Gross indecency

Gross indecency is a legal term which was originally used to criminalise sexual activity between men short of anal penetration, or sodomy. The term was first used in British law in a statute of the British Parliament in 1885, and was carried forward in other statutes in Britain, Canada and other then-British colonies. The offence was never actually defined in any of the statutes which used it, leaving the scope of the offence to be defined by decisions of the courts.

Australia

In Australia, a gross indecency statute exists in South Australia, with gross indecency requiring the involvement of a minor (a person under 16 years old). A first-time offense is a three-year felony, and any subsequent offense is a five-year felony.^[1]

Canada

In Canada, the term gross indecency was used in the Criminal Code (sections 178 (1892), 206 (1906, 1927), 149 (1953–1954), 157 (1970), 161 (1985)) as well as in the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1968–1969, section 7.

The term was repealed in 1985 with an amendment to both the Criminal Code and the Canada Evidence Act.^[2]

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, the term was used in the following criminal offences:

• gross indecency between men — section 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 (known as the Labouchere Amendment), and later section 13 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956.
• indecency with a child — section 1(1) of the Indecency with Children Act 1960.

United States

In the United States, Michigan is the only state that currently has gross indecency statutes.

Michigan

In Michigan, three types of gross indecency crimes exist, all of which are five-year felonies:

• Gross indecency between male persons^[3]
• Gross indecency between female persons^[4]
• Gross indecency between male and female persons^[5]

Historically, the definition of gross indecency was nebulous and relied on notions such as the "common sense of society". The vagueness of the term allowed for adults who engaged in consensual sex with no monetary transactions in the privacy of their own homes to be charged with the crime. Men who had sex with men were particularly vulnerable to prosecution under the ambiguous nature of the term. The definition increasingly narrowed through Michigan Supreme Court decisions, and a 1994 decision officially narrowed it to sex acts that occurred in a public place or that involved a minor, the application of force, or a monetary transaction.^[6] Michigan now has separate statutes addressing all four aforementioned "acts of gross indecency" in statutes regarding indecent exposure, criminal sexual conduct (CSC), and prostitution;^[7][8][9] however, the gross indecency statutes remains in effect.

References