Gay rights in the United Kingdom
Encyclopedia
The rights of LGBT
(lesbian
, gay
, bisexual
and transgender
) people in the United Kingdom have evolved over time. LGBT rights were non-existent at the time of the formation of the United Kingdom, but have increasingly strengthened in support since the decriminalisation of same-sex sexual activity between the middle to late 20th century.
LGBT citizens in the United Kingdom have most of the same legal rights as non-LGBT citizens, and they are extended more legal rights than many other territories worldwide. Discrimination on the basis of both sexual orientation
and gender identity
is illegal in housing, employment and the provision of goods and services while Her Majesty's Armed Forces allows LGBT individuals to serve openly. In 2001, the age of consent
was equalised to 16 under the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000
, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. Same-sex couples have had the right to adopt since 2002 and to enter into civil partnerships since 2005. The Gender Recognition Act
also gave transsexuals the right to change their legal gender. On 16 September 2011, the UK Government announced plans to start a consultation on Same-Sex Civil Marriage, with the remit of the Consultation to be to examine how this can be introduced, rather than whether it should be introduced. As a result of this consultation, Same-Sex Civil Marriage will be legal in the United Kingdom by the 2015 General Election
.
Social attitudes towards the LGBT community in the United Kingdom are generally accepting. A 2007 survey conducted by YouGov
indicated that 90% of the British public supported outlawing discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, and a 2009 poll by Populus
reported that 61% supports allowing same-sex couples to marry. However, the ONS found from the EU barrometer that only 45% of Britons support gay marriage.
A 2010 Integrated Household Survey (IHS), an experimental survey in a testing phase, estimated that 1.5% of Britons identify themselves as homosexual or bisexual – far lower than previous estimates of 5–7%. Interpreting the statistics, an ONS spokeswoman said, "Someone may engage in sexual behaviour with someone of the same sex but still not perceive themselves as gay."
, English law
identified anal sex
and zoophilia
as offences punishable by hanging, as a result of the Buggery Act 1533
. In 1861, section 61 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861
removed the death penalty for homosexuality. However, male homosexual acts still remained illegal and were punishable by imprisonment and in 1885, section 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885
extended the laws regarding homosexuality to include any kind of sexual activity between males. Conversely, lesbians were never acknowledged or targeted by legislation.
In the early 1950s, the police actively enforced laws prohibiting sexual behaviour between men. This policy led to a number of high-profile arrests and trials. One of those involved the noted scientist, mathematician, and war-time code-breaker Alan Turing
(1912–1954), convicted in 1952 of "gross indecency". In 2009, Prime Minister Gordon Brown
, in response to a petition, issued an apology. In 1953, Michael Pitt-Rivers
and Peter Wildeblood
were arrested and charged with having committed specific acts of "indecency" with Edward McNally and John Reynolds; they were also accused of conspiring with Edward Montagu
(the 3rd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu) to commit these offences. The Director of Public Prosecutions
gave his assurance that Reynolds and McNally would not be prosecuted in any circumstances. The trial of Edward Montagu, Michael Pitt-Rivers and Peter Wildeblood began on 15 March 1954 in the hall of Winchester Castle
. All three defendants were convicted. The Sunday Times
published an article entitled "Law and Hypocrisy" on 28 March 1954 that dealt with this trial and its outcome. Soon after, on 10 April 1954, the New Statesman
printed an article called "The Police and the Montagu Case". A month after the Montagu trial the Home Secretary
Sir David Maxwell Fyfe
agreed to appoint a committee to examine and report on the law covering homosexual offences. The official announcement in the House of Commons
was made on 18 April 1954 by Sir Hugh Lucas-Tooth. In August 1954, the Home Office
appointed a departmental committee of fifteen men and women "to consider... the law and practice relating to homosexual offences and the treatment of persons convicted of such offences by the courts."
The Report of the Departmental Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution (better known as the Wolfenden Report
) was published on 3 September 1957 and recommended that "homosexual behaviour between consenting adults in private should no longer be a criminal offence", finding that "homosexuality cannot legitimately be regarded as a disease, because in many cases it is the only symptom and is compatible with full mental health in other respects." In October 1957, the Archbishop of Canterbury
, Dr. Geoffrey Fisher
, spoke in support of the Wolfenden Report, saying that "There is a sacred realm of privacy... into which the law, generally speaking, must not intrude. This is a principle of the utmost importance for the preservation of human freedom, self-respect, and responsibility." The first parliamentary debate on the Wolfenden Report was initiated on 4 December 1957 by Lord Pakenham
. Of the seventeen peers who spoke in the debate, eight broadly supported the recommendations in the Wolfenden Report. Maxwell Fyfe, now ennobled as Lord Kilmuir and serving as Lord Chancellor
, speaking for the government, doubted that there would be much public support for implementing the recommendations and stated that further research was required. The Homosexual Law Reform Society
was founded on 12 May 1958, mainly to campaign for the implementation of the Wolfenden Committee's recommendations.
, Lord Arran
proposed the decriminalisation of male homosexual acts (lesbian acts had never been illegal). In 1966 Humphry Berkeley
made a similar proposal in the House of Commons; he ascribed his defeat in the 1966 general election
to the unpopularity of this action. However, in the new Parliament, Labour
MP Leo Abse
took up the issue and used his mastery of Parliamentary tactics to ensure that the Bill progressed.
After almost ten years of campaigning, the Sexual Offences Bill was put before parliament in 1967 in order to implement some of the Wolfenden Committee's recommendations. Lord Arran, a sponsor of the Bill, made the following remarks at the third reading in the Lords:
The Sexual Offences Act 1967
was accordingly passed. It maintained the general prohibitions on buggery
and indecency
between men, but provided for a limited decriminalisation of homosexual acts where three conditions were fulfilled. Those conditions were that the act had to be consensual, take place in private and involve only people that had attained the age of 21. This was a higher age of consent than that for heterosexual acts, which was set at 16. Further, "in private" limited participation in an act to two people. This condition was interpreted strictly by the courts, which took it to exclude acts taking place in a room in a hotel, for example, and in private homes where a third person was present (even if that person was in a different room).
The 1967 Act extended only to England and Wales
, and not to Scotland
, Northern Ireland
, the Channel Islands
or the Isle of Man
, where all homosexual behaviour remained illegal. Organisations such as the Campaign for Homosexual Equality
and the Gay Liberation Front
therefore continued to campaign for the goal of full equality.
, which came into force on 1 February 1981. An analogous amendment was also made to the law of Northern Ireland, following the determination of a case by the European Court of Human Rights
(see Dudgeon v. United Kingdom
); the relevant legislation was an Order in Council, the Homosexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 1982
, which came into force on 8 December 1982.
of schools run by the Inner London Education Authority
of a book considered by some to 'promote' homosexuality led to protests and a campaign for new legislation. Consequently, in 1988, the Local Government Act
included a provision prohibiting "the intentional promotion of homosexuality" by any local authority
and "the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship". The provision was known as Section 28
, and amended section 2A of the earlier Local Government Act of 1986. Changes in the structure of local government since that date led to some confusion over the precise circumstances in which the new law applied, including the question of whether or not it applied at all in state schools. Section 28 was finally repealed by the Labour government in November 2003. In June 2009, David Cameron
then leader of the Conservative
Party, formally apologised for his party introducing the law, stating that it was a mistake and had been offensive to gay people.
personnel to serve openly, and discrimination on a sexual orientation basis is forbidden. It is also forbidden for someone to pressure LGBT people to come out
. All personnel are subject to the same rules against sexual harrassment, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.
The British military actively recruits gay men and lesbians, all three services have deployed recruiting teams to gay pride
events, and punishes any instance of intolerance or bullying. The Royal Navy
advertises for recruits in gay magazines and has allowed gay sailors to hold civil partnership ceremonies on board ships and, since 2006, to march in full naval uniform at gay pride
marches. British Army
and Royal Air Force
personnel could march but had to wear civilian clothes until 2008, now all military personnel are permitted to attend such marches in uniform.
The current policy was accepted at the lower ranks first, with many senior officers worrying for their troops without a modern acceptance of homosexuality that their personnel had grown up with, one Brigadier
resigned but with little impact. Since the change support at the senior level has grown. General Sir Richard Dannatt, the Chief of the General Staff
(head of the Army), told members of the Army-sponsored Fourth Joint Conference on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transexual Matters that homosexuals were welcome to serve in the Army. In a speech to the conference in 2008, the first of its kind by any Army chief, General Sir Richard said that respect for gays, lesbian, bi-sexual and transsexual officers and soldiers was now "a command responsibility" and was vital for "operational effectiveness".
The British Army
requires all soldiers to undergo Equality and Diversity training as part of their Military Annual Training Tests and stress tolerance, specifically citing homosexual examples in training videos, in line with the British Army Core Values and Standards, including 'Respect for Others' and 'Appropriate Behaviour'. It considers its Core Values and standards as central to being a professional soldier.
The British Military recognises civil partnerships and grants gay couples the same rights to allowances and housing as straight couples. The Ministry of Defence
stated "We're pleased personnel registered in a same sex relationship now have equal rights to married couples."
In 2009, on the tenth anniversary of the change of law that permitted homosexuality in the Armed Forces, newspapers reported that the lifting of the ban had had no perceivable impact on the operational effectiveness on the military. The anniversary was widely celebrated, including in the Army's in house publication Soldier Magazine, with a series of articles including the July 2009 cover story and newspapers articles.
and other sexual offences during the passage of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Bill. On 21 February, Conservative
MP Edwina Currie
tabled an amendment to equalise the age of consent
at 16. Many Labour MPs supported the amendment, including Tony Blair
, who said:
Edwina Currie's amendment was defeated by 307 votes to 280. Those who voted for it included John Smith
, Neil Kinnock
, Paddy Ashdown
and William Hague
. Those voting against included David Blunkett
and Ann Taylor
. There were angry scenes outside the Palace of Westminster
at the defeat of the amendment, when those involved in a demonstration organised by the group OutRage!
clashed with police.
This vote was followed immediately by one on Sir Anthony Durant's amendment to lower the age of consent to 18. This amendment was passed by 427 votes to 162, and supporters included Michael Howard
and John Major
. It was opposed by such MPs as John Redwood
, Michael Heseltine
and John Gummer
. An amendment tabled by Simon Hughes
which was intended to equalise the age of consent for homosexuals and heterosexuals at 17 was not voted upon. The Bill as a whole was given a second reading in the Lords by 290 votes to 247. Lord Longford then sought to reintroduce 21 as the minimum age in the Lords, but this was defeated by 176 votes to 113. An amendment by the deputy Labour leader in the House of Lords, Lord MacIntosh of Haringey, that would have equalised the age of consent at 16, was rejected by 245 votes to 71.
In its decision of 1 July 1997 in the case of Sutherland v. United Kingdom
, the European Commission of Human Rights
found that Articles 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights
were violated by a discriminatory age of consent, on the ground that there was no objective and reasonable justification for maintaining a higher minimum age for male homosexual acts. On 13 October 1997 the Government submitted to the European Court of Human Rights that it would in the summer of 1998 propose a Bill to Parliament for a reduction of the age of consent for homosexual acts from 18 to 16.
On 22 June 1998, the Crime and Disorder Bill was put before Parliament. Ann Keen
proposed amendments to lower the age of consent to 16. The House of Commons accepted these provisions with a majority of 207, but they were rejected by the House of Lords with a majority of 168. Subsequently, the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill was introduced on 16 December 1998 and, again, the equalisation of the age of consent was endorsed on 25 January 1999 by the House of Commons, but was rejected on 14 April 1999 by the House of Lords.
Those campaigning against the amendment said they were simply acting to protect children. Baroness Young
, the leader of the campaign against the amendment, said, "Homosexual practices carry great health risks to young people".
The Government reintroduced the Bill in 1999. With the prospect of it being passed by the Commons in two successive sessions of Parliament, the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949
were available to enact the Bill should the Lords have rejected it a third time. The Lords passed the Bill at Second Reading, but made an amendment during committee stage to maintain the age of consent for buggery at 18 for both sexes. However, as the Bill had not completed its passage through the Lords at the end of the Parliamentary session on 30 November 2000, the Speaker of the House of Commons
Michael Martin
certified that the procedure specified by the Parliament Acts had been complied with. The Bill received Royal Assent
a few hours later, and was enacted as the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000
. The provisions of the Act came into force throughout the United Kingdom on 8 January 2001, lowering the age of consent to 16.
Section 28 (called Section 2A in Scotland) was repealed in Scotland within the first two years of the existence of the Scottish Parliament
, by the Ethical Standards in Public Life etc. (Scotland) Act 2000. A move to remove the provision in England and Wales was prevented following opposition in the House of Lords, again led by the Baroness Young. Following her death in 2002 it was finally repealed in a new Local Government Act
, which took effect on 18 November 2003. During the passage of the Bill no attempt was made to retain the section, and an amendment seeking to preserve it using ballots was defeated in the House of Lords. This showed that a significant shift had taken place in the consideration of LGBT issues.
Following the adoption of an EC Directive
in 2000, regulations were introduced on 1 December 2003 providing for the prohibition of discrimination in employment on the grounds of sexual orientation.
On 1 May 2004 the Sexual Offences Act 2003
entered into force. It swept away all of the previous sex-specific legislation, including the 1967 Act, and introduced instead neutral offences. Thus the previous conditions relating to privacy were removed, and sexual acts were viewed by the law without regard to the sex of the participants.
Parliament then went on to legislate for civil partnerships
for same-sex couples on 18 November 2004 with the passage of the Civil Partnership Act
. Such partnerships were civil unions, granting to the parties the same rights as a marriage. The first civil partnership ceremony took place at 11:00 (GMT) on 5 December 2005 between Matthew Roche and Christopher Cramp at St Barnabas Hospice, Worthing
, West Sussex
. The usual 14 day waiting period was waived as Roche was suffering from a terminal illness. He died the next day. The first civil partnership ceremonies after the statutory waiting period then took place in Northern Ireland on 19 December, with ceremonies following the next day in Scotland and the day after that in England and Wales.
On 30 April 2007, the Sexual Orientation Regulations
came into force, following the introduction of similar provisions in Northern Ireland in 2006. They provided a general prohibition of discrimination in the provision of goods and services on the grounds of sexual orientation. Similar legislation had long previously been in force in respect of discrimination on the grounds of sex
, race
, disability
and marital status
. The introduction of the Regulations was controversial and a dispute arose between the Government and the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales over exemptions for Catholic adoption agencies. Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Birmingham declared his opposition to the act, saying that the legislation contradicted the Catholic Church's "moral values". He supported efforts to have Catholic adoption
agencies exempted from sexual orientation regulations, which were ultimately successful in a judgement given on 17 March 2010.
In October 2007, the Government announced that it would seek to introduce an amendment to the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill to create a new offence of incitement to hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation. This followed the creation of an offence on religious hatred that had proved controversial in 2006 (see Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006
). Incitement to hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation is already illegal in Northern Ireland.
The Equality Act 2010 received Royal Assent
on 8 April 2010. The primary purpose of the Act was to codify the complicated and numerous array of Acts and Regulations, which formed the basis of anti-discrimination law
in the United Kingdom including the Equal Pay Act 1970
, the Sex Discrimination Act 1975
, the Race Relations Act 1976
, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995
and three major statutory instruments protecting discrimination in employment on grounds of religion or belief
, sexual orientation and age
. This legislation has the same goals as the US Civil Rights Act 1964 and four major EU Equal Treatment Directives, whose provisions it mirrors and implements. It requires equal treatment in access to employment as well as private and public services, regardless of gender
, race, disability
, sexual orientation
, transgender status
, belief
and age
. The Act allows civil partnership ceremonies on religious premises in England and Wales. It also extended trans rights, banning discrimination by schools on the grounds of gender reassignment
Other initiatives have included:
An illustration of social attitudes towards homosexuality in the United Kingdom was provided in May 2007 in a survey by YouGov. The poll indicated that legislation outlawing discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation was supported by 90% of UK citizens. It also showed positive public perceptions of gay people in particular, but recognised the extent to which prejudice still exists. A poll in June 2009 conducted by Populus for The Times
reported that the majority of the public supports same-sex marriage; 61% of respondents agreed that "Gay couples should have an equal right to get married, not just to have civil partnerships"..
On 30 July 2009, the Religious Society of Friends
in the UK stated its intent to ask the government to allow it to perform same sex marriages.
A poll conducted by Angus Reid in July 2010 showed that 78% of people supported either Same-sex Marriage
or Civil Union
s for gay couples, with 41% opting for Same-Sex Marriage
and 37% opting for Civil Union
s. The amount of people who supported no legal unions for gay couples decreased by 3% since August 2009.
On 16 September 2011, the UK Government announced plans to start a consultation on Same-Sex Civil Marriage, with the remit of the Consultation to be to examine how this can be introduced, rather than whether it should be introduced. As a result of this consultation, Same-Sex Civil Marriage will be legal in the United Kingdom by the 2015 General Election
.
However, the ONS reviewed the EU barrometer which found that only 45% of Britons were in favour of gay marriage and that 66% of Britons opposed LGBT adoption.
was given Royal Assent
on 13 November 2008. The legislation allows for lesbians and their partners (both civil and de facto) equal access to legal presumptions of parentage in cases of in vitro fertilisation ("IVF") or assisted/self insemination (other than at home) from the moment the child is born. Since the law also allows both partners to be identified on the child's birth certificate by the words "parent".
The law came into force from 6 April 2009 and is not retroactive (it does not apply before that date). Parental orders for gay men and their partners since 6 April 2010 for surrogacy arrangements.
Since 31 August 2009, legislation granting lesbians equal birth rights in England and Wales came into effect, meaning both can now be named on a child's birth certificate. The legislation was criticised by those who believe it was "damaging the traditional notion of a family
". Stonewall
Head of Policy and Research Ruth Hunt said the new law makes life easier for lesbian families and stated "Now lesbian couples in the UK who make a considered decision to start a loving family will finally be afforded equal access to services they help fund as taxpayers". The UK's Home Office minister, Lord Brett
was full of praise in his comments:
, who led efforts to oppose the change, said that "The absence of fathers generally has a detrimental effect on the child."
): "whereas a number of organisations in the US (both religious and scientific/psychological) promote conversion therapy, there is only one in the UK of which we are aware". The paper reported that practitioners who did provide these sorts of treatments between the 1950s and 1970s now view homosexuality as healthy, and the evidence suggests that 'conversion therapy' is a historical rather than a contemporary phenomenon in the UK, where treatment for homosexuality has always been less common than in the USA.
In 2007, the Royal College of Psychiatrists
, the main professional organization of psychiatrists in the United Kingdom, issued a report stating that: "Evidence shows that LGB people are open to seeking help for mental health problems. However, they may be misunderstood by therapists who regard their homosexuality as the root cause of any presenting problem such as depression or anxiety. Unfortunately, therapists who behave in this way are likely to cause considerable distress. A small minority of therapists will even go so far as to attempt to change their client's sexual orientation. This can be deeply damaging. Although there are now a number of therapists and organisation in the USA and in the UK that claim that therapy can help homosexuals to become heterosexual, there is no evidence that such change is possible."
In 2008, the Royal College of Psychiatrists stated: "The Royal College shares the concern of both the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association that positions espoused by bodies like the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality
(NARTH) in the United States are not supported by science. There is no sound scientific evidence that sexual orientation can be changed. Furthermore so-called treatments of homosexuality as recommended by NARTH create a setting in which prejudice and discrimination can flourish."
In 2009, a research survey into mental health practitioners in the UK concluded "A significant minority of mental health professionals are attempting to help lesbian, gay and bisexual clients to become heterosexual. Given lack of evidence for the efficacy of such treatments, this is likely to be unwise or even harmful." Scientific American reported on this: "One in 25 British psychiatrists and psychologists say they would be willing to help homosexual and bisexual patients try to convert to heterosexuality, even though there is no compelling scientific evidence a person can willfully become straight", and explained that 17% of those surveyed said they had tried to help reduce or suppress homosexual feelings, and 4% said they would try to help homosexual people convert to heterosexuality in the future.
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
(lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
, gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
, bisexual
Bisexuality
Bisexuality is sexual behavior or an orientation involving physical or romantic attraction to both males and females, especially with regard to men and women. It is one of the three main classifications of sexual orientation, along with a heterosexual and a homosexual orientation, all a part of the...
and transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
) people in the United Kingdom have evolved over time. LGBT rights were non-existent at the time of the formation of the United Kingdom, but have increasingly strengthened in support since the decriminalisation of same-sex sexual activity between the middle to late 20th century.
LGBT citizens in the United Kingdom have most of the same legal rights as non-LGBT citizens, and they are extended more legal rights than many other territories worldwide. Discrimination on the basis of both sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
and gender identity
Gender identity
A gender identity is the way in which an individual self-identifies with a gender category, for example, as being either a man or a woman, or in some cases being neither, which can be distinct from biological sex. Basic gender identity is usually formed by age three and is extremely difficult to...
is illegal in housing, employment and the provision of goods and services while Her Majesty's Armed Forces allows LGBT individuals to serve openly. In 2001, the age of consent
Age of consent
While the phrase age of consent typically does not appear in legal statutes, when used in relation to sexual activity, the age of consent is the minimum age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. The European Union calls it the legal age for sexual...
was equalised to 16 under the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000
Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000
The Sexual Offences Act 2000 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It changed the age of consent for male homosexual sexual activities from 18 to that for heterosexual and lesbian sexual activities at 16, or 17 in Northern Ireland...
, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. Same-sex couples have had the right to adopt since 2002 and to enter into civil partnerships since 2005. The Gender Recognition Act
Gender Recognition Act 2004
The Gender Recognition Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that allows transsexual people to change their legal gender. It came into effect on 4 April 2005.-Operation of the law:...
also gave transsexuals the right to change their legal gender. On 16 September 2011, the UK Government announced plans to start a consultation on Same-Sex Civil Marriage, with the remit of the Consultation to be to examine how this can be introduced, rather than whether it should be introduced. As a result of this consultation, Same-Sex Civil Marriage will be legal in the United Kingdom by the 2015 General Election
Next United Kingdom general election
The United Kingdom general election of 2010 was held on Thursday 6 May 2010 to elect members to the House of Commons. The election took place in 650 constituencies across the United Kingdom under the first-past-the-post system. None of the parties achieved the 326 seats needed for an overall majority...
.
Social attitudes towards the LGBT community in the United Kingdom are generally accepting. A 2007 survey conducted by YouGov
YouGov
YouGov, formerly known as PollingPoint in the United States, is an international internet-based market research firm launched in the UK in May 2000 by Stephan Shakespeare, now Chief Executive Officer, and Nadhim Zahawi...
indicated that 90% of the British public supported outlawing discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, and a 2009 poll by Populus
Populus Ltd
Populus is a market research company in the United Kingdom formed in 2003. Populus co-founded the British Polling Council in 2004 and regularly publishes opinion polls on voting intention and as well as other political and commercial issues. Clients have included national brands such as the AA and...
reported that 61% supports allowing same-sex couples to marry. However, the ONS found from the EU barrometer that only 45% of Britons support gay marriage.
A 2010 Integrated Household Survey (IHS), an experimental survey in a testing phase, estimated that 1.5% of Britons identify themselves as homosexual or bisexual – far lower than previous estimates of 5–7%. Interpreting the statistics, an ONS spokeswoman said, "Someone may engage in sexual behaviour with someone of the same sex but still not perceive themselves as gay."
History in England and Wales
At the time of the formation of the United KingdomActs of Union 1707
The Acts of Union were two Parliamentary Acts - the Union with Scotland Act passed in 1706 by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act passed in 1707 by the Parliament of Scotland - which put into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union that had been agreed on 22 July 1706,...
, English law
English law
English law is the legal system of England and Wales, and is the basis of common law legal systems used in most Commonwealth countries and the United States except Louisiana...
identified anal sex
Anal sex
Anal sex is the sex act in which the penis is inserted into the anus of a sexual partner. The term can also include other sexual acts involving the anus, including pegging, anilingus , fingering, and object insertion.Common misconception describes anal sex as practiced almost exclusively by gay men...
and zoophilia
Zoophilia
Zoophilia, from the Greek ζῷον and φιλία is the practice of sex between humans and non-human animals , or a preference or fixation on such practice...
as offences punishable by hanging, as a result of the Buggery Act 1533
Buggery Act 1533
The Buggery Act 1533, formally An Acte for the punysshement of the vice of Buggerie , was an Act of the Parliament of England that was passed during the reign of Henry VIII...
. In 1861, section 61 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861
Offences Against The Person Act 1861
The Offences against the Person Act 1861 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It consolidated provisions related to offences against the person from a number of earlier statutes into a single Act...
removed the death penalty for homosexuality. However, male homosexual acts still remained illegal and were punishable by imprisonment and in 1885, section 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885
Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885
The Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 , or "An Act to make further provision for the Protection of Women and Girls, the suppression of brothels, and other purposes", was the latest in a 25-year series of legislation in the United Kingdom beginning with the Offences against the Person Act 1861 that...
extended the laws regarding homosexuality to include any kind of sexual activity between males. Conversely, lesbians were never acknowledged or targeted by legislation.
In the early 1950s, the police actively enforced laws prohibiting sexual behaviour between men. This policy led to a number of high-profile arrests and trials. One of those involved the noted scientist, mathematician, and war-time code-breaker Alan Turing
Alan Turing
Alan Mathison Turing, OBE, FRS , was an English mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst, and computer scientist. He was highly influential in the development of computer science, providing a formalisation of the concepts of "algorithm" and "computation" with the Turing machine, which played a...
(1912–1954), convicted in 1952 of "gross indecency". In 2009, Prime Minister Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
, in response to a petition, issued an apology. In 1953, Michael Pitt-Rivers
Michael Pitt-Rivers
Major Michael Augustus Lane-Fox Pitt-Rivers was a West Country landowner who gained notoriety in Britain in the 1950s when he was put on trial charged with buggery...
and Peter Wildeblood
Peter Wildeblood
Peter Wildeblood was a British-Canadian journalist, novelist, playwright, and gay rights campaigner. He was one of the first men in the UK to publicly declare his homosexuality.-Career:...
were arrested and charged with having committed specific acts of "indecency" with Edward McNally and John Reynolds; they were also accused of conspiring with Edward Montagu
Edward Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 3rd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu
Edward John Barrington Douglas-Scott-Montagu, 3rd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu is a British Conservative politician well known in Britain for founding the National Motor Museum, as well as for a pivotal cause célèbre in British gay history, his 1954 conviction and imprisonment for homosexual sex, a...
(the 3rd Baron Montagu of Beaulieu) to commit these offences. The Director of Public Prosecutions
Director of Public Prosecutions
The Director of Public Prosecutions is the officer charged with the prosecution of criminal offences in several criminal jurisdictions around the world...
gave his assurance that Reynolds and McNally would not be prosecuted in any circumstances. The trial of Edward Montagu, Michael Pitt-Rivers and Peter Wildeblood began on 15 March 1954 in the hall of Winchester Castle
Winchester Castle
Winchester Castle is a medieval building in Hampshire, England. It was founded in 1067. Only the Great Hall exists now; it houses a museum of the history of Winchester.-Great Hall:...
. All three defendants were convicted. The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times (UK)
The Sunday Times is a Sunday broadsheet newspaper, distributed in the United Kingdom. The Sunday Times is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News International, which is in turn owned by News Corporation. Times Newspapers also owns The Times, but the two papers were founded...
published an article entitled "Law and Hypocrisy" on 28 March 1954 that dealt with this trial and its outcome. Soon after, on 10 April 1954, the New Statesman
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
printed an article called "The Police and the Montagu Case". A month after the Montagu trial the Home Secretary
Home Secretary
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, commonly known as the Home Secretary, is the minister in charge of the Home Office of the United Kingdom, and one of the country's four Great Offices of State...
Sir David Maxwell Fyfe
David Maxwell Fyfe, 1st Earl of Kilmuir
David Patrick Maxwell Fyfe, 1st Earl of Kilmuir GCVO, PC, KC, , known as Sir David Maxwell Fyfe from 1942 to 1954 and as The Viscount Kilmuir from 1954 to 1962, was a British Conservative politician, lawyer and judge who combined an industrious and precocious legal career with political ambitions...
agreed to appoint a committee to examine and report on the law covering homosexual offences. The official announcement in the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
was made on 18 April 1954 by Sir Hugh Lucas-Tooth. In August 1954, the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
appointed a departmental committee of fifteen men and women "to consider... the law and practice relating to homosexual offences and the treatment of persons convicted of such offences by the courts."
The Report of the Departmental Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution (better known as the Wolfenden Report
Wolfenden report
The Report of the Departmental Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution was published in Britain on 4 September 1957 after a succession of well-known men, including Lord Montagu, Michael Pitt-Rivers and Peter Wildeblood, were convicted of homosexual offences.-The committee:The...
) was published on 3 September 1957 and recommended that "homosexual behaviour between consenting adults in private should no longer be a criminal offence", finding that "homosexuality cannot legitimately be regarded as a disease, because in many cases it is the only symptom and is compatible with full mental health in other respects." In October 1957, the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...
, Dr. Geoffrey Fisher
Geoffrey Fisher
Geoffrey Francis Fisher, Baron Fisher of Lambeth, GCVO, PC was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1945 to 1961.-Background:...
, spoke in support of the Wolfenden Report, saying that "There is a sacred realm of privacy... into which the law, generally speaking, must not intrude. This is a principle of the utmost importance for the preservation of human freedom, self-respect, and responsibility." The first parliamentary debate on the Wolfenden Report was initiated on 4 December 1957 by Lord Pakenham
Frank Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford
Francis Aungier Pakenham, 7th Earl of Longford KG, PC , known as the Lord Pakenham from 1945 to 1961, was a British politician, author, and social reformer...
. Of the seventeen peers who spoke in the debate, eight broadly supported the recommendations in the Wolfenden Report. Maxwell Fyfe, now ennobled as Lord Kilmuir and serving as Lord Chancellor
Lord Chancellor
The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...
, speaking for the government, doubted that there would be much public support for implementing the recommendations and stated that further research was required. The Homosexual Law Reform Society
Homosexual Law Reform Society
The Homosexual Law Reform Society was an organisation that campaigned in the United Kingdom for changes in the laws that criminalised homosexual relations between men.- History :...
was founded on 12 May 1958, mainly to campaign for the implementation of the Wolfenden Committee's recommendations.
Decriminalisation of homosexual acts: The 1967 Act
In 1965, in the House of LordsHouse of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
, Lord Arran
Earl of Arran
Earl of Arran is a title in both the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland. The two titles refer to different places, the Isle of Arran in Scotland, and the Aran Islands in Ireland...
proposed the decriminalisation of male homosexual acts (lesbian acts had never been illegal). In 1966 Humphry Berkeley
Humphry Berkeley
Humphry John Berkeley was a British politician noted for his many changes of parties and his efforts to effect homosexual law reform, and both oppose, and then seem to abet, grand apartheid....
made a similar proposal in the House of Commons; he ascribed his defeat in the 1966 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1966
The 1966 United Kingdom general election on 31 March 1966 was called by sitting Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Wilson's decision to call an election turned on the fact that his government, elected a mere 17 months previously in 1964 had an unworkably small majority of only 4 MPs...
to the unpopularity of this action. However, in the new Parliament, Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
MP Leo Abse
Leo Abse
Leopold Abse was a Welsh lawyer, politician and gay rights campaigner. He was a Welsh Labour Member of Parliament for nearly 30 years, and was noted for promoting private member's bills to decriminalise male homosexual relations and liberalise the divorce laws...
took up the issue and used his mastery of Parliamentary tactics to ensure that the Bill progressed.
After almost ten years of campaigning, the Sexual Offences Bill was put before parliament in 1967 in order to implement some of the Wolfenden Committee's recommendations. Lord Arran, a sponsor of the Bill, made the following remarks at the third reading in the Lords:
The Sexual Offences Act 1967
Sexual Offences Act 1967
The Sexual Offences Act 1967 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom . It decriminalised homosexual acts in private between two men, both of whom had to have attained the age of 21. The Act applied only to England and Wales and did not cover the Merchant Navy or the Armed Forces...
was accordingly passed. It maintained the general prohibitions on buggery
Buggery
The British English term buggery is very close in meaning to the term sodomy, and is often used interchangeably in law and popular speech. It may be, also, a specific common law offence, encompassing both sodomy and bestiality.-In law:...
and indecency
Decency
Decency is the quality or state of conforming to social or moral standards of taste and propriety.-See also:*Taste *Communications Decency Act*Public indecency*Indecent exposure*Sodomy law*Norm *Grotesque body...
between men, but provided for a limited decriminalisation of homosexual acts where three conditions were fulfilled. Those conditions were that the act had to be consensual, take place in private and involve only people that had attained the age of 21. This was a higher age of consent than that for heterosexual acts, which was set at 16. Further, "in private" limited participation in an act to two people. This condition was interpreted strictly by the courts, which took it to exclude acts taking place in a room in a hotel, for example, and in private homes where a third person was present (even if that person was in a different room).
The 1967 Act extended only to England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
, and not to Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
, the Channel Islands
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands are an archipelago of British Crown Dependencies in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey...
or the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
, where all homosexual behaviour remained illegal. Organisations such as the Campaign for Homosexual Equality
Campaign for Homosexual Equality
The Campaign for Homosexual Equality is one of the oldest gay rights organisations in the United Kingdom. It is a membership organisation which aims to promote legal and social equality for lesbians, gay men and bisexuals in England and Wales...
and the Gay Liberation Front
Gay Liberation Front
Gay Liberation Front was the name of a number of Gay Liberation groups, the first of which was formed in New York City in 1969, immediately after the Stonewall riots, in which police clashed with gay demonstrators.-The Gay Liberation Front:...
therefore continued to campaign for the goal of full equality.
1967–1994: Further reform and Section 28
In 1979, the Home Office Policy Advisory Committee's Working Party report, Age of Consent in Relation to Sexual Offences, recommended that the age of consent for homosexual activities should be reduced to 18. No such legislation was enacted as a result. However, homosexual activities were legalised in Scotland on the same basis as in the 1967 Act, by section 80 of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980
The Criminal Justice Act 1980 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom . It decriminalized private homosexual acts between two consenting adults in Scotland:"Subject to the provisions of this section, a homosexual act in private shall not be an offence provided that the parties consent...
, which came into force on 1 February 1981. An analogous amendment was also made to the law of Northern Ireland, following the determination of a case by the European Court of Human Rights
European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is a supra-national court established by the European Convention on Human Rights and hears complaints that a contracting state has violated the human rights enshrined in the Convention and its protocols. Complaints can be brought by individuals or...
(see Dudgeon v. United Kingdom
Dudgeon v. United Kingdom
Dudgeon v the United Kingdom was a European Court of Human Rights case, which held that legislation passed in the nineteenth century to criminalise male homosexual acts in England, Wales and Ireland - in 1980, still in force in Northern Ireland - violated the European Convention on Human Rights...
); the relevant legislation was an Order in Council, the Homosexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 1982
Homosexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 1982
The Homosexual Offences Order 1982, No. 1536 , is an Order in Council which decriminalized homosexual acts between consenting adults in Northern Ireland. The Order was adopted as a result of a European Court of Human Rights case, Dudgeon v...
, which came into force on 8 December 1982.
Section 28
The 1980s also saw a setback for LGBT rights. The availability in the librariesLibrary
In a traditional sense, a library is a large collection of books, and can refer to the place in which the collection is housed. Today, the term can refer to any collection, including digital sources, resources, and services...
of schools run by the Inner London Education Authority
Inner London Education Authority
The Inner London Education Authority was the education authority for the 12 inner London boroughs from 1965 until its abolition in 1990.-History:...
of a book considered by some to 'promote' homosexuality led to protests and a campaign for new legislation. Consequently, in 1988, the Local Government Act
Local Government Act 1988
The United Kingdom Local Government Act of 1988 was famous for introducing the controversial Section 28 into law. In terms of the section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988, Local Authorities were prohibited from promoting in specified category of schools, "the teaching of the acceptability of...
included a provision prohibiting "the intentional promotion of homosexuality" by any local authority
Local government in the United Kingdom
The pattern of local government in England is complex, with the distribution of functions varying according to the local arrangements. Legislation concerning local government in England is decided by the Parliament and Government of the United Kingdom, because England does not have a devolved...
and "the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship". The provision was known as Section 28
Section 28
Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 caused the controversial addition of Section 2A to the Local Government Act 1986 , enacted on 24 May 1988 and repealed on 21 June 2000 in Scotland, and on 18 November 2003 in the rest of Great Britain by section 122 of the Local Government Act 2003...
, and amended section 2A of the earlier Local Government Act of 1986. Changes in the structure of local government since that date led to some confusion over the precise circumstances in which the new law applied, including the question of whether or not it applied at all in state schools. Section 28 was finally repealed by the Labour government in November 2003. In June 2009, David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
then leader of the Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
Party, formally apologised for his party introducing the law, stating that it was a mistake and had been offensive to gay people.
Military service
The United Kingdom's policy is to allow homosexual men, lesbians and transgenderTransgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
personnel to serve openly, and discrimination on a sexual orientation basis is forbidden. It is also forbidden for someone to pressure LGBT people to come out
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
. All personnel are subject to the same rules against sexual harrassment, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.
The British military actively recruits gay men and lesbians, all three services have deployed recruiting teams to gay pride
Gay pride
LGBT pride or gay pride is the concept that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people should be proud of their sexual orientation and gender identity...
events, and punishes any instance of intolerance or bullying. The Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
advertises for recruits in gay magazines and has allowed gay sailors to hold civil partnership ceremonies on board ships and, since 2006, to march in full naval uniform at gay pride
Gay pride
LGBT pride or gay pride is the concept that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people should be proud of their sexual orientation and gender identity...
marches. British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
and Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
personnel could march but had to wear civilian clothes until 2008, now all military personnel are permitted to attend such marches in uniform.
The current policy was accepted at the lower ranks first, with many senior officers worrying for their troops without a modern acceptance of homosexuality that their personnel had grown up with, one Brigadier
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
resigned but with little impact. Since the change support at the senior level has grown. General Sir Richard Dannatt, the Chief of the General Staff
Chief of the General Staff (United Kingdom)
Chief of the General Staff has been the title of the professional head of the British Army since 1964. The CGS is a member of both the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Army Board...
(head of the Army), told members of the Army-sponsored Fourth Joint Conference on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transexual Matters that homosexuals were welcome to serve in the Army. In a speech to the conference in 2008, the first of its kind by any Army chief, General Sir Richard said that respect for gays, lesbian, bi-sexual and transsexual officers and soldiers was now "a command responsibility" and was vital for "operational effectiveness".
The British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
requires all soldiers to undergo Equality and Diversity training as part of their Military Annual Training Tests and stress tolerance, specifically citing homosexual examples in training videos, in line with the British Army Core Values and Standards, including 'Respect for Others' and 'Appropriate Behaviour'. It considers its Core Values and standards as central to being a professional soldier.
The British Military recognises civil partnerships and grants gay couples the same rights to allowances and housing as straight couples. The Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
stated "We're pleased personnel registered in a same sex relationship now have equal rights to married couples."
In 2009, on the tenth anniversary of the change of law that permitted homosexuality in the Armed Forces, newspapers reported that the lifting of the ban had had no perceivable impact on the operational effectiveness on the military. The anniversary was widely celebrated, including in the Army's in house publication Soldier Magazine, with a series of articles including the July 2009 cover story and newspapers articles.
An equal age of consent
In February 1994 Parliament considered reform of the law on rapeRape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
and other sexual offences during the passage of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Bill. On 21 February, Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
MP Edwina Currie
Edwina Currie
Edwina Jonesnée Cohen is a former British Member of Parliament. First elected as a Conservative Party MP in 1983, she was a Junior Health Minister for two years, before resigning in 1988 over the controversy over salmonella in eggs...
tabled an amendment to equalise the age of consent
Age of consent
While the phrase age of consent typically does not appear in legal statutes, when used in relation to sexual activity, the age of consent is the minimum age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. The European Union calls it the legal age for sexual...
at 16. Many Labour MPs supported the amendment, including Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
, who said:
Edwina Currie's amendment was defeated by 307 votes to 280. Those who voted for it included John Smith
John Smith (UK politician)
John Smith was a British Labour Party politician who served as Leader of the Labour Party from July 1992 until his sudden death from a heart attack in May 1994...
, Neil Kinnock
Neil Kinnock
Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock is a Welsh politician belonging to the Labour Party. He served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until 1995 and as Labour Leader and Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition from 1983 until 1992 - his leadership of the party during nearly nine years making him...
, Paddy Ashdown
Paddy Ashdown
Jeremy John Durham Ashdown, Baron Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon, GCMG, KBE, PC , usually known as Paddy Ashdown, is a British politician and diplomat....
and William Hague
William Hague
William Jefferson Hague is the British Foreign Secretary and First Secretary of State. He served as Leader of the Conservative Party from June 1997 to September 2001...
. Those voting against included David Blunkett
David Blunkett
David Blunkett is a British Labour Party politician and the Member of Parliament for Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough, having represented Sheffield Brightside from 1987 to 2010...
and Ann Taylor
Ann Taylor, Baroness Taylor of Bolton
Winifred Ann Taylor, Baroness Taylor of Bolton, PC is a British Labour Party politician, who was Minister for International Defence and Security, based at both the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, from October 2008 until 11 May 2010.-Member of Parliament:Taylor was the...
. There were angry scenes outside the Palace of Westminster
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...
at the defeat of the amendment, when those involved in a demonstration organised by the group OutRage!
OutRage!
OutRage! is a British LGBT rights group that was formed to fight for equal rights of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people in comparison to heterosexual people. It is a group which has at times been criticised for outing individuals who wanted to keep their homosexuality secret and for being...
clashed with police.
This vote was followed immediately by one on Sir Anthony Durant's amendment to lower the age of consent to 18. This amendment was passed by 427 votes to 162, and supporters included Michael Howard
Michael Howard
Michael Howard, Baron Howard of Lympne, CH, QC, PC is a British politician, who served as the Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from November 2003 to December 2005...
and John Major
John Major
Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...
. It was opposed by such MPs as John Redwood
John Redwood
John Alan Redwood is a British Conservative Party politician and Member of Parliament for Wokingham. He was formerly Secretary of State for Wales in Prime Minister John Major's Cabinet and was an unsuccessful challenger for the leadership of the Conservative Party in 1995...
, Michael Heseltine
Michael Heseltine
Michael Ray Dibdin Heseltine, Baron Heseltine, CH, PC is a British businessman, Conservative politician and patron of the Tory Reform Group. He was a Member of Parliament from 1966 to 2001 and was a prominent figure in the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major...
and John Gummer
John Gummer
John Selwyn Gummer, Baron Deben, PC is a British Conservative Party politician, formerly Member of Parliament for Suffolk Coastal, now a member of the House of Lords. He is Chairman of the environmental consultancy company Sancroft International and Chairman of Veolia Water...
. An amendment tabled by Simon Hughes
Simon Hughes
Simon Henry Ward Hughes is a British politician and Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats. He is Member of Parliament for the constituency of Bermondsey and Old Southwark. Until 2008 he was President of the Liberal Democrats...
which was intended to equalise the age of consent for homosexuals and heterosexuals at 17 was not voted upon. The Bill as a whole was given a second reading in the Lords by 290 votes to 247. Lord Longford then sought to reintroduce 21 as the minimum age in the Lords, but this was defeated by 176 votes to 113. An amendment by the deputy Labour leader in the House of Lords, Lord MacIntosh of Haringey, that would have equalised the age of consent at 16, was rejected by 245 votes to 71.
In its decision of 1 July 1997 in the case of Sutherland v. United Kingdom
Sutherland v. United Kingdom
Sutherland v United Kingdom originated as a complaint by Mr Euan Sutherland to the European Commission of Human Rights that the fixing of the minimum age for lawful homosexual activities at 18 rather than 16, as for heterosexual activities, violated his right to respect for private life under...
, the European Commission of Human Rights
European Commission of Human Rights
European Commission of Human Rights was a special tribunal.From 1954 to the entry into force of Protocol 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, individuals did not have direct access to the European Court of Human Rights; they had to apply to the Commission, which if it found the case to be...
found that Articles 8 and 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights
European Convention on Human Rights
The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms is an international treaty to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by the then newly formed Council of Europe, the convention entered into force on 3 September 1953...
were violated by a discriminatory age of consent, on the ground that there was no objective and reasonable justification for maintaining a higher minimum age for male homosexual acts. On 13 October 1997 the Government submitted to the European Court of Human Rights that it would in the summer of 1998 propose a Bill to Parliament for a reduction of the age of consent for homosexual acts from 18 to 16.
On 22 June 1998, the Crime and Disorder Bill was put before Parliament. Ann Keen
Ann Keen
Ann Lloyd Keen is a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Brentford and Isleworth from 1997, until she was defeated by Conservative candidate Mary Macleod in 2010.-Early life:...
proposed amendments to lower the age of consent to 16. The House of Commons accepted these provisions with a majority of 207, but they were rejected by the House of Lords with a majority of 168. Subsequently, the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill was introduced on 16 December 1998 and, again, the equalisation of the age of consent was endorsed on 25 January 1999 by the House of Commons, but was rejected on 14 April 1999 by the House of Lords.
Those campaigning against the amendment said they were simply acting to protect children. Baroness Young
Janet Young, Baroness Young
Janet Mary Baker Young, Baroness Young PC , was a British Conservative politician. She served as the first ever female Leader of the House of Lords from 1981 to 1983, first as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and from 1982 as Lord Privy Seal...
, the leader of the campaign against the amendment, said, "Homosexual practices carry great health risks to young people".
The Government reintroduced the Bill in 1999. With the prospect of it being passed by the Commons in two successive sessions of Parliament, the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949
Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949
The Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 are two Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which form part of the constitution of the United Kingdom. Section 2 of the Parliament Act 1949 provides that that Act and the Parliament Act 1911 are to be construed as one.The Parliament Act 1911 The...
were available to enact the Bill should the Lords have rejected it a third time. The Lords passed the Bill at Second Reading, but made an amendment during committee stage to maintain the age of consent for buggery at 18 for both sexes. However, as the Bill had not completed its passage through the Lords at the end of the Parliamentary session on 30 November 2000, the Speaker of the House of Commons
Speaker of the British House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the United Kingdom's lower chamber of Parliament. The current Speaker is John Bercow, who was elected on 22 June 2009, following the resignation of Michael Martin...
Michael Martin
Michael Martin (politician)
Michael John Martin, Baron Martin of Springburn, PC is a British politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Glasgow Springburn from 1979 to 2005, and then for Glasgow North East until 2009...
certified that the procedure specified by the Parliament Acts had been complied with. The Bill received Royal Assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
a few hours later, and was enacted as the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000
Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000
The Sexual Offences Act 2000 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It changed the age of consent for male homosexual sexual activities from 18 to that for heterosexual and lesbian sexual activities at 16, or 17 in Northern Ireland...
. The provisions of the Act came into force throughout the United Kingdom on 8 January 2001, lowering the age of consent to 16.
2000–present day
In the Adoption and Children Act 2002 Parliament provided that an application to adopt a child in England and Wales could be made by either a single person or a couple. The previous condition that the couple be married was dropped, thus allowing a same-sex couple to apply. The Lords rejected the proposal on one occasion before it was passed. Supporters of the move in Parliament stressed that adoption was not a "gay rights" issue but one of providing as many children as possible with a stable family environment rather than seeing them kept in care. Opponents raised doubts over the stability of relationships outside marriage, and how instability would impact on the welfare of adopted children. Similar legislation was adopted in Scotland which came into effect on 28 September 2009.Section 28 (called Section 2A in Scotland) was repealed in Scotland within the first two years of the existence of the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
, by the Ethical Standards in Public Life etc. (Scotland) Act 2000. A move to remove the provision in England and Wales was prevented following opposition in the House of Lords, again led by the Baroness Young. Following her death in 2002 it was finally repealed in a new Local Government Act
Local Government Act 2003
The Local Government Act 2003 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It made various changes to the administration of local government in the United Kingdom...
, which took effect on 18 November 2003. During the passage of the Bill no attempt was made to retain the section, and an amendment seeking to preserve it using ballots was defeated in the House of Lords. This showed that a significant shift had taken place in the consideration of LGBT issues.
Following the adoption of an EC Directive
Directive establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation
Since the Treaty of Amsterdam came into force in 1999, new EU laws, or Directives, have been enacted in the area of anti-discrimination.The Council Directive 2000/78/EC implements the principle of equal treatment in the area of employment, covering disability, religion or belief,...
in 2000, regulations were introduced on 1 December 2003 providing for the prohibition of discrimination in employment on the grounds of sexual orientation.
On 1 May 2004 the Sexual Offences Act 2003
Sexual Offences Act 2003
The Sexual Offences Act 2003 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland that was passed in 2003 and became law on 1 May 2004.It replaced older sexual offences laws with more specific and explicit wording...
entered into force. It swept away all of the previous sex-specific legislation, including the 1967 Act, and introduced instead neutral offences. Thus the previous conditions relating to privacy were removed, and sexual acts were viewed by the law without regard to the sex of the participants.
Parliament then went on to legislate for civil partnerships
Civil partnerships in the United Kingdom
Civil partnerships in the United Kingdom, granted under the Civil Partnership Act 2004, give same-sex couples rights and responsibilities identical to civil marriage...
for same-sex couples on 18 November 2004 with the passage of the Civil Partnership Act
Civil Partnership Act 2004
The Civil Partnership Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Bill for this Act was introduced by the Labour government and supported by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat opposition. The Act grants civil partnerships in the United Kingdom with rights and...
. Such partnerships were civil unions, granting to the parties the same rights as a marriage. The first civil partnership ceremony took place at 11:00 (GMT) on 5 December 2005 between Matthew Roche and Christopher Cramp at St Barnabas Hospice, Worthing
Worthing
Worthing is a large seaside town with borough status in West Sussex, within the historic County of Sussex, forming part of the Brighton/Worthing/Littlehampton conurbation. It is situated at the foot of the South Downs, west of Brighton, and east of the county town of Chichester...
, West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
. The usual 14 day waiting period was waived as Roche was suffering from a terminal illness. He died the next day. The first civil partnership ceremonies after the statutory waiting period then took place in Northern Ireland on 19 December, with ceremonies following the next day in Scotland and the day after that in England and Wales.
On 30 April 2007, the Sexual Orientation Regulations
Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations
The Equality Act Regulations are secondary legislation in the United Kingdom, outlawing discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities, services, education and public functions on the grounds of sexual orientation....
came into force, following the introduction of similar provisions in Northern Ireland in 2006. They provided a general prohibition of discrimination in the provision of goods and services on the grounds of sexual orientation. Similar legislation had long previously been in force in respect of discrimination on the grounds of sex
Sex Discrimination Act 1975
The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which protected men and women from discrimination on the grounds of sex or marriage. The Act concerned employment, training, education, harassment, the provision of goods and services, and the disposal of premises...
, race
Race Relations Act 1976
The Race Relations Act 1976 was established by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to prevent discrimination on the grounds of race.Items that are covered include discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, nationality, ethnic and national origin in the fields of employment, the provision of...
, disability
Disability Discrimination Act 1995
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which has now been repealed and replaced by the Equality Act 2010 , except in Northern Ireland where the Act still applies...
and marital status
Marital status
A person's marital status indicates whether the person is married. Questions about marital status appear on many polls and forms, including censuses and credit card applications.In the simplest sense, the only possible answers are "single" or "married"...
. The introduction of the Regulations was controversial and a dispute arose between the Government and the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales over exemptions for Catholic adoption agencies. Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Birmingham declared his opposition to the act, saying that the legislation contradicted the Catholic Church's "moral values". He supported efforts to have Catholic adoption
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
agencies exempted from sexual orientation regulations, which were ultimately successful in a judgement given on 17 March 2010.
In October 2007, the Government announced that it would seek to introduce an amendment to the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill to create a new offence of incitement to hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation. This followed the creation of an offence on religious hatred that had proved controversial in 2006 (see Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006
Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006
The Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which creates an offence in England and Wales of inciting hatred against a person on the grounds of their religion...
). Incitement to hatred on the grounds of sexual orientation is already illegal in Northern Ireland.
The Equality Act 2010 received Royal Assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
on 8 April 2010. The primary purpose of the Act was to codify the complicated and numerous array of Acts and Regulations, which formed the basis of anti-discrimination law
Anti-discrimination law
Anti-discrimination law refers to the law on people's right to be treated equally. Some countries mandate that in employment, in consumer transactions and in political participation people may be dealt with on an equal basis regardless of sex, race, ethnicity, nationality, sexuality and sometimes...
in the United Kingdom including the Equal Pay Act 1970
Equal Pay Act 1970
The Equal Pay Act 1970 is an Act of the United Kingdom Parliament which prohibits any less favourable treatment between men and women in terms of pay and conditions of employment. It was passed by Parliament in the aftermath of the 1968 Ford sewing machinists strike and came into force on 29...
, the Sex Discrimination Act 1975
Sex Discrimination Act 1975
The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which protected men and women from discrimination on the grounds of sex or marriage. The Act concerned employment, training, education, harassment, the provision of goods and services, and the disposal of premises...
, the Race Relations Act 1976
Race Relations Act 1976
The Race Relations Act 1976 was established by the Parliament of the United Kingdom to prevent discrimination on the grounds of race.Items that are covered include discrimination on the grounds of race, colour, nationality, ethnic and national origin in the fields of employment, the provision of...
, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995
Disability Discrimination Act 1995
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which has now been repealed and replaced by the Equality Act 2010 , except in Northern Ireland where the Act still applies...
and three major statutory instruments protecting discrimination in employment on grounds of religion or belief
Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003
The Employment Equality Regulations 2003 is a plank of United Kingdom labour law designed to combat discrimination in relation to people's religion or belief, or absence of religion or belief...
, sexual orientation and age
Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006
The Employment Equality Regulations 2006 is a piece of secondary legislation in the United Kingdom, which prohibits employers unreasonably discriminating against employees on grounds of age. It came into force on October 1, 2006...
. This legislation has the same goals as the US Civil Rights Act 1964 and four major EU Equal Treatment Directives, whose provisions it mirrors and implements. It requires equal treatment in access to employment as well as private and public services, regardless of gender
Gender
Gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...
, race, disability
Disability
A disability may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental or some combination of these.Many people would rather be referred to as a person with a disability instead of handicapped...
, sexual orientation
Sexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
, transgender status
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
, belief
Belief
Belief is the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true.-Belief, knowledge and epistemology:The terms belief and knowledge are used differently in philosophy....
and age
Age
Age may refer to:* Age , an aspect of mathematical model theory* Age , an international peer-reviewed journal operated by Springer.* The Age, a daily newspaper published in Melbourne, Australia* Agé, a god* Åge, a given name...
. The Act allows civil partnership ceremonies on religious premises in England and Wales. It also extended trans rights, banning discrimination by schools on the grounds of gender reassignment
Other initiatives have included:
- The establishment of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights on 1 October 2007; the Commission is tasked with working for equality in all areas and replaced the previous commissions dedicated to sex, race and disability alone.
- The setting up of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Advisory Group within the Department of Health.
- A provision of the Criminal Justice Act 2003Criminal Justice Act 2003The Criminal Justice Act 2003 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is a wide ranging measure introduced to modernise many areas of the criminal justice system in England and Wales and, to a lesser extent, in Scotland and Northern Ireland....
that a court must treat hostility based on sexual orientation as an aggravating factor for sentencing a person. - Guidance from the Crown Prosecution ServiceCrown Prosecution ServiceThe Crown Prosecution Service, or CPS, is a non-ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for public prosecutions of people charged with criminal offences in England and Wales. Its role is similar to that of the longer-established Crown Office in Scotland, and the...
on dealing with homophobic crime. - A commitment from the Government to work for LGBT rights at an international level.
An illustration of social attitudes towards homosexuality in the United Kingdom was provided in May 2007 in a survey by YouGov. The poll indicated that legislation outlawing discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation was supported by 90% of UK citizens. It also showed positive public perceptions of gay people in particular, but recognised the extent to which prejudice still exists. A poll in June 2009 conducted by Populus for The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
reported that the majority of the public supports same-sex marriage; 61% of respondents agreed that "Gay couples should have an equal right to get married, not just to have civil partnerships"..
On 30 July 2009, the Religious Society of Friends
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
in the UK stated its intent to ask the government to allow it to perform same sex marriages.
A poll conducted by Angus Reid in July 2010 showed that 78% of people supported either Same-sex Marriage
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
or Civil Union
Civil union
A civil union, also referred to as a civil partnership, is a legally recognized form of partnership similar to marriage. Beginning with Denmark in 1989, civil unions under one name or another have been established by law in many developed countries in order to provide same-sex couples rights,...
s for gay couples, with 41% opting for Same-Sex Marriage
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
and 37% opting for Civil Union
Civil union
A civil union, also referred to as a civil partnership, is a legally recognized form of partnership similar to marriage. Beginning with Denmark in 1989, civil unions under one name or another have been established by law in many developed countries in order to provide same-sex couples rights,...
s. The amount of people who supported no legal unions for gay couples decreased by 3% since August 2009.
On 16 September 2011, the UK Government announced plans to start a consultation on Same-Sex Civil Marriage, with the remit of the Consultation to be to examine how this can be introduced, rather than whether it should be introduced. As a result of this consultation, Same-Sex Civil Marriage will be legal in the United Kingdom by the 2015 General Election
Next United Kingdom general election
The United Kingdom general election of 2010 was held on Thursday 6 May 2010 to elect members to the House of Commons. The election took place in 650 constituencies across the United Kingdom under the first-past-the-post system. None of the parties achieved the 326 seats needed for an overall majority...
.
However, the ONS reviewed the EU barrometer which found that only 45% of Britons were in favour of gay marriage and that 66% of Britons opposed LGBT adoption.
Parentage and parental orders
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008
The Bill's discussion in Parliament did not permit time to debate whether it should extend abortion rights under the Abortion Act 1967 to also cover Northern Ireland...
was given Royal Assent
Royal Assent
The granting of royal assent refers to the method by which any constitutional monarch formally approves and promulgates an act of his or her nation's parliament, thus making it a law...
on 13 November 2008. The legislation allows for lesbians and their partners (both civil and de facto) equal access to legal presumptions of parentage in cases of in vitro fertilisation ("IVF") or assisted/self insemination (other than at home) from the moment the child is born. Since the law also allows both partners to be identified on the child's birth certificate by the words "parent".
The law came into force from 6 April 2009 and is not retroactive (it does not apply before that date). Parental orders for gay men and their partners since 6 April 2010 for surrogacy arrangements.
Since 31 August 2009, legislation granting lesbians equal birth rights in England and Wales came into effect, meaning both can now be named on a child's birth certificate. The legislation was criticised by those who believe it was "damaging the traditional notion of a family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
". Stonewall
Stonewall (UK)
Stonewall is a lesbian, gay and bisexual rights charity in the United Kingdom named after the Stonewall Inn of Stonewall riots fame. Now the largest gay equality organization not only in the UK but in Europe, it was formed in 1989 by political activists and others lobbying against section 28 of the...
Head of Policy and Research Ruth Hunt said the new law makes life easier for lesbian families and stated "Now lesbian couples in the UK who make a considered decision to start a loving family will finally be afforded equal access to services they help fund as taxpayers". The UK's Home Office minister, Lord Brett
William Brett, Baron Brett
William Henry "Bill" Brett, Baron Brett is a British Labour politician and businessman. He was previously the Labour Party's spokesperson for International Development....
was full of praise in his comments:
This positive change means that, for the first time, female couples who have a child using fertility treatment have the same rights as their heterosexual counterparts to be shown as parents in the birth registration. It is vital that we afford equality wherever we can in society, especially as family circumstances continue to change. This is an important step forward in that process.Iain Duncan Smith
Iain Duncan Smith
George Iain Duncan Smith is a British Conservative politician. He is currently the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions and was previously leader of the Conservative Party from September 2001 to October 2003...
, who led efforts to oppose the change, said that "The absence of fathers generally has a detrimental effect on the child."
Controversy over conversion therapy
Peel, Clarke and Drescher wrote in 2007 that only one organisation in the UK could be identified with conversion therapy, a religious organisation called The Freedom Trust (part of Exodus InternationalExodus International
Exodus International is a non-profit, interdenominational ex-gay Christian organization founded by Michael Bussee, Gary Cooper, Frank Worthen, Ron Dennis, and Greg Reid...
): "whereas a number of organisations in the US (both religious and scientific/psychological) promote conversion therapy, there is only one in the UK of which we are aware". The paper reported that practitioners who did provide these sorts of treatments between the 1950s and 1970s now view homosexuality as healthy, and the evidence suggests that 'conversion therapy' is a historical rather than a contemporary phenomenon in the UK, where treatment for homosexuality has always been less common than in the USA.
In 2007, the Royal College of Psychiatrists
Royal College of Psychiatrists
The Royal College of Psychiatrists is the main professional organisation of psychiatrists in the United Kingdom responsible for representing psychiatrists, psychiatric research and providing public information about mental health problems...
, the main professional organization of psychiatrists in the United Kingdom, issued a report stating that: "Evidence shows that LGB people are open to seeking help for mental health problems. However, they may be misunderstood by therapists who regard their homosexuality as the root cause of any presenting problem such as depression or anxiety. Unfortunately, therapists who behave in this way are likely to cause considerable distress. A small minority of therapists will even go so far as to attempt to change their client's sexual orientation. This can be deeply damaging. Although there are now a number of therapists and organisation in the USA and in the UK that claim that therapy can help homosexuals to become heterosexual, there is no evidence that such change is possible."
In 2008, the Royal College of Psychiatrists stated: "The Royal College shares the concern of both the American Psychiatric Association and the American Psychological Association that positions espoused by bodies like the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality
National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality
The National Association for Research & Therapy of Homosexuality is a non-profit organization that offers reparative therapy and other regimens that purport to change the sexual orientation of individuals who experience unwanted same-sex attraction...
(NARTH) in the United States are not supported by science. There is no sound scientific evidence that sexual orientation can be changed. Furthermore so-called treatments of homosexuality as recommended by NARTH create a setting in which prejudice and discrimination can flourish."
In 2009, a research survey into mental health practitioners in the UK concluded "A significant minority of mental health professionals are attempting to help lesbian, gay and bisexual clients to become heterosexual. Given lack of evidence for the efficacy of such treatments, this is likely to be unwise or even harmful." Scientific American reported on this: "One in 25 British psychiatrists and psychologists say they would be willing to help homosexual and bisexual patients try to convert to heterosexuality, even though there is no compelling scientific evidence a person can willfully become straight", and explained that 17% of those surveyed said they had tried to help reduce or suppress homosexual feelings, and 4% said they would try to help homosexual people convert to heterosexuality in the future.
Summary table
| Right | Yes/No | Date, law(s) and notes |
|---|---|---|
| Same-sex sexual acts legal Sodomy law A sodomy law is a law that defines certain sexual acts as crimes. The precise sexual acts meant by the term sodomy are rarely spelled out in the law, but are typically understood by courts to include any sexual act deemed unnatural. It also has a range of similar euphemisms... |
 |
Since 27 July 1967 in England & Wales (Sexual Offences Act 1967 Sexual Offences Act 1967 The Sexual Offences Act 1967 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom . It decriminalised homosexual acts in private between two men, both of whom had to have attained the age of 21. The Act applied only to England and Wales and did not cover the Merchant Navy or the Armed Forces... ) Since 1 February 1981 in Scotland (Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980 Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 1980 The Criminal Justice Act 1980 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom . It decriminalized private homosexual acts between two consenting adults in Scotland:"Subject to the provisions of this section, a homosexual act in private shall not be an offence provided that the parties consent... ) Since 8 December 1982 in Northern Ireland (Homosexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 1982 Homosexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 1982 The Homosexual Offences Order 1982, No. 1536 , is an Order in Council which decriminalized homosexual acts between consenting adults in Northern Ireland. The Order was adopted as a result of a European Court of Human Rights case, Dudgeon v... ) |
| Equal age of consent | |
Since 8 January 2001 nationwide (Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000 Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000 The Sexual Offences Act 2000 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It changed the age of consent for male homosexual sexual activities from 18 to that for heterosexual and lesbian sexual activities at 16, or 17 in Northern Ireland... ) |
| Homosexuality declassified as an illness | |
Follows the 1973 American Psychiatric Association removal of homosexuality from their Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders II, and The International Classification of Diseases 10 of the World Health Organisation following suit in 1990 |
| Transsexualism Transsexualism Transsexualism is an individual's identification with a gender inconsistent or not culturally associated with their biological sex. Simply put, it defines a person whose biological birth sex conflicts with their psychological gender... declassified as an illness |
|
|
| Right to change legal gender Legal aspects of transsexualism Transsexual people are those who establish a permanent identity with the gender opposite to the gender identified at birth. As most legal jurisdictions have at least some recognition of the two traditional genders at the exclusion of other categories, this raises many legal issues and aspects of... |
|
Since 4 April 2005 nationwide (Gender Recognition Act 2004 Gender Recognition Act 2004 The Gender Recognition Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that allows transsexual people to change their legal gender. It came into effect on 4 April 2005.-Operation of the law:... ) See legal aspects of transsexualism |
| Formal approval of gender reassignment (e.g. counselling, therapy, surgery) | |
Available on National Health Service National Health Service The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom... (NHS) or privately |
| Laws against hate speech Hate speech Hate speech is, outside the law, any communication that disparages a person or a group on the basis of some characteristic such as race, color, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, nationality, religion, or other characteristic.... based on sexual orientation |
Partial | Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 The Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which makes significant changes in many areas of the criminal justice system in England and Wales and, to a lesser extent, in Scotland and Northern Ireland... amended Part 3A of the Public Order Act 1986 Public Order Act 1986 The Public Order Act 1986 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It creates a number of public order offences. They replace similar common law offences and parts of the Public Order Act 1936... to add for England and Wales, the offence of inciting hatred on the ground of sexual orientation See hate speech laws in the United Kingdom Hate speech laws in the United Kingdom Hate speech laws in the United Kingdom are found in several statutes. Expressions of hatred toward someone on account of that person's colour, race, nationality , ethnic or national origin, religion, or sexual orientation is forbidden. Any communication which is threatening, abusive or insulting,... |
| Laws against hate speech based on gender identity | Unknown | |
| Hate crime Hate crime In crime and law, hate crimes occur when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her perceived membership in a certain social group, usually defined by racial group, religion, sexual orientation, disability, class, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, gender identity, social status or... s based on sexual orientation and/or gender identity considered an aggravating circumstance |
|
Since 27 October 2004 in Northern Ireland (Criminal Justice No. 2 (Northern Ireland) Order 2004 amendment to the Public Order (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 Part III) Since April 2005 in England and Wales (Criminal Justice Act 2003 Criminal Justice Act 2003 The Criminal Justice Act 2003 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is a wide ranging measure introduced to modernise many areas of the criminal justice system in England and Wales and, to a lesser extent, in Scotland and Northern Ireland.... Section 146) Since 24 March 2010 (Offences (Aggravated by Prejudice) (Scotland) Act 2009) See hate crime law in the United Kingdom |
| Recognition of sexual orientation and gender identity for asylum requests | Unclear | Guidelines not applied consistently Recognised in some cases since 1999, people deported to unsafe countries for appeal in other; the ruling in HJ and HT v Home Secretary HJ and HT v Home Secretary HJ and HT v Secretary of State for the Home Department 2010] UKSC 31 is a case decided by the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom concerning two men, from Iran and Cameroon respectively, claiming asylum in the United Kingdom on the grounds of their homosexuality... means that this should not happen in the future The Government has said that it is developing a new training programme and new guidance on LGB asylum claims brought on the grounds of sexual orientation |
| Immigration equality/rights for LGBT individuals and same-sex couples | |
Since 2006 (The Immigration (European Economic Area) Regulations 2006 EEA Regulations (UK) The Immigration Regulations 2006 amended by SI 2009/1117 and SI 2011/1247 constitute the law that implements the right of free movement of EEA nationals and their family members in the United Kingdom. It is based on Directive 2004/38/EC... ) |
| Anti-discrimination law on gender identity/expression | |
|
| Anti-discrimination employment law based on sexual orientation | |
Since 1 December 2003 (Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003) Superseded in 1 October 2010 (Equality Act 2010) |
| Anti-discrimination employment law based on gender identity | |
Since 1 May 1999 (Sex Discrimination (Gender Reassignment) Regulations 1999 amendment to the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 Sex Discrimination Act 1975 The Sex Discrimination Act 1975 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which protected men and women from discrimination on the grounds of sex or marriage. The Act concerned employment, training, education, harassment, the provision of goods and services, and the disposal of premises... ) Superseded in 1 October 2010 (Equality Act 2010) |
| Anti-discrimination law in provision of goods and services | |
Since 30 April 2007 (Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations The Equality Act Regulations are secondary legislation in the United Kingdom, outlawing discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities, services, education and public functions on the grounds of sexual orientation.... 2007) Superseded in 1 October 2010 (Equality Act 2010) |
| Anti-discrimination law in all other areas | |
Since 1 October 2010 (Equality Act 2010) |
| LGBT pride parades/rights marches allowed | |
First gay marches in London in November 1970 First official UK Gay Pride Rally in London on 1 July 1972 See Pride London Pride London Pride London is the name of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender registered charity which arranges LGBT events in London, most notably the annual gay pride parade which is held in June/July. The most recent Pride London was on 2 July 2011. The 2010 event was attended by 1 million people,... |
| LGBT groups LGBT rights organization LGBT rights organizations are civil rights, health, and community organizations created and existing to further the civil and human rights and health of sexual minorities and to improve the gay community.... allowed |
|
Homosexual Law Reform Society Homosexual Law Reform Society The Homosexual Law Reform Society was an organisation that campaigned in the United Kingdom for changes in the laws that criminalised homosexual relations between men.- History :... founded on 12 May 1958 in response to the findings of the Wolfenden Report Wolfenden report The Report of the Departmental Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution was published in Britain on 4 September 1957 after a succession of well-known men, including Lord Montagu, Michael Pitt-Rivers and Peter Wildeblood, were convicted of homosexual offences.-The committee:The... |
| LGBT people allowed to serve openly in politics | |
First openly lesbian MP: Maureen Colquhoun Maureen Colquhoun Maureen Morfydd Colquhoun is a British economist and Labour Party politician.-Education:She attended the London School of Economics and later worked as a literary research assistant.-Political career:... (Labour Party Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after... , MP 1974-79) was outed in 1976 First MP to come out in office: Chris Smith Chris Smith, Baron Smith of Finsbury Christopher "Chris" Robert Smith, Baron Smith of Finsbury PC is a British Labour Party politician, and a former Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister... (Labour, MP 1983-2005) came out in 1984 First MP to be out before office: Stephen Twigg Stephen Twigg Stephen Twigg is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Labour Co-operative Member of Parliament for Liverpool West Derby since 2010. He previously served as the Member of Parliament for Enfield Southgate from 1997 to 2005, when he lost his seat. He came to national prominence in 1997... (Labour, MP 1997-2005, 2010–present) came out in May 1997 First female MP to come out in office: Angela Eagle (Labour, MP 1992–present) came out in September 1997 See List of the first LGBT holders of political offices for more |
| LGBT people allowed to serve openly in police | |
Lesbian and Gay Police Association (LAGPA), now the Gay Police Association Gay Police Association The Gay Police Association is a British police staff association with members in all 52 UK police forces. The GPA was founded in 1990 as LAGPA , and represents the needs and interests of gay and bisexual police officers and police staff in the United Kingdom... (GPA), was founded in 1990 |
| LGBT people allowed to serve openly in military Sexual orientation and military service The military forces of the world have differing approaches to the enlistment of homosexual and bisexual individuals. The armed forces of most developed countries have now removed policies excluding non-heterosexual individuals... |
|
Armed Forces Code of Social Conduct revised on 12 January 2000 See Sexual orientation and military service and Smith and Grady v United Kingdom Smith and Grady v United Kingdom Smith and Grady v UK 29 EHRR 493 was a notable decision of the European Court of Human Rights that unanimously found that the investigation into and subsequent discharge of personnel from the Royal Navy on the basis they were homosexual was a breach of their right to a private life under Article... |
| Civil marriage for same-sex couples Same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality.... |
 |
Same-Sex Civil Marriage to be Introduced by 2015. |
| State recognition of same-sex couples (Civil Partnership) | |
Since 5 December 2005 (Civil Partnership Act 2004 Civil Partnership Act 2004 The Civil Partnership Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Bill for this Act was introduced by the Labour government and supported by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat opposition. The Act grants civil partnerships in the United Kingdom with rights and... ) UK civil partnerships are almost identical to the rights given to marriage between heterosexual couples, but there are recognition issues in other countries and with the use of courtesy titles See Civil partnership in the United Kingdom |
| Civil partnership in places of worship | |
The Equality Act 2010 amended the Approved Premises (Marriage and Civil Partnership) Regulations 2005 in England and Wales in 2011 |
| Binational same-sex unions | |
Since 5 December 2005 (Civil Partnership Act 2004 Civil Partnership Act 2004 The Civil Partnership Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Bill for this Act was introduced by the Labour government and supported by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat opposition. The Act grants civil partnerships in the United Kingdom with rights and... ) |
| Health benefits, joint property rights, tax benefits, social security benefits, hospital and prison visitation rights, inheritance rights and pension rights for same-sex couples | |
Since 5 December 2005 (Civil Partnership Act 2004 Civil Partnership Act 2004 The Civil Partnership Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Bill for this Act was introduced by the Labour government and supported by the Conservative and Liberal Democrat opposition. The Act grants civil partnerships in the United Kingdom with rights and... ) See Civil partnership in the United Kingdom#Property and financial arrangements |
| Adoption (and step-child adoption) by both single LGBT people and by same-sex couples | |
Since 30 December 2005 in England & Wales (Adoption and Children Act 2002) Since 28 September 2009 in Scotland (Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007) Reinforced by the Equality Act 2010 (Catholic adoption agencies were exempted) Prohibited by The Adoption (Northern Ireland) Order 1987 |
| Foster caring by same-sex couples LGBT parenting LGBT parenting refers to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people parenting one or more children. This includes children raised by same-sex couples , children raised by single LGBT parents, and children raised by an opposite-sex couple where at least one partner is LGBT.LGBT people can... |
|
Since before 1998 |
| Equal access to IVF In vitro fertilisation In vitro fertilisation is a process by which egg cells are fertilised by sperm outside the body: in vitro. IVF is a major treatment in infertility when other methods of assisted reproductive technology have failed... for all couples and individuals |
|
1999? |
| Equal access to surrogate pregnancy for all couples and individuals | |
Since 6 April 2010 (Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 The Bill's discussion in Parliament did not permit time to debate whether it should extend abortion rights under the Abortion Act 1967 to also cover Northern Ireland... ) |
| Same-sex couples as both parents on a birth certificate | |
Since 31 August 2009 (Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 The Bill's discussion in Parliament did not permit time to debate whether it should extend abortion rights under the Abortion Act 1967 to also cover Northern Ireland... ), amending the Registration of Births and Deaths Regulations 1987http://www.hfea.gov.uk/2936.html |
| MSMs allowed to donate blood MSM blood donor controversy The Men who have sex with men blood donor controversy is a dispute over prohibitions on donations of blood or tissue for transplantation. MSM is a classification of men who engage in sex with other men, regardless of whether they identify themselves as homosexual, bisexual or heterosexual... |
Partial | Legal by November 2011 (subject to 1 year deferral from sexual activities) |
See also
- Hall-Carpenter ArchivesHall-Carpenter ArchivesThe Hall–Carpenter Archives are named after the authors Marguerite Radclyffe Hall and Edward Carpenter...
- Gay Rights Working PartyGay Rights Working PartyGay Rights Working Party was a working party of the Greater London Council , between 1981 and 1986 ....
—1980s work in London to combat discrimination and police abuse - History of violence against LGBT people in the United KingdomHistory of violence against LGBT people in the United KingdomThe history of violence against LGBT people in the United Kingdom is made up of assaults on gay men, lesbians, bisexual, transgendered, queer and intersexed individuals , legal responses to such violence, and hate crime statistics in the United Kingdom...
- Human rights in the United KingdomHuman rights in the United KingdomHuman rights in the United Kingdom are set out in common law, with its strongest roots being in the English Bill of Rights 1689, as well as the European legislation. At the same time, the UK has also had a history of both de jure and de facto discrimination, and, in recent history, occasional...
- LGBT rights by country
- Sexual orientation and military serviceSexual orientation and military serviceThe military forces of the world have differing approaches to the enlistment of homosexual and bisexual individuals. The armed forces of most developed countries have now removed policies excluding non-heterosexual individuals...
- Stonewall (UK)Stonewall (UK)Stonewall is a lesbian, gay and bisexual rights charity in the United Kingdom named after the Stonewall Inn of Stonewall riots fame. Now the largest gay equality organization not only in the UK but in Europe, it was formed in 1989 by political activists and others lobbying against section 28 of the...
External links
- LGBT History Month United Kingdom website
- GLBTQ website article on the history of LGBT life in the United Kingdom from the Middle Ages to the Nineteenth Century.
- GLBTQ website article on the history of LGBT life in the United Kingdom from 1900 to the present.
- Comprehensive UK and International LGBT news website