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Gay news: Anal sex is illegal between men and women on the British overseas territory
Gibraltar: gay male age of consent is 18
Gibraltar: 'Homosexual buggery is (not) OK'
The government of Gibraltar has reacted to a Foreign Office threat to impose legislation to equalise the ages of consent by stating that it "will not, as a matter of policy choice, signal to 16-year-olds in our society that homosexual buggery is OK".
The British overseas territory currently sets the age of consent at 16 for heterosexuals and lesbians and at 18 for gay males, but anal sex is illegal between men and women irrespective of age and only legal for men aged 18 and over.
The Foreign Office appeared before Gibraltar's supreme court earlier this week to point out that compliance with the European convention on human rights requires equalisation of the ages of consent.
A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: "The UK has a modern and mature relationship with its overseas territories which involves allowing them to manage their own affairs to the greatest possible degree.
"We have always stated that we would prefer overseas territories governments to amend the legislation themselves, rather than us amend by Order in Council."
But yesterday the Gibraltar Chronicle referred to foreign secretary David Miliband's submission to a 2008 Commons foreign affairs committee in which he said: "However, where it is clear that a territory government is not prepared to take the necessary action, we are ready, where possible, to take steps to remedy the defect."
A government spokesman claimed on Monday that gay men are not discriminated against because anal sex is illegal for everyone except men aged 18 and over and therefore "such discrimination as there is in respect of buggery is against heterosexuals".
He said: "It is one thing to allow men over the age of 18 to engage in anal sex, it is quite another to legalise buggery amongst heterosexuals and then lower the age of consent for buggery across the board to 16.
"Indeed, widening the range of sexual practices which can be committed with young people puts even more pressure on them to be sexually active and there is no doubt that anal sex carries greater health risks than heterosexual intercourse."
But today a spokesman said: "The Gibraltar government will not as a matter of policy choice signal to 16-year-olds in our society that homosexual buggery is OK.
"However, if the supreme court decides that the European convention on human rights requires the ages of sexual consent to be equalised then that judicially adjudicated compulsion will oblige the government to do so, by one of various ways of achieving it."
