Social Research For The Play “Citizenship”

• Until 2003, the homosexual age of consent was composed of two criminal offences. First “buggery” (the legal term for anal intercourse) and second “gross indecency” (which covers all other homosexual acts).
• In 1967 homosexual acts between men aged 21 or over were decriminalised. In 1994 the minimum age (known as the ‘age of consent’) was lowered to 18. 1998 saw the beginning of a three-year campaign to lower the age of homosexual consent to 16.
• MPs and Peers had a free vote. The Commons voted on successive occasions for the age to be lowered to 16 but each time the Lords rejected the move.
• Because of the way the legislation was drafted MPs who voted for the age of homosexual consent to be lowered to 16 were at the same time also voting for the age at which girls could be subject to buggery to be lowered from 18 to 16.
• In the summer of 2000 the Government threatened to use the Parliament Acts to override the House of Lords and force the legislation through. In response, the House of Lords passed a compromise amendment which kept the age for buggery at 18 for boys and girls, but left intact the provisions in the Government Bill which permitted other homosexual acts at 16.
• The Government rejected this compromise and invoked the Parliament Acts. They did not allow any time for the Commons to consider the Lords compromise amendment. In January 2001 the age of homosexual consent was reduced to 16 and the age at which girls could be subject to buggery was also reduced to 16.
• In Northern Ireland the heterosexual age of consent is 17. Hence, the age of consent for buggery of a male and homosexual acts in the Province was reduced from 18 to 17, not 16.
• It is important to note that the 2003 Sexual Offences Act sought to remove any legal distinction in the criminal law between heterosexual and homosexual activity. All sexual activity with under 16s, whether heterosexual or homosexual, is now covered by the same laws.
• Buggery of a female in Northern Ireland was legalised in 2003, under the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) order 2003.

Penulis : James-Callum ~ Sebuah blog yang menyediakan berbagai macam informasi

Artikel Social Research For The Play “Citizenship” ini dipublish oleh James-Callum pada hari Monday, 30 January 2012. Semoga artikel ini dapat bermanfaat.Terimakasih atas kunjungan Anda silahkan tinggalkan komentar.sudah ada 0 komentar: di postingan Social Research For The Play “Citizenship”