Topic Guide
Sexual Offences Act 1967
Short answer
The Sexual Offences Act 1967 partially decriminalised consensual sex between men in England and Wales, but only under limited conditions and without creating full equality.
- Status
- reviewed
- Reviewed
- 22 May 2026
- Sources
- 7
- High trust
- 6
Curated Routes
Appears in these journeys
Use a journey when you want to keep reading through a connected route.
Overview
The 1967 Act is often treated as the start of modern UK gay law reform. It followed years of campaigning and the Wolfenden Report, but it left many criminal offences and inequalities intact, meaning later reforms were still needed.
Key Timeline Events
The Wolfenden Report Published
The Wolfenden Committee reported in 1957 and recommended that private homosexual activity between consenting adults over 21 should no longer be a criminal offence. The recommendation did not immediately change the law, but it created the central law-reform argument that later shaped the Sexual Offences Act 1967.
North Western Homosexual Law Reform Committee Founded
The North-Western Homosexual Law Reform Committee held its first meeting in Manchester on 4 June 1964, with a formal launch later that year. Founded by Allan Horsfall and others to support decriminalisation, it later became the Committee for Homosexual Equality and then the Campaign for Homosexual Equality.
Sexual Offences Act 1967
The Sexual Offences Act 1967 partially decriminalised sex between men in England and Wales, but only under tightly limited conditions. It applied to consenting adults over 21 in private and left major exclusions and inequalities in place, including outside England and Wales.
