ABSTRACT
In many civilized countries homosexual behaviour does not contravene the law except in special circumstances of abuse, for instance if children are involved or if force is used to coerce an unwilling participant, but in other places, for instance in most parts of North America, including Canada, any kind of sexual contact between persons of the same sex counts as a serious crime. No comprehensive international survey of the various statutes governing sexual deviations has as yet been carried out. It would make an interesting project for legal research, but the difficulties would be formidable. For one thing, the peculiar legal terminology frequently employed, referring to such offences as ‘crimes against nature’, ‘immoral conduct’ and ‘acts of indecency’, prudishly avoids spelling out the details of the offences in question, but leaves the reader guessing as to what exactly the laws are intended to forbid. This vagueness gives the judiciary a great deal of latitude to interpret the law how they please. An even greater obstacle to understanding how the law works on these matters arises from the enormous variation in the frequency and stringency with which statutes are applied. In some places, where the laws may seem to be very fierce, homosexuals may in fact be allowed to live in comparative tranquillity, free from prosecution or harassment by police and civic authorities.
