Isle of Man
From LGBT Archive
The Isle of Man is an island in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Ireland. It is self-governing and not strictly part of the United Kingdom, but it has the King or Queen of the UK as its head of state, and the UK is responsible for its defence and foreign relations.
Sexual relations between men were illegal until 1992. As late as 1991, "twelve men were found guilty of buggery and gross indecency in a group trial. Five of the men received suspended sentences of one-year prison terms and the remining seven were sentenced to two hundred hours of community service"[1]
The age of consent for male gay sex was lowered to 18 in 2001, and to 16 in 2006. All of these changes were several years later than in the UK.
In 2011 the Isle of Man introduced civil partnerships in a form very similar to the UK.
References
- ↑ Mark Thompson, Long Road toFreedom; the Advocate History of the Gay and Lesbian Movement, St Martin's Press, New York, 1994, ISBN 0-312-09536-8, page 377
