Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885

E593674

The Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 was a British statute best known for strengthening laws on sexual offences, including the controversial Section 11 that criminalized male homosexual acts short of sodomy.

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Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom
British statute
aimedAt prevention of procurement of girls for prostitution
protection of young persons from sexual exploitation
suppression of brothels
alsoKnownAs Labouchere Amendment NERFINISHED
appliedTo United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland NERFINISHED
male homosexual acts in private
male homosexual acts in public
containsSection Section 11
country United Kingdom
criticizedFor criminalization of consensual homosexual behaviour
vague definition of gross indecency
effectOfSection11 created offence of gross indecency between males
criminalized male homosexual acts short of sodomy
hasLongTermImpactOn age of consent law in the UK
legal treatment of homosexuality in the UK
historicalPeriod Victorian era
increasedProtectionFor girls
women
influencedBy campaigns against child prostitution
social purity movement
jurisdiction England and Wales
Ireland NERFINISHED
Scotland
languageOfDocument English
legalStatusOfSection11 repealed
legislativeDomain criminal law
mainSubject age of consent
homosexuality law
prostitution regulation
sexual offences law
notableCase prosecution of Oscar Wilde
parliament Parliament of the United Kingdom NERFINISHED
partOf Victorian morality legislation
penaltyType imprisonment
previousAgeOfConsent 13
raisedAgeOfConsentTo 16
repealedBy Sexual Offences Act 1967 NERFINISHED
royalAssent 1885
sectionUsedInOscarWildeCase Section 11
shortTitle Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 NERFINISHED
sponsorOfSection11 Henry Labouchere NERFINISHED
subjectOf LGBT rights history studies
historical legal scholarship
typeOfOffenceCreated misdemeanour
usedInProsecutionOf Oscar Wilde NERFINISHED
yearEnacted 1885

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

1889 Cleveland Street scandal legalContext Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885