Sexual Offences Bill poll 4

[lovingboth]

The biggest row will be about clause 74, 'Sexual activity in public'.

It will be illegal to be sexual - that is have vaginal sex, anal sex, oral sex, or manual sex - in a public place when someone other than a person reasonably believed to be a willing observer could see it. So sex in certain clubs etc may well be confirmed as legal - it'll be a reasonable belief that someone in a such a space is a willing observer.

It will also be illegal to be sexual 'not in a dwelling' and blah blah blah.

So... sex in your garden = illegal if you know or are reckless whether someone other than a willing observer can see you.

But sex in your house, even with the curtains open and lights on = legal. Provided that you don't intend to cause alarm or distress - that'd probably be exposure, clause 70. (There are other laws - outraging public decency sort of stuff - that could apply, but the approach here is that they shouldn't be looking into your house!)

And, most controversial, sex in a closed toliet cubicle = legal.

[Poll #119977]

Oh, one side effect is that this will update statute law to confirm that male-male sex in the presence of other consenting adults is legal.

Comments

[ciphergoth.livejournal.com]

I voted "no" to the first, but I should qualify that. I think any legislation that made sex behind a bush in the park at 2am illegal would be wrongheaded, but there should be a legal way to say "no, you can't open the curtains wide, turn up the lights, and do a live sex show in the front window of your suburban house"...

[werenerd.livejournal.com]

Oh, I got that toilet question wrong, I'm all for sex in toilets.

I like public sex!

[pavlos.livejournal.com]

Excellent! We'll be able to have public sex shows put up by either eager amateurs or by professionals, hopefully ones who like to do this. Great! I say "great" not as much out of voyeurism (it's easy enough to get porn) but because I think it's a wonderfully liberating and power-enhancing feeling to either watch or participate in public sex. Even if it's a "professional" show (many shows put up by professional actors are already powerful and liberating even if they don't include sex).

While I agree that the suburban extremism described by Paul could be classed as obnoxious, I find it hard to see myself genuinely harmed by it. I'd class it as vaguely annoying behaviour, like playing loud music in the middle of the night, or cooking stinking barbecues. Remember that, if public sex were quite common, children would get used to it quite quickly and overall that would be a good thing. Also, on balance, I'd much rather permit all sexual activity in public in the interets of free speech than try to sort out what is acceptable. A case from the 80's springs to mind, where a white Dutch woman and her black boyfriend protested by having sex in the middle of the street, in Amsterdam, outside the South African embassy.

Personally, I think it would be reasonable (and really nice) to have sex on beaches, parks, and other such places when others can plainly see you, so long as both lovers and observers are being considerate and not invading each other's space. It would be impolite to start screwing right next to people having a picnic, as it would be for them to set up a picnic next to you. But say having sex 20 metres away from other groups in the park on a sunny day? Yes, why not! I think politeness, not legislation, is the appropriate guide. If some people are just too horny and doing it everywhere, I guess the park wardens can come and fine them £20, or something of that magnitude.

Pavlos