Criminal law:
The criminal law contains a considerable number of sexual offences - e,g, see Crown Prosecution Service (Sexual Offences).
Historically,it was generally understood that the criminal law presumed that a husband could not be guilty of raping his wife. This came to an end
with the House of Lords decision in R v R [1991] 3 WLR 767 and [1991] UKHL 12.The Sexual Offences Act 1993 removed a further presumption of criminal law - i.e. that a boy under the age of fourteen was incapable of sexual intercourse (whether natural or unnatural).
Homosexual activity between men was a criminal offence in England and Wales but the law was changed by the Sexual Offences Act 1967 which legalised homosexual acts in England and Wales, on the condition that they were consensual, in private and between two men who had attained the age of 21. The age was later reduced to 18 by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. The age was further reduced to 16 by the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000. Interestingly, there was never an explicit ban on homosexual activity between women.
The Armed Forces of the UK:
The UK Armed forces had a policy against gay people serving in the military. Successive governments claimed that the ban was necessary for the morale, fighting power and operational effectiveness of the armed forces. Following two cases which reached the European Court of Human Rights, the policy was reversed. The following links provide further information:-
Smith And Grady v United Kingdom - 33985/96; 33986/96 [1999] ECHR 72 (27 September 1999) (View without highlighting) [68%]
((1999) 11 Admin LR 879, (1999) 29 EHRR 493, (2000) 29 EHRR 493, 29 EHRR 493, [1999] ECHR 33985/96, [1999] ECHR 72, [1999] IRLR 734; From European Court of Human Rights; 148 KB)Smith And Grady v United Kingdom (Article 41) - 33985/96; 33986/96 [2000] ECHR 384 (25 July 2000) (View without highlighting) [62%]
((2001) 31 EHRR 24, 31 EHRR 24, [2000] ECHR 384, [2001] 31 EHRR 24; From European Court of Human Rights; 41 KB)LUSTIG-PREAN AND BECKETT v. THE UNITED KINGDOM - 31417/96 [2011] ECHR 1895 (8 November 2011) (View without highlighting) [13%]
(From European Court of Human Rights; 23 KB)
Historic ruling ends ban on gay people serving in the Armed Forces.
House of Commons library - Recognition of LGBT+ veterans: FAQs
Same sex - Civil Partnership and Marriage:
A major change to the law came with the Civil Partnership Act 2004 which enabled same-sex couples to obtain legal recognition of their relationship by forming a civil partnership.
In 2013, the Marriage (Same Sex Marriage) Act extended marriage to same sex couples.
Conspiracy to corrupt public morals:
In May 1961, the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords decided the case of Shaw v DPP [1962] AC220.
In September 1960, Frederick Charles Shaw was convicted on an indictment containing three counts. The first count was Conspiracy to corrupt public morals. The other counts were living on the earnings
of
prostitution contrary to section 30 of the Sexual Offences Act1956 and Publishing an obscene publication contrary to
section 2 of the Obscene Publications Act 1959.
The basic facts were that Shaw published a magazine or booklet called " Ladies Directory." This advertised the names, addresses and telephone numbers of prostitutes with photographs of nude female figures and in some cases details which conveyed a willingness to indulge not only in ordinary sexual intercourse but also in various 'perverse practices.'
The Lord Chancellor (Viscount Simonds) dismissed argument that the offence of corrupting public morals was not recognised by common law. It was held that it was open to the jury to find on the facts that the appellant was guilty of such an offence.
' .... if it were not so, Her Majesty's courts would strangely have failed in their duty as servants and guardians of the common law.'
'In the sphere of criminal law I entertain no doubt that there remains in the Courts of Law a residual power to enforce the supreme and fundamental purpose of the law, to conserve not only the safety and order but also the moral welfare of the State, and that it is their duty to guard it against attacks which may be the more insidious because they are novel and unprepared for.'
'The same act will not in all ages be regarded in the same way. The law must be related to the changing standards of life, not yielding to every shifting impulse of the popular will but having regard to fundamental assessments of human values and the purposes of society.'
The law of conspiracy was updated by the Criminal Law Act 1977. Section 5 of the Act abolished the offence of conspiracy under common law but specifically preserved conspiracy to defraud and also conspiracy to corrupt public morals or outrages public decency.
The Wolfenden Report 1957:
A recent article published by the BBC was concerned with various issues faced by the newly-appointed Archbishop of Canterbury - BBC 25 December 2025. One problem faced by the Church is said to be about whether whether the Church of England should hold blessings for same-sex couples.
The article reminded me of the 1957 inquiry conducted by Sir John Wolfenden. That was concerned with whether sex between men should be decriminalised. The inquiry report said - "We do not see, ,,, , "why this particular form of sexual behaviour, which we regard, most of us, as morally repugnant… should be a criminal offence."
"unless a deliberate attempt be made by society through the agency of the law to equate the sphere of crime with that of sin, there must remain a realm of private morality and immorality, which is, in brief and crude terms, not the law's business."
As already noted, the criminal law relating to homosexuality between men was amended by the Sexual Offences Act 1967. The 10-year interval between Wolfenden's report and the amendment of the law is noteworthy.
The government of Harold Macmillan did not act upon Wolfenden's recommendations, due to fears of a public backlash. As late as On 29 June 1960, the House of Commons, by a majority of 114 (99 Ayes to 213 Noes), voted against a motion endorsing the Wolfenden Committee's recommendations.
Public debate began to change because of the actions of advocacy groups, as well as the effect of the 1961 Dirk Bogarde film Victim, which was the first major production to even mention the term "homosexual" and had as its main subject the prosecution of homosexuals in the UK, and how this encouraged blackmail. It made the topic accessible to a greater part of the public, and in its wake approval for a repeal of homosexual prohibition went above 50%.
The Hart-Devlin debate:
This well-known debate consisted of a spirited exchange of essays and lectures between Patrick Devlin, a distinguished sitting judge, and H. L. A. Hart, a professor of jurisprudence at Oxford University.
The debate was sparked by the publication of the Wolfenden report which recommended that the criminal law in the UK be liberalized regarding prostitution and “homosexual offences.”
The debate continues to be worthy of study today. In the briefest (perhaps over-simplified) terms, Devlin supported a considerable degree of State involvement in the enforcement of morality whereas Hart preferred the view that the State should not concern itself with acts in private between consenting adults.
Offences against the Person - Sadomachism:
In March 1993 the House of Lords gave judgment in R v Brown and others [1993] UKHL19.
The appellants were convicted of assaults occasioning actual bodily harm contrary to section 47 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. Three of the appellants were also convicted of wounding contrary to section 20 of the Act. The incidents which led to each conviction occurred in the course of consensual sado-masochistic homosexual encounters.
The case was decided against the appellants by a majority of 3 to 2.
The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 section 71 restated the law - 'It is not a defence that V consented to the infliction of the serious harm for the purposes of obtaining sexual gratification ...'
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