ABSTRACT
Chapter 3 presents data analysis relevant to the research questions identified in the introduction. First, we describe the current legal situation around the world, including a consideration of various ways of breaking down what counts as “criminalization.” Second, we show how the situation has changed over time, highlighting the different trajectories of states with different colonial origins. Then we state and test three hypotheses that are relevant to the question of whether British colonial origin caused the current disparities in criminal status. Are British colonies more likely to criminalize homosexual conduct today? Did they take longer to decriminalize than other colonies after independence? Did they take longer to do so in world time? The chapter concludes with some robustness tests of the results.
