Wolfenden Report in UK Recommends De-criminalizing Private, Consensual Homosexual Behavior Between Adults
The Wolfenden Report in the UK, published on this day, recommended that “homosexual behaviour between consenting adults in private should no longer be a criminal offence”
The recommendation was a landmark event in the UK, European countries and the U.S. It has a significant impact on U.S. thinking, and undoubtedly has some impact on spurring greater activism among existing gay and lesbian organizations.
The report was officially the Report of the Departmental Committee on Homosexual Offenses and Prostitution. Homosexual activity had been criminalized by the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885.
In the U.S., the Supreme Court ruled that sodomy laws were unconstitutional in Lawrence v. Texas. And on June 26, 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage was protected by the Constitution in Obergefell v Hodges.
Read about the report and its impact in the UK: Brian Lewis, Wolfenden’s Witnesses: Homosexuality in Postwar Britain (2016)
Learn about the Committee and its Report here
Read a summary of the Wolfenden Report’s conclusions here