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New guidelines on gay public sex
Some public toilets used for cottaging
New proposal tells police to ignore ââ¬Ëcottagingââ¬â¢ and ââ¬Ëdoggingââ¬â¢
"Cunningham hopes that the rules it sets out will improve the relationship between the police and the gay community, and as a result reduce LGBT suicide rates due to police contact"
Proposals which focus on 'policing public sex environments' urge officers to ignore some forms of public indecency.
The report advised police to ignore couples caught having exhibitionist sex in an outdoor space, known as ‘dogging’, unless the act is reported by a member of the public.
Officers have also been told to avoid ‘knee jerk’ reactions when encountering acts of ‘cottaging’, which involves two men meeting to have sex in a public lavatory.
According to the proposal prosecution in these situations should be avoided where possible, to reduce the ‘extreme impact’ that a trial may cause for those involved.
Michael Cunningham, spokesman on LGBT issues for the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) said:
“The impact can be extreme and can include humiliation, breakdown of relationships and the ‘outing’ of men living in an opposite sex relationship being perceived as ‘gay’.”
The current Sexual Offences Act of 2003 states that those who take part in ' dogging' or ‘cottaging’ face conviction on charges of public indecency and exposure.
Hugh McKinney of the National Family Campaign said:
“There is a good reason that we have laws against these types of sexual behaviour in public, namely that they are deemed to be beyond what is acceptable to most reasonable people. Is it too much for us to expect the police to enforce the law?”
The proposal is only presently in draft form, but Cunningham hopes that the rules it sets out will improve the relationship between the police and the gay community, and as a result reduce LGBT suicide rates due to police contact.
