Criminal Law Amendment Act Of 1885 Essay

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Throughout history, there have been changes in the laws regarding homosexuality. The first law regarding homosexuality in England only appeared in 1533. This was when buggery first became a illegal by English law. It was only until 1967 that homosexuality was legalized. Between 1533 and 1967, laws against homosexuality changed forms through that time, yet they all prohibited acts of homosexuality. In 1885, the law that prohibited homosexuality existed as the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885. This law mainly protected women and young girls from being sold for prostitution against their consent. Even though the law protected women, which was a beneficial idea, one section prohibited homosexuality. This section of the law caused the downfall …show more content…

This law was created with the purpose of protecting women and girls. Also, this law reinforced the prohibition of homosexuality. Henry Louberchère proposed the idea for the Criminal Law Amendment Act, including Section 11 specifically forbid homosexuality. The Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885 is also commonly known as Louberchère’s Amendment, because Henry Louberchère suggested the idea for this law. Originally, the Criminal Law Amendment only raised the age of consent of women and girls, but “campaigners were not satisfied with this change and continued to argue for further reform” which eventually added more constraints to the law (Simkin, “Criminal Law Amendment Act”). This law was created for the protection of women, who were seen as fragile, “passive, sexually innocent beings,” from men, who were perceived as predators with “a lustful nature” (Neumann 1). From the point of view of women and girls, the Criminal Law Amendment Act appeared beneficial because it protected them. This was important because in a way, this protected women’s rights, which is not commonly seen in laws from historical events. Although the law protected women, Section 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, which was proposed by Louberchère, seemed excessive as well as unnecessary. This section specifically targeted men who were homosexual and because of this, important historical figures had to pay the

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