliefs and theories supporting this claim are subjective, there is evidence that can support his stance on this topic; we will analyze this claim in further detail and how it relates to his other views mentioned in this essay.
Riley-Smith, Jonathan. The First Crusade and the Idea of Crusading. The United States of America: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1986.
This around the same time of the Peronist years where the head of governments wife gave protection to a homosexual. He passed the Antisocial States and Security Measures (1954). This law gave various fines and jail time against dangerous social groups like homosexuals and drug dealers. While the law never went into effect because it required regulation, it still shows the political climate of the time.(Partiagay)
In the late 19th century, the purity movement was well underway in England. Serious efforts made by those involved in legislation were creating "a climate where immorality could be tackled seriously" (Mort 114). With the passage of the Criminal Law Amendment Bill in 1885, the first steps were taken toward an "improved moral climate in the country" (Mort 129). While this new law included some positive improvements such as elevating the age of sexual consent for women from 13 to 16, a surprising addition was made just before the final vote was taken in Parliament. Henry Labouchere, a liberal in the House of Commons, introduced a clause "outlawing all forms of male homosexual contact" (Mort 129). The public embraced the addition and the "general negative attitude toward homosexuality" continued to grow with the law on its biased side as well (Robb 57).
The Web. 12 May 2014. Fone, Byrne. A. Homophobia: A History of the.
3) Eskridge William. Symposium on sexual orientation and the law. Virginia Law review. October 1993. Pg. 1419-1513. http://www.jstor.org.remote.baruch.cuny.edu/stable/1073379?seq=3&uid=3739664&uid=2&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21103079482127
It is for Parliament to remedy the gap in the law where they have failed to accommodate contemporary situations since Brown was decided. Providing relevant law which aids judges in deciding on cases involving sadomasochism prevents the judiciary for solely prosecuting for the violence, but it accommodates the accepted acts of a contemporary society. The values and norms in society have changed over the past twenty years where sadomasochistic activity is now accepted as normal practice through opinions and the portrayal in the media. It seems that the challenge is that the law is not keeping up with the attitudes and values of society, and this prevents the potential to find sadomasochistic behaviour acceptable and not incriminating, in circumstances where it does not involve the risk of taking
Instead, codes have been put into place which analyze the crime in question and detail the punishment to fit the severity of the injustice. Similarly, sexuality is not treated how it once was in the regard of control. There was a time when sexuality was swept under the societal rug, and people did not openly make reference to it or analyze it. In modern times, sexuality is at the forefront of multiple discourses, meaning that various institutions in society share and acknowledge a common view about
Halwani, Raja, Gary Jaeger, James Stramel, Richard Nunan, William Wilkerson, and Timothy Murphy. What Is Gay and Lesbian Philosophy? 2008. MS. Oxford, UK. San Diego Mesa College Academic Databases. Web. 10 Oct. 2011. .
In the face of a homophobic society we need creative and critical processes that draw out the complexity of lesbian lives and same sex choices, not a retreat into the comforting myths of heroines and unfractured, impeachable identities