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Sex and the law deals with the regulation by law of human sexual activity. Sex laws vary from one place or jurisdiction to another, and have varied over time. Unlawful sexual acts are called sex crimes. (2025). 9781405190060 ISBN 9781405190060
Some laws regarding sexual activity are intended to protect one or all participants, while others are intended to proscribe behavior that has been defined as a crime. For example, a law may proscribe Safe sex if one person knows that they have a sexually transmitted infection or to protect a minor; or it may proscribe non-Sexual consent sex. In general, laws may proscribe acts which are considered either sexual abuse or behavior that societies consider to be inappropriate and against the . Sexual abuse is unwanted sexual contact between two or more adults or two or more minors, and, depending on laws with regard to age of consent, sexual contact between an adult and a minor.
Western countries are often far more tolerant of acts, such as oral sex, that have traditionally been held to be crimes in some countries, but combine this with lesser tolerance for the remaining crimes. By contrast, many cultures with a strong religious tradition consider a far broader range of activities to be serious crimes.
As a general rule, the law in many countries often intervenes in sexual activity involving young or adolescent children below the legal age of consent, non-consensual deliberate displays or illicit watching of sexual activity, sex with close Kinship (incest), harm to animals, acts involving the deceased (necrophilia). Intervention may also arise when there is harassment, nuisance, fear, injury, or assault of a sexual nature, or serious risk of abuse of certain professional relationships. Separately, the law usually regulates or controls the censorship of pornography or obscenity material as well.
A variety of laws aim to protect children by making various acts with children a sex crime. For example, the "corruption of minors" by introducing material or behaviors that are intended to Child grooming for future sexual conduct. The materials or behavior can involve sexual content but does not necessarily have to. Depending on the jurisdiction, this conduct can be charged as a felony or a misdemeanor. Sometimes these laws overlap with age of consent laws, laws preventing the exposure of children to pornography, laws making it a crime for a child to be involved in (or exposed to) certain sexual behaviors, and the production and ownership of child pornography (sometimes including simulated images). In some countries such as the UK, the age for child pornography is higher than the age of consent, hence child pornography laws also cover images involving consenting adults.
Sadomasochistic conduct among adults can fall into a legal grey area. Some jurisdictions criminalize some or all sadomasochistic acts, regardless of legal consent and impose liability for any injuries caused. (See Consent (BDSM)) Other jurisdictions permit sadomasochistic conduct so long as the participants consent to the conduct.
Some jurisdictions forbid sexual activity outside of legal marriage completely. The relevant age may also vary by the type of sexual act, the sex of the actors, or other restrictions such as abuse of a position of trust. Some jurisdictions may make allowances for minors engaged in sexual acts with each other, rather than a hard and fast single age. Charges resulting from a breach of these laws may range from a relatively low-level misdemeanor such as "corruption of a minor", to "statutory rape" (which is considered equivalent to rape, both in severity and sentencing).
Most countries prohibit female genital mutilation, including prohibiting the procedure to be performed on its citizens and residents while outside their jurisdictions,McVeigh, Tracy and Sutton, Tara. "British girls undergo horror of genital mutilation despite tough laws", The Guardian, 25 July 2010. and the New York State Penal Law lists female genital mutilation as a sexual offense.
One author argued that use of particular language devices and rhetoric in the legislation surrounding these laws manipulates the viewer to automatically deem such sexual acts to be immoral and criminal. In this view, the law is attempting to morally control society, which is not one of the purposes of the law. This means that people will condemn those who partake in familial sexual activities, even if all parties are consenting adults.
In studying the changes of sodomy statutes, Frank et al. (2009) found that between 1945 and 2005, "90 percent of all modifications involved liberalization in some way" of non-heterosexual acts. This was seen as evidence of a "sodomy-law reform wave." During the same period, however, eight countries expanded their laws regarding sodomy. In January 2014, Nigeria expanded their criminalization of homosexuality by passing legislation to enforce more severe penalties including a ban against same-sex marriage and participation in any gay organizations. Sodomy laws, however, are rarely used to penalize consensual acts, involving adults, that occur in private. In the 1970s, the only arrests (in the US) involving consensual, non-heterosexual acts were in public or quasi-public. While many sodomy laws are concerned with sexual acts as opposed to sexual orientations, the legislation is often interpreted as if being gay or lesbian is sufficient evidence to deem someone guilty as to having engaged in criminal acts. This led US judges to deny parents' custody of their children, student groups were not granted recognition by university officials, and many legislators were opposed to civil rights bills that included sexual orientation.
Many revisions to sodomy laws were not a part of large government transitions, but rather included as a part of other general revisions of criminal legislation. There are two main pathways in which sodomy laws have been decriminalized: judicial invalidation and repeal of the law by vote of legislation. The United States did not decriminalize sodomy nationwide until 2003; however, many states, based on the council of judges and lawyers, did decriminalize sodomy as early as 1961.
During the rise of Putin, Russia has seen a resurgence in "religious conservatism" which has resulted in the indirect re-criminalizing homosexuality. An amendment was made to Russian legislation in 2013 that emphasizes the protection of children from information that could be deemed as damaging to their mental health and development. In the amendment to the Federal Law of Russian Federation no. 436-FZ, "propaganda" of non-traditional sexual relationships among minors was classified as harmful, and while the law does not criminalize homosexuality directly, it has created a hostile environment for LGBT activism. The US and Europe have condemned Russia's actions, but despite the domestic and international pushback, the Russian anti-LGBT propaganda law still stands.
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