Court of Appeal rules Section 377A stays but cannot be used to prosecute men for having gay sex

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The Court of Appeal on Monday (Feb 28) ruled that Section 377A of the Penal Code - which criminalises sex between men - stays on the books but cannot be used to prosecute men for having gay sex.

Section 377A was “unenforceable in its entirety” until the Attorney-General of the day signals a change in the prosecutorial policy.

The law makes it a crime for a man, whether in public or in private, to commit any act of “gross indecency” with another man, and carries a jail term of up to two years.

the Government took the view that a balance had to be struck between accepting homosexual individuals as part of society and respecting the more traditional views of mainstream society

the law criminalises sex acts only between homosexual men, but not acts between homosexual women or heterosexuals. They argued that men were being treated unequally because women cannot be punished for acts of gross indecency.

They also argued it was absurd to criminalise a particular sexual orientation when scientific evidence shows that sexual orientation cannot be voluntarily changed.

Qn: In your society, how far is equality for all a reality? (Cam. 2012)