Over the years the law has changed constantly both in favour and against the LGBT community since the decriminalisation of homosexuality in the 1960's. This section of the site aims to detail the current stance of the law in regard to the LGBT community in the United Kingdom.
Age of Consent
The age of consent is the age for which you are allowed to have consensual sex by law. This age varies from country to country, but in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland both parties must be at least 16 years old, regardless of sexual orientation or gender.
Whilst this legislation does not apply to the Crown Dependancies and Overseas Territories, both Jersey and the Isle of Man have their own laws in place to match the rest of the UK at 16 years old, regardless of sexual orientation or gender. It is a different story both Gibraltar and Guernsey, where the age of consent for gay men is 18, whilst for lesbians and heterosexuals it is the lower age of 16. This inequality on Gibraltar and Guernsey is on the path to being rectified, with laws being proposed to lower the age of consent for gay men in the near future.
In most jurisdictions it is illegal for a person over the age of consent to have sex with a person under that age (whether it be gay, lesbian or otherwise) and could result in a prison sentence and a criminal record. It is also against the law for two people under the age of consent to have sexual intercourse, in which case action through the courts can be taken.
Civil Partnerships
Civil partnerships have been legal in the United Kingdom since December 2005 and aim to provide same-sex couples with the same legal rights to those enjoyed by oposite-sex couples in a civil marriage. The benefits enjoyed by gay and lesbian couples include next-of-kin rights, tax and insurance benefits, property rights and parental responsibilities, such as the ability to adopt a partners child(ren). Whilst the benefits are largely the same across the United Kingdom, the law and procedure differs slightly across jurisdictions.
Both partners to be joined in a civil partnership must be of the same gender and be at least 16 years of age, with parental consent for those under the age of 18 (except in Scotland, where no parental consent is required for under 18s), and must not already be in a civil marriage or civil partnership unless that partnership has been previously dissolved. Unless under Scottish jurisdiction, both parties must have been resident in the UK for at least seven days prior to the partnership and in all parts of the UK there is a fifteen-day waiting period in which any objections to the partnership may be raised - and subsequently settled - before the partnership may take place.
Trans people may also enter into a civil partnership in the same manner. However should a partner wish to change their legal gender once joined in a civil partnership, that partnership must be dissolved before a GRC can be issued. In such cases there are provisions for the civil partnership to be dissolved and a new partnership to be formed on the same day.
Civil partnerships - or their overseas equivalents - are becoming increasingly popular around the world and same-sex partnerships officially registered abroad are legally recognised in the United Kingdom if that partnership meets the same conditions.
Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations
The Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations came into effect in April 2007 under the Equality Act 2006 and prohibit discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities, services, education and public functions on the grounds of sexual orientation.