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Immorality Act

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".

Between 1950 and the repeal of the law in 1985, at least 19,000 people were fully prosecuted for violating the law, whereas thousands more were arrested without a trial.[1]

The 1927 act

The Immorality Act, 1927 (Act No. 5 of 1927) prohibited sexual intercourse outside of marriage between "Europeans" (white people) and "natives" (black people). The penalty was up to five years' imprisonment for the man and four years' imprisonment for the woman. A person's colour during trial was dictated by their 'race', a term which described a person's appearance, mannerisms, and assumed descent/ethnicity (similar to later 'colour classifications' recognised during the Apartheid era of South African history, where races were decided upon by government officials, not pre-determined by the true ethnicity of the accused).[2] The act also prohibited "procuring" women for interracial intercourse, and contained a proposal that described a punishment of up to six years of imprisonment specifically for coloured women who were thought to be provoking white males to have intercourse with them.[3]

The Immorality Amendment Act, 1950 (Act No. 21 of 1950) amended the 1927 act to forbid unmarried sexual intercourse between "Europeans" and anyone not "European". The prohibition was therefore extended to intercourse between white people and coloured or Asian people. Interracial marriages had been banned in 1949 by the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act.[4] Later legislation closely related to the Immorality Act also banned the marriage of interracial couples outside of South Africa, viewing foreign marriages as invalid and illegal.[5]

The 1957 act

The Immorality Act, 1957 (Act No. 23 of 1957; subsequently renamed the Sexual Offences Act, 1957) repealed the 1927 and 1950 acts and replaced them with a clause prohibiting sexual intercourse or "immoral or indecent acts" between white people and anyone not white. It increased the penalty to up to seven years' imprisonment for both partners. The 1957 act also prohibited brothel-keeping, procuring, and living off the proceeds of prostitution; and it prohibited sexual intercourse with people under the age of sixteen.

The Immorality Amendment Act, 1969 (Act No. 57 of 1969) amended the 1957 act to introduce or expand a number of offences. It prohibited the manufacturing or sale of any "article intended to be used to perform an unnatural sexual act" (i.e. sex toys). Despite the fact that sex between men was already prohibited under the common law crime of sodomy, the 1969 act made it a statutory crime for a man to have sex with another male under the age of nineteen. It also introduced section 20A, the infamous "three men at a party" clause, which prohibited any sexual activity between men at a party, where "party" was defined as any occasion where more than two people were present.

The Immorality and Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Amendment Act, 1985 (Act No. 72 of 1985) repealed the provisions of the 1957 act that prohibited interracial sex, and repealed the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act. This came as part of the repeal of many petty apartheid laws under the government of P. W. Botha.[4] This act specifically deleted the definitions of "coloured" and "white" within the act, and repealed Section 16 of the 1957 act which barred interracial, extramarital sex.[6]

The Immorality Amendment Act, 1988 (Act No. 2 of 1988) renamed the Immorality Act, 1957 to the Sexual Offences Act, 1957. It criminalised, for the first time, a woman having sex with a person under the age of consent, for that purpose setting the age of consent at 16 for a boy and 19 for a girl. It also made it a crime to be a prostitute, where previously only certain acts related to prostitution (brothel-keeping, procuring, etc.) had been illegal.[7] The legislation also noted that either gender could now be convicted of sexual offences.[8]

Repeal

The Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act, 2007 repealed most of the remaining provisions of the 1957 act. The only provisions still in force are those related to prostitution.

The men-at-a-party offence (section 20A) was invalidated in 1998 by the Constitutional Court in the case of National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality v Minister of Justice. The increased age of consent of nineteen for same-sex sexual activity (as opposed to sixteen for opposite-sex sexual activity) was invalidated in 2008 in the case of Geldenhuys v National Director of Public Prosecutions, although by that time the discriminatory provisions had been repealed by the 2007 amendment act.

See also

References

  1. ^ Klausen, Susanne M (2022). ""Do You Call Yourself a White Man?"". The American Historical Review. 127 (1): 159–193. doi:10.1093/ahr/rhac013. ISSN 0002-8762.
  2. ^ Bamford, B.R (1960). "Offences Under the Immorality Act". South African Law Journal. 77: 167.
  3. ^ Martins, Jeremy (2007). "Citizenship, "Civilisation", and the Creation of South Africa's Immorality Act, 1927". South African Historical Journal. 59 (1): 223–241. doi:10.1080/02582470709464779. S2CID 144954485.
  4. ^ a b Johnson, Shaun (1989). South Africa: no turning back. Indiana University Press. ISBN 0-253-35395-5.
  5. ^ "South Africa Frees Interracial Couple". The New York Times: 42. 13 May 1969. ProQuest 118512158.
  6. ^ Wikisource:Immorality and Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Amendment Act, 1985
  7. ^ Milton, John (1988). "The Sexual Offences Act". South African Journal of Criminal Justice. 1 (2): 269–274.
  8. ^ "Immorality Amendment Act (No. 2 of 1988)". Statues of the Republic of South Africa. Criminal Law and Procedure (22): 633–34. 25 Feb 1988.

External links

  •   Texts on Wikisource:
    • Immorality Act, 1927
    • Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, 1949
    • Immorality Amendment Act, 1950
    • Immorality Act, 1957
    • Immorality Amendment Act, 1967
    • Immorality Amendment Act, 1969
    • Immorality and Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Amendment Act, 1985
    • Immorality Amendment Act, 1988
  • Apartheid: Mixed marriages and the immorality act

immorality, title, acts, parliament, south, africa, which, prohibited, amongst, other, things, sexual, relations, between, white, people, people, other, races, first, 1927, prohibited, between, whites, blacks, until, amended, 1950, prohibit, between, whites, w. 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 Between 1950 and the repeal of the law in 1985 at least 19 000 people were fully prosecuted for violating the law whereas thousands more were arrested without a trial 1 Contents 1 The 1927 act 2 The 1957 act 3 Repeal 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksThe 1927 act EditMain article Immorality Act 1927 The Immorality Act 1927 Act No 5 of 1927 prohibited sexual intercourse outside of marriage between Europeans white people and natives black people The penalty was up to five years imprisonment for the man and four years imprisonment for the woman A person s colour during trial was dictated by their race a term which described a person s appearance mannerisms and assumed descent ethnicity similar to later colour classifications recognised during the Apartheid era of South African history where races were decided upon by government officials not pre determined by the true ethnicity of the accused 2 The act also prohibited procuring women for interracial intercourse and contained a proposal that described a punishment of up to six years of imprisonment specifically for coloured women who were thought to be provoking white males to have intercourse with them 3 The Immorality Amendment Act 1950 Act No 21 of 1950 amended the 1927 act to forbid unmarried sexual intercourse between Europeans and anyone not European The prohibition was therefore extended to intercourse between white people and coloured or Asian people Interracial marriages had been banned in 1949 by the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act 4 Later legislation closely related to the Immorality Act also banned the marriage of interracial couples outside of South Africa viewing foreign marriages as invalid and illegal 5 The 1957 act EditMain article Sexual Offences Act 1957 The Immorality Act 1957 Act No 23 of 1957 subsequently renamed the Sexual Offences Act 1957 repealed the 1927 and 1950 acts and replaced them with a clause prohibiting sexual intercourse or immoral or indecent acts between white people and anyone not white It increased the penalty to up to seven years imprisonment for both partners The 1957 act also prohibited brothel keeping procuring and living off the proceeds of prostitution and it prohibited sexual intercourse with people under the age of sixteen The Immorality Amendment Act 1969 Act No 57 of 1969 amended the 1957 act to introduce or expand a number of offences It prohibited the manufacturing or sale of any article intended to be used to perform an unnatural sexual act i e sex toys Despite the fact that sex between men was already prohibited under the common law crime of sodomy the 1969 act made it a statutory crime for a man to have sex with another male under the age of nineteen It also introduced section 20A the infamous three men at a party clause which prohibited any sexual activity between men at a party where party was defined as any occasion where more than two people were present The Immorality and Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Amendment Act 1985 Act No 72 of 1985 repealed the provisions of the 1957 act that prohibited interracial sex and repealed the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act This came as part of the repeal of many petty apartheid laws under the government of P W Botha 4 This act specifically deleted the definitions of coloured and white within the act and repealed Section 16 of the 1957 act which barred interracial extramarital sex 6 The Immorality Amendment Act 1988 Act No 2 of 1988 renamed the Immorality Act 1957 to the Sexual Offences Act 1957 It criminalised for the first time a woman having sex with a person under the age of consent for that purpose setting the age of consent at 16 for a boy and 19 for a girl It also made it a crime to be a prostitute where previously only certain acts related to prostitution brothel keeping procuring etc had been illegal 7 The legislation also noted that either gender could now be convicted of sexual offences 8 Repeal EditThe Criminal Law Sexual Offences and Related Matters Amendment Act 2007 repealed most of the remaining provisions of the 1957 act The only provisions still in force are those related to prostitution The men at a party offence section 20A was invalidated in 1998 by the Constitutional Court in the case of National Coalition for Gay and Lesbian Equality v Minister of Justice The increased age of consent of nineteen for same sex sexual activity as opposed to sixteen for opposite sex sexual activity was invalidated in 2008 in the case of Geldenhuys v National Director of Public Prosecutions although by that time the discriminatory provisions had been repealed by the 2007 amendment act See also EditAnti miscegenation laws Population Registration Act 1950 Apartheid legislationReferences Edit Klausen Susanne M 2022 Do You Call Yourself a White Man The American Historical Review 127 1 159 193 doi 10 1093 ahr rhac013 ISSN 0002 8762 Bamford B R 1960 Offences Under the Immorality Act South African Law Journal 77 167 Martins Jeremy 2007 Citizenship Civilisation and the Creation of South Africa s Immorality Act 1927 South African Historical Journal 59 1 223 241 doi 10 1080 02582470709464779 S2CID 144954485 a b Johnson Shaun 1989 South Africa no turning back Indiana University Press ISBN 0 253 35395 5 South Africa Frees Interracial Couple The New York Times 42 13 May 1969 ProQuest 118512158 Wikisource Immorality and Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Amendment Act 1985 Milton John 1988 The Sexual Offences Act South African Journal of Criminal Justice 1 2 269 274 Immorality Amendment Act No 2 of 1988 Statues of the Republic of South Africa Criminal Law and Procedure 22 633 34 25 Feb 1988 External links Edit Texts on Wikisource Immorality Act 1927 Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act 1949 Immorality Amendment Act 1950 Immorality Act 1957 Immorality Amendment Act 1967 Immorality Amendment Act 1969 Immorality and Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Amendment Act 1985 Immorality Amendment Act 1988 Apartheid Mixed marriages and the immorality act Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Immorality Act amp oldid 1131288947, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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