Sodomy laws
Sodomy laws are pieces of legislation that define certain types of sexual intercourse (predominantly homosexuality) as crimes, because they are deemed "unnatural" or "immoral". The precise sexual acts meant by the term "sodomy" are rarely described in the law, but are typically understood in full by the courts to specifically include any sexual acts like anal sex, oral sex, and zoophilia or bestiality.
History edit
Ancient times edit
In the Assyrian empire edit
The criminal codes of the Assyrian Empire (1075 BC) state that if a man has sexual intercourse with his brother in arms, he is transformed into a eunuch (practically, he is castrated).
In the Roman Empire edit
In the Roman republic, the "Lex Scantinia" imposed sanctions on those who had committed a sexual crime (stuprum) against a male child born free. The law could also well have been used to prosecute those male citizens who willingly assumed the passive role within homosexual acts. The law has been mentioned several times in literary sources, but rarely applied.
The Roman emperor Domitian revived it in the course of his reform program of the judicial and moral system. It is not clear whether the penalty was death or whether it was limited to a fine. For adult male citizens, living and acting on the basis of homoerotic desire was considered quite natural and lawful, but provided that their partner was a male of low social standing. Paederasty in ancient Rome was only acceptable when the younger partner was a boy who engaged in male prostitution or a slave.
First years of the Christian Era edit
Most of the laws relating to sodomy in Western civilization originated from the exponential growth of influence by Christianity during late antiquity.
Medieval times edit
Beginning in the 12th century, the Roman Catholic Church launched a massive campaign against sodomites, especially homosexuals. Between the years 1250-1300 homosexual activity was radically criminalized in much of Europe, with sentences that could lead to the death penalty.
Early Modern Era edit
Persecution made by Henry VIII edit
In the kingdom of England, King Henry VIII of England introduced the first English criminal law against sodomy with the "Buggery Act 1533", thus making sodomy punishable by hanging.
The first decriminalization of homosexuality in the West edit
In 1786, Peter Leopold of Tuscany abolished the death penalty for all crimes. He became not only the first Western ruler to do so, but also the first ruler who abolished the death penalty for sodomy (a sentence replaced by that of prison and hard labor).
During the French Revolution edit
In France, it was the French Penal Code of 1791 that for the first time revised the concept of sodomy as a crime, together decriminalizing all so-called "victimless crimes" (together with witchcraft, heresy, blasphemy) according to the concept that if not had there been a victim there would have been no crime either. The same principle was held true also in the French Penal Code of 1810 wanted by Napoleon Bonaparte and which soon made its way onto a large part of the European continent then ruled by the first French Empire and its kings-in-law, thus decriminalizing sodomy in much of continental Europe.
In Poland edit
In 1795, following the partition of Poland, the sodomy laws of Russia, Prussia and Austria came into effect in the occupied Polish lands. Poland maintained these laws after independence in 1918, but they were never or hardly ever applied and were officially abolished in 1932.
In Brazil edit
In 1830 the emperor Peter I of Brazil signed a law immediately inserted in the imperial penal code. This removed all references to sodomy.
The death penalty was not abolished in England and Wales until 1861.
In Japan edit
In the Meiji period, sex between men was punishable under the sodomy laws announced in 1872 and revised in 1873. This has changed since the laws announced in 1880. Since then, more laws have been passed criminalizing homosexuality.
Modern Era edit
During the Russian Revolution edit
In 1917, following the Russian revolution by the Bolsheviks led by Lenin and Lev Trotsky, the former Russian Empire legalized homosexuality.
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During Stalin's regime edit
However, when Joseph Stalin came to power in the 1920s, these laws were reversed until homosexuality was effectively illegal again.
In Russia, sexual activity between males was criminalized by state law on the 4th March 1934, for the entire territory of the then Soviet Union. On the 27th May 1993, homosexual acts between consenting males were decriminalized.
In the UK edit
After the publication of the Wolfende report in 1957, it began to be argued in the UK that "homosexual behavior between consenting adults committed in private should no longer be considered a criminal offense". As a result, many Western governments have had all those laws specifically directed against homosexual acts repealed.
In the USA edit
In June 2003, the Supreme Court of the United States of America ruled in Lawrence v. Texas that state laws criminalizing private life, with sexual activity not induced by prostitution between consenting adults, were unconstitutional because of morality as there is insufficient justification for intrusion into people's freedom and privacy.
Recent years edit
Even though in many parts of the world (especially in the West) these laws have been repealed, there are still other countries that have these laws.
Sodomy is still illegal in Mauritius, Barbados, Guyana, Dominica, Jamaica, Grenada, Saint Kitts, Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent, Grenadines, Mauritania, Nigeria, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Qatar and Yemen.