Immoral Traffic (Scotland) Act 1902

Last updated

Immoral Traffic (Scotland) Act 1902
Act of Parliament
Coat of arms of the United Kingdom (1837-1952).svg
Long title An Act to make further provision for the Punishment of Persons trading in Prostitution in Scotland.
Citation 2 Edw. 7. c. 11
Territorial extent Scotland
Dates
Royal assent 22 July 1902
Other legislation
Repealed by Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 1976
Relates to Criminal Law Amendment Act 1912
Status: Repealed

The Immoral Traffic (Scotland) Act 1902 (2 Edw. 7. c. 11) was an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, given royal assent on 22 July 1902 and repealed in 1976.

The Act, which extended only to Scotland, provided that any man who "knowingly lives wholly or in part" on income gained through prostitution, or any man who "solicits or importunes for immoral purposes" in a public place were guilty of a criminal offence, punishable by up to three months imprisonment with hard labour by a court of summary conviction.

It further provided that if evidence was given to a court that there is reason to believe a house was used for the purposes of prostitution, and that a man on the premises was living on the earnings of that activity, a court could issue a warrant for the house to be entered and searched, and the man arrested. If a man was proved to live with (or habitually keep company with) a prostitute, and have no visible means of support, he could be deemed to be living off the earnings of prostitution unless proven otherwise.

The Act was repealed by the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 1976.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949</span> United Kingdom legislation establishing the supremacy of the House of Commons

The Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 are two Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which form part of the constitution of the United Kingdom. Section 2(2) of the Parliament Act 1949 provides that the two Acts are to be construed as one.

Immorality Act was the title of two acts of the Parliament of South Africa which prohibited, amongst other things, sexual relations between white people and people of other races. The first Immorality Act, of 1927, prohibited sex between whites and blacks, until amended in 1950 to prohibit sex between whites and all non-whites. The second Immorality Act, of 1957, continued this prohibition and also dealt with many other sex offences. The ban on interracial sex was lifted in 1985, but certain sections of the 1957 act dealing with prostitution remain in force as the "Sexual Offences Act, 1957".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual Offences Act 2003</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Sexual Offences Act 2003 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hunting Act 2004</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Hunting Act 2004 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which bans the hunting of most wild mammals with dogs in England and Wales, subject to some strictly limited exemptions; the Act does not cover the use of dogs in the process of flushing out an unidentified wild mammal, nor does it affect drag hunting, where hounds are trained to follow an artificial scent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Obscene Publications Act 1857</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Obscene Publications Act 1857, also known as Lord Campbell's Act or Campbell's Act, was a piece of legislation in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland dealing with obscenity. For the first time, it made the sale of obscene material a statutory offence, giving the courts power to seize and destroy offending material. The Act superseded a 1787 Royal Proclamation by George III titled Proclamation for the Discouragement of Vice. The proclamation commanded the prosecution of those guilty of "excessive drinking, blasphemy, profane swearing and cursing, lewdness, profanation of the Lord's Day, and other dissolute, immoral, or disorderly practices". Prior to this Act, the "exposure for sale" of "obscene books and prints" had been made illegal by the Vagrancy Act 1824. but the publication of obscene material was a common law misdemeanour The effective prosecution of authors and publishers was difficult even in cases where the material was clearly intended as pornography.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885, or "An Act to make further provision for the Protection of Women and Girls, the suppression of brothels, and other purposes," was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the latest in a 25-year series of legislation in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland beginning with the Offences against the Person Act 1861. It raised the age of consent from 13 years of age to 16 years of age and delineated the penalties for sexual offences against women and minors. It also strengthened existing legislation against prostitution and homosexuality. This act was also notable for the circumstances of its passage in Parliament.

Gay cruising describes the act of searching about a public place in pursuit of a partner for sex. The activity has existed in England and Wales since at least the 17th century and has a colourful legal history. It differs from prostitution in that the parties involved do not seek money for sex, and from gay nightclubs or bathhouses in that they are not on private premises, although they may take place on private land to which the public have been granted access.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prostitution in the United Kingdom</span> Overview of the legality and practice of prostitution in the United Kingdom

In Great Britain, the act of engaging in sex as part of an exchange of various sexual services for money is legal, but a number of related activities, including soliciting in a public place, kerb crawling, owning or managing a brothel, pimping and pandering, are illegal. In Northern Ireland, which previously had similar laws, paying for sex became illegal from 1 June 2015.

Section 11 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885, commonly known as the Labouchere Amendment, made "gross indecency" a crime in the United Kingdom. In practice, the law was used broadly to prosecute male homosexuals where actual sodomy could not be proven. The penalty of life imprisonment for sodomy was also so harsh that successful prosecutions were rare. The new law was much more enforceable. It was also meant to raise the age of consent for heterosexual intercourse. Section 11 was repealed and re-enacted by section 13 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956, which in turn was repealed by the Sexual Offences Act 1967, which partially decriminalised male homosexual behaviour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Official Secrets Act 1911</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Official Secrets Act 1911 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It replaces the Official Secrets Act 1889.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Police Reservists Act 1902</span> Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Police Reservists Act 1902 was an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, given the royal assent on 22 July 1902 and repealed shortly thereafter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Musical (Summary Proceedings) Copyright Act 1902</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Musical Copyright Act 1902 was an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, given royal assent on 22 July 1902, in force from 1 October 1902, and repealed in 1956.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Midwives Act 1902</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Midwives Act 1902 was an Act of Parliament of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, given the royal assent on 31 July 1902, in force from 1 April 1903, and repealed in 1951.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vagrancy Act 1824</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Vagrancy Act 1824 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that makes it an offence to sleep rough or beg in England and Wales. The legislation was passed in Georgian England to combat the increasing number of people forced to live on the streets due to the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars and the social effects of the Industrial Revolution. Critics of the law included politician and abolitionist, William Wilberforce, who condemned the Act for making it a catch-all offence for vagrancy with no consideration of the circumstances as to why an individual might be homeless.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995</span> Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

The Criminal Law (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 1995 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed to consolidate certain enactments creating offences and relating to the criminal law of Scotland.

Prostitution in Scotland has been similar to that in England under the State of Union, but since devolution, the new Scottish Parliament has pursued its own policies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piracy Act 1850</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Piracy Act 1850, sometimes called the Pirates Repeal Act 1850, is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It relates to proceedings for the condemnation of ships and other things taken from pirates and creates an offence of perjury in such proceedings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual Offences Act, 1957</span> South African legislation

The Sexual Offences Act, 1957 is an act of the Parliament of South Africa which, in its current form, prohibits prostitution, brothel-keeping and procuring, and other activities related to prostitution. Before the law relating to sex offences was consolidated and revised by the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2007, it also prohibited various other sex offences, including sex with children under the age of consent and sex with the mentally incompetent. As the Immorality Act it was infamous for prohibiting sex between a white person and a person of another race, until that prohibition was removed by a 1985 amendment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Street Offences Act 1959</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Street Offences Act 1959 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom concerning street prostitution. It was passed following the publication of the Wolfenden report which discussed the rise in street prostitution at the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vagrancy Act 1898</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Vagrancy Act 1898 was a piece of legislation in England and Wales that criminalised men who lived off the earnings of prostitution (pimping) and who solicited in public places. The bill was generally viewed as successful in its impact, leading to the similar Immoral Traffic (Scotland) Act.

References