U.k. Reviews Sex Laws (Press, 30 April 1984)

In April 1984, the Criminal Law Revision Committee in Britain released a report addressing the country’s sexual offence laws, aiming to refine the legal framework surrounding private sexual behaviours while upholding public order and decency. The committee advocates for minimal legal intervention in personal lives, but the challenge lies in defining what constitutes public order and decency. One of the prominent issues highlighted in the report is the inconsistency between the legal status of buggery among different sexual orientations. While buggery is legal between consenting male adults, the committee recognised the absurdity of it being illegal between a man and a woman, even within marriage. In 1982, 209 convictions for this offence were recorded, raising questions about how such cases were approached by law enforcement. The report proposes decriminalising buggery between a man and a woman as soon as the woman reaches the age of consent, which is currently set at 16. Conversely, the age of consent for male homosexual acts stands at 21, a disparity that remains contentious. Although there have been suggestions to lower this age limit to 18, the committee did not recommend a reduction to 16. One of the more controversial suggestions in the report involves the legalisation of consensual incest between adult siblings who reunite after years of separation. The committee posits that such relationships do not inherently involve exploitation unless a dependent younger sibling is involved. The report also addresses disparities in sentencing for indecent assault, recommending that the law should eliminate the current inequity where a man could receive a 10-year sentence for assaulting another male, while a lower two-year sentence could apply for identical offences against a woman. To rectify this, the committee suggests increasing the potential sentence for assaults on women to match that of assaults on men. However, some recommendations raise questions about practicality, such as the proposal to create a specific offence for homosexual activities in public toilets, which could inevitably lead to complications regarding legal definitions and enforcement. Overall, the report highlights the ongoing legal and moral complexities inherent in regulating sexual behaviour in Britain, reflecting a tension between liberal views of personal autonomy and traditional legal frameworks aimed at protecting public morality.

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