Section 377

Section 377 of the British colonial penal code punished all sexual acts "against the order of nature". This law was used to punish people who performed oral and anal sex. This law also punished homosexual. The penal code remains in many former colonies and has been used to criminalize third gender people, such as the apwint in Myanmar.^[1] In 2018, British politician Theresa May acknowledged how the legacies of British colonial anti-sodomy laws continue to persist today in the form of discrimination, violence, and death.^[2]

Colonial history

Although Section 377 did not explicitly include the word homosexual, it has been used to prosecute homosexual activity. The provision was introduced by authorities in the Raj in 1862 as Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code and functioned as the legal impetus behind the criminalization of what was referred to as, "unnatural offenses" throughout the various colonies, in several cases with the same section number.^[3][4][1] It's an Anti-sodomy section of Offences against the Person Act 1861 imposed on entire British Empire, that says "Whosoever shall be convicted of the abominable Crime of Buggery, committed either with Mankind or with any Animal, shall be liable, at the Discretion of the Court, to be kept in Penal Servitude for Life or for any Term not less than Ten Years." This section is credited with giving birth to the controversial Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code.^[5]

Remains

Although most colonies have since gained independence through statehood since Section 377 was implemented, it remains in the penal codes of the following countries:

• Bangladesh^[6]
• Jamaica ^[source?]
• Malaysia ^[source?]
• Myanmar^[6]
• Pakistan^[6]
• Singapore: amended in 2007 as Section 377A. Now any sexual act between men is illegal, and any sexual act between a man and a woman or between women is legal. See Section 377A of the Penal Code of Singapore.^[7][8]
• Sri Lanka (as Section 365)^[6]

References

1. Chua, Lynette J.; Gilbert, David (2016). "State violence, human-rights violations and the case of apwint of Myanmar". Gender, Violence and the State in Asia. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781317325949.
2. Rao, Rahul (2020). Out of Time: The Queer Politics of Postcoloniality. Oxford University Press. pp. 7–9. ISBN 9780190865535.
3. Stoddard, Eve; Collins, John (2016). Social and Cultural Foundations in Global Studies. Taylor & Francis. p. 135. ISBN 9781317509776.
4. McCann, Hannah; Monaghan, Whitney (2020). Queer Theory Now. Red Globe Press. p. 163. ISBN 9781352007510.
5. "An Act to consolidate and amend the Statute Law of England and Ireland relating to Ofenses against the Person. Dated 6 August 1861" (PDF).
6. Elliott, Josh (6 September 2018). "India legalized homosexuality, but many of its neighbours haven't". Global News. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
7. "Singapore reforms sex laws - but not for homosexuals". The Guardian. 24 October 2007. Archived from the original on 5 July 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
8. "Section 377A in Singapore and the (De)Criminalization of Homosexuality" (PDF). National University of Singapore. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 September 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2019. Section 377A only criminalizes sex between males, but not between females.