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<H2 ALIGN=CENTER><FONT COLOR="#0000FF">I Know What I Am: Gay Teenagers
and the Law</FONT></H2>

<H2 ALIGN=CENTER><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><FONT SIZE=+1><I>by</I> the Joint
Council for Gay Teenagers, United Kingdom</FONT></FONT></H2>

<CENTER><P><IMG SRC="colorbar.gif" HEIGHT=3 WIDTH=600></P></CENTER>

<P><B>The Joint Council for Gay Teenagers (JCGT)</B>, set up in late 1978,
comprises many of the principal organizations in the United Kingdom that
provide support to young gay people. &nbsp;Our constituent organizations
have a great deal of firsthand experience and knowledge of gay teenagers'
needs. We are aware not only of the difficulties they often face but also
that a new generation of gay people is growing up unwilling to suffer as
previous generations have been expected to. Indeed the separation between
&quot;them&quot; and &quot;us&quot; is false, as many gay men under the
present minimum age and many young lesbians help run the support services
for gay people. . . .<B> The JCGT has collected statements from 98 gay
teenagers in England, Wales, and Scotland. </B>&nbsp;&nbsp;Extracts from
these have been used as illustrations throughout this response. . . . </P>

<P><B><FONT COLOR="#0000FF">Jeff, 19, Speke: </FONT>After I met Mike I
started to spend a lot of time with him, staying at his house overnight
sometimes. . . . When I was 15 I went to court and they made a care order
[commitment to an institution]. They did it partly because of Mike. I hated
it in care and I used to run away to stay with Mike. I was 16 at the time
and I had to go to court. It was a bad time. We had a good lawyer and Mike
got off with probation. . . . I think all we have been through has brought
us together more. </B></P>

<P><B><FONT COLOR="#0000FF">Glyn, 19, Manchester: </FONT>My man was caught
cottaging [cruising] and arrested. The next day four policemen came to
school to collect me and take me to the police station. There I was given
a rigorous medical and interrogated intensely. My life was wrecked. . .
. I didn't go to school for three months. I was recovering from a nervous
breakdown. . . . The case spanned nearly a year and eventually he was sentenced
to eighteen months in prison.</B> </P>

<P><B><FONT COLOR="#0000FF">Trevor, 17, Northampton:</FONT></B> <B>When
I rang (the number of a local gay group) he said that I was too young for
him to help me. . . . If I don't meet someone soon, I swear, I'll do something
I'll regret. I wish people could understand how lonely it can be.</B> </P>

<P>It would be wholly unsatisfactory if the law, even with a minimum age
of 16, still made it risky for support and counseling services, gay and
non-gay, to offer help and advice to self-defined gay people younger than
16. <B><I>The only humane and logical step would be to abolish the concept
of a minimum age altogether for homosexuals of both sexes and to rely instead
on the laws dealing with common assault where there is evidence that a
sexual act was not consensual [emphasis added].</I></B> The Joint Council
is not alone in this view which has already been put forward in general
terms by the Sexual Law Reform Society and the National Council for Civil
Liberties. But both of these organizations, while accepting the logic of
this view, drew back from incorporating it in their specific proposals.
More recently a Joint Working Party on Pregnant Schoolgirls and Schoolgirl
Mothers has recommended the repeal of the law relating to the heterosexual
age of consent. </P>

<P>The same Working Party makes other recommendations about prosecution
policy which we endorse. Some of the arguments it puts forward concerning
the negative effect which the age of consent has on the welfare of consenting
young heterosexual people have parallels in the case of young gay people;
for example, a legal minimum age deters them from seeking advice on relationships
or on avoiding exploitive or unwanted relationships. This kind of advice
is probably more important for people under 18. </P>

<P><B><I>If a minimum age of 16 were adopted we strongly recommend that
prosecution policy strictly limit its use to cases where consent was absent
or where the younger partner was less than 14 years old. Even in the latter
cases which were found to be consensual, penalties should be limited to
fines and community service orders. The only civilized answer to the question
put to the Policy Advisory Committee would be to remove consensual sexual
acts altogether from the realm of the criminal law [emphasis added]. </I></B>Only
then can hundreds of thousands of young gay people freely seek and receive
the best help and advice, make relationships of their choosing without
constant fear of sanction, and use their energies and skills fully to make
the world a better, kinder place. Only then, too, can the heterosexual
majority obtain the help and education it needs to live in harmony with
gay women and men at home, at school and at work. </P>

<UL>
<P>-- from <B><I>The Age Taboo</I></B>, Daniel Tsang, editor. Published
by Alyson Publications, Boston, and Gay Men's Press, London, 1981. </P>
</UL>

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<P><A HREF="boys.htm"><IMG SRC="m0p7nau7.gif" BORDER=0 HEIGHT=58 WIDTH=58></A>Copyright
&copy; NAMBLA, 1998. All rights reserved. </P>

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	<META NAME="DESCRIPTION" CONTENT="NAMBLA's goal is to end the oppression of men and boys who have mutually consensual relationships. NAMBLA's membership is open to everyone sympathetic to man/boy love in particular and sexual freedom in general.">
	<META NAME="KEYWORDS" CONTENT="NAMBLA, NORTH AMERICAN MAN/BOY LOVE ASSOCIATION, MAN/BOY LOVE, BOYS, BOYS SPEAK OUT ON MAN/BOY LOVE, WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT NAMBLA AND MAN/BOY LOVE, PEDOPHILIA, POEMS OF LOVE AND LIBERATION, NAMBLA BULLETIN, NAMBLA TOPICS, NAMBLA NEWS, AGEISM, YOUTH, GAY YOUTH, INTERNATIONAL LESBIAN AND GAY ASSOCIATION, INTERNATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN YOUTH ORGANIZATION, PRISON, PRISONER, PRISONERS">
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	<H2 ALIGN=CENTER><FONT COLOR="#0000FF">I Know What I Am: Gay Teenagers
	and the Law</FONT></H2>

	<H2 ALIGN=CENTER><FONT COLOR="#0000FF"><FONT SIZE=+1><I>by</I> the Joint
	Council for Gay Teenagers, United Kingdom</FONT></FONT></H2>

	<CENTER><P><IMG SRC="colorbar.gif" HEIGHT=3 WIDTH=600></P></CENTER>

	<P><B>The Joint Council for Gay Teenagers (JCGT)</B>, set up in late 1978,
	comprises many of the principal organizations in the United Kingdom that
	provide support to young gay people.  Our constituent organizations
	have a great deal of firsthand experience and knowledge of gay teenagers'
	needs. We are aware not only of the difficulties they often face but also
	that a new generation of gay people is growing up unwilling to suffer as
	previous generations have been expected to. Indeed the separation between
	"them" and "us" is false, as many gay men under the
	present minimum age and many young lesbians help run the support services
	for gay people. . . .<B> The JCGT has collected statements from 98 gay
	teenagers in England, Wales, and Scotland. </B>  Extracts from
	these have been used as illustrations throughout this response. . . . </P>

	<P><B><FONT COLOR="#0000FF">Jeff, 19, Speke: </FONT>After I met Mike I
	started to spend a lot of time with him, staying at his house overnight
	sometimes. . . . When I was 15 I went to court and they made a care order
	[commitment to an institution]. They did it partly because of Mike. I hated
	it in care and I used to run away to stay with Mike. I was 16 at the time
	and I had to go to court. It was a bad time. We had a good lawyer and Mike
	got off with probation. . . . I think all we have been through has brought
	us together more. </B></P>

	<P><B><FONT COLOR="#0000FF">Glyn, 19, Manchester: </FONT>My man was caught
	cottaging [cruising] and arrested. The next day four policemen came to
	school to collect me and take me to the police station. There I was given
	a rigorous medical and interrogated intensely. My life was wrecked. . .
	. I didn't go to school for three months. I was recovering from a nervous
	breakdown. . . . The case spanned nearly a year and eventually he was sentenced
	to eighteen months in prison.</B> </P>

	<P><B><FONT COLOR="#0000FF">Trevor, 17, Northampton:</FONT></B> <B>When
	I rang (the number of a local gay group) he said that I was too young for
	him to help me. . . . If I don't meet someone soon, I swear, I'll do something
	I'll regret. I wish people could understand how lonely it can be.</B> </P>

	<P>It would be wholly unsatisfactory if the law, even with a minimum age
	of 16, still made it risky for support and counseling services, gay and
	non-gay, to offer help and advice to self-defined gay people younger than
	16. <B><I>The only humane and logical step would be to abolish the concept
	of a minimum age altogether for homosexuals of both sexes and to rely instead
	on the laws dealing with common assault where there is evidence that a
	sexual act was not consensual [emphasis added].</I></B> The Joint Council
	is not alone in this view which has already been put forward in general
	terms by the Sexual Law Reform Society and the National Council for Civil
	Liberties. But both of these organizations, while accepting the logic of
	this view, drew back from incorporating it in their specific proposals.
	More recently a Joint Working Party on Pregnant Schoolgirls and Schoolgirl
	Mothers has recommended the repeal of the law relating to the heterosexual
	age of consent. </P>

	<P>The same Working Party makes other recommendations about prosecution
	policy which we endorse. Some of the arguments it puts forward concerning
	the negative effect which the age of consent has on the welfare of consenting
	young heterosexual people have parallels in the case of young gay people;
	for example, a legal minimum age deters them from seeking advice on relationships
	or on avoiding exploitive or unwanted relationships. This kind of advice
	is probably more important for people under 18. </P>

	<P><B><I>If a minimum age of 16 were adopted we strongly recommend that
	prosecution policy strictly limit its use to cases where consent was absent
	or where the younger partner was less than 14 years old. Even in the latter
	cases which were found to be consensual, penalties should be limited to
	fines and community service orders. The only civilized answer to the question
	put to the Policy Advisory Committee would be to remove consensual sexual
	acts altogether from the realm of the criminal law [emphasis added]. </I></B>Only
	then can hundreds of thousands of young gay people freely seek and receive
	the best help and advice, make relationships of their choosing without
	constant fear of sanction, and use their energies and skills fully to make
	the world a better, kinder place. Only then, too, can the heterosexual
	majority obtain the help and education it needs to live in harmony with
	gay women and men at home, at school and at work. </P>

	<UL>
	<P>-- from <B><I>The Age Taboo</I></B>, Daniel Tsang, editor. Published
	by Alyson Publications, Boston, and Gay Men's Press, London, 1981. </P>
	</UL>

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	<P><A HREF="boys.htm"><IMG SRC="m0p7nau7.gif" BORDER=0 HEIGHT=58 WIDTH=58></A>Copyright
	© NAMBLA, 1998. All rights reserved. </P>

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