‘GAY & 16. EQUAL AGE OF CONSENT NOW!’
Before 1967 being homosexual was illegal, something that still has a lasting impact on queer people today. From then we had to battle constantly to get the same rights as our straight counterparts. The fight was long and wins didn't happen as soon or often as we would like.
From around 1993/1994 our battle for equal age of consent was gearing up. We had managed to lower the law from 21 to 18 but that fight wasn't over. We wanted the same rights as our straight counterparts, but there was still a stigma around being gay and straight people still thought gay/bi people were predators.
Our big win came on 30th November 2000 when the age of consent was finally changed to 16 for gay and bi men. This came into action on 8th January 2001 in the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act.
Of course, this didn't go down well with some of the media and religious groups who called it political correctness and a step in the wrong direction. What a shock. Still, it was a fight we could never have won without all the activists who put their lives at risk to ensure queer youth didn't suffer as they had.
So thank you to people like Euan Sutherland, Chris Morris, Peter Tatchell, Hugo Greenhalgh, Will Parry, Ralph Wilde, and every single person who made their voice.
If you would like to read more on this I’ve listed some articles below that I came across during my research:
https://www.stonewall.org.uk/our-work/campaigns/love-wins-age-consent-equalised-gay-and-bi-men
https://news.trust.org/item/20201127091621-m8i3u/
https://twitter.com/hugo_greenhalgh/status/1347661611075588096?s=19
https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2021/01/08/age-of-consent-equalised-gay-bisexual-men-sex-lgbt-20-years-anniversary/
I'm not a historian and everything I know is from reading various books or doing research online so if anything is incorrect please let me know and I will amend it. The QHere series is a way to educate and bring light to our Queer history telling the world have always been HERE. We have so many stories to tell and I want to help shine a light on them (whilst learn more myself).