1967: The First Step Towards Change.

Homosexuality in Britain

1967 saw the passing of the Sexual Offences Act, this was legislation that partially decriminalised male homosexual acts. Although it was a far cry from the changes to legislation we see today, this was the first step towards change for homosexuals living in Britain. It was the first gay-law reform since anal sex was made a crime in 1533 during the reign of Henry VIII.

The 1960s is commonly seen as the decade of liberation and reform but in reality, it was more the stepping stone towards future liberation and the breaking down of old stigmas. Common beliefs around homosexuality in 1960s Britain were that it was a disease or a mental illness that could be cured. Many believed that homosexuality polluted society and should not be accepted as it defied the laws of nature.

In 1957, a committee was set up to investigate the laws surrounding homosexuality after a number of high-profile cases were brought to society's attention in the national press. The Wolfenden Committee concluded in a report that society and the law should uphold strict policies surrounding sexual morality when in public, but it should have no control over what happens in private. Men should be able to make their own decisions regarding the issue as long as they did so in private, and without causing effect or harm to others.

After the publication of the Wolfenden Report in 1960, a small group of men set up the Homosexual Reform Society. The group was so small, homophobia was strong and despite the conclusion reached in the report, homosexuality was still a criminal offence this meant that it was ultimately impossible for the society to gain mass support and challenge the law. It was backbencher Leo Abse who brought the Bill into Government. Abse argued that homosexuals should be pitied for their condition rather than be prosecuted. Abse argued that as long as any sexual acts were carried out in private, away from the public then the law should be changed. Eventually, after much debate, the Bill was passed.

However, far from liberating gay men, the legislation created more restrictions placed hasher and more stringent boundaries on them. The Act decriminalised sexual acts between men in private, but the definition of private was extremely narrow. The legislation also made the penalties for being caught even harsher, although the maximum penalty of life imprisonment was repealed. The law was also policed more than it had been done before, it was commonplace for the police to stake out parks and public toilets and use younger handsome members of the force to lure out gay men about to break the law. The age of consent was set at twenty-one rather than sixteen like it was for heterosexual sex, this was probably linked to the homophobic ideas that young men could easily be seduced and corrupted by the older man. Those in the military were also exempt from the law changes in place for civilian gay men until 2001.

Although the 1967 Sexual Offences Act did not liberate gay men, it did lay the foundations for the 1970s activism and ultimately was the first stepping stone on the route towards modern LGBT rights. Upon reflection, although the Act, in fact placed more stringent boundaries upon gay men in the 1960s, without it rights for gay men may not have reached what it has today.

By Charlii Ashenden