Source Record
Age of Consent for Male Homosexual Acts
Why this source is used
Parliamentary research briefing on age-of-consent reform, including legislative context and references to the Bolton Seven.
Start with the answer
Start with the answer When was homosexuality legalised in the UK? If by legalised you mean partial decriminalisation of sex between men, England and Wales changed the law in 1967. The UK did not reach equality in one step: Scotland, Northern Ireland, age-of-consent reform and later partnership and marriage recognition followed through separate legal routes. Start with the answer How did UK age-of-consent reform change LGBTQ+ law? It moved the law from partial decriminalisation toward equal treatment by lowering and then equalising the age of consent. Read the topic guide UK Age of Consent and Sexual Offences Reform UK reform moved from partial decriminalisation to lowering and then equalising the age of consent, while late prosecutions exposed the harm of unequal criminal law.
Source Status
- Publisher
- House of Commons Library
- Type
- government
- Reliability
- high
- Cited by
- 5 pages
Source Links
Used by Topics
Used by Questions
Used by Timeline Events
1994 DiscriminationLegalUK
Lowering of Age of Consent for Same-Sex Relations
The UK lowered the age of consent for sex between men from 21 to 18, a partial step towards equality with the heterosexual age of consent of 16. The measure was fiercely debated in Parliament and passed only with the use of the Parliament Acts. Full parity would not be achieved until 2001.
1998 DiscriminationLegalUKCompensation
Bolton 7 Case Concludes
A group of gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, later known as the Bolton 7, were convicted for gross indecency and subsequently awarded compensation following a campaign.
