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lgbtlincs.net - the website of Lincolnshire Kaleidoscope |
Cruising and the Law Even
if you have never been interested in cottaging and cruising –
and since before the 18th Century many gay & trans men have –
there's big changes to the law. Kaleidoscope is helping
Lincolnshire Police write new guidance locally. Save you or your
mates a lot of hassle and misunderstanding - we cannot give
legal advice, but can help you understand exactly what's
happening. Since 2003, discreet Cruising - looking for sexual
partners or just a chat - in laybys, parks, open areas, sand
dunes is no longer a criminal offence. Cottaging – looking in
public toilets most definitely is.Are the Police fair? Lincolnshire Police said at the September Forum that a Police officer who sees you arrive cruising has no reason to stop you. If you suffer harassment and haven't actually been caught having sex in an open space, tell us , as recently we have had complaints about the way some gay men have been targeted in laybys. Officers must never be in plain-clothes if they stop you they must not ask, or allege that you are gay. Don't let this happen. Any actual sex act has to be SEEN by someone who is offended by it – not imagined by some Parish Councillor who doesn't like gay people anyway. We can pass any complaints on to the Police Independent Advisory Groups and we know they are acted upon. Trans people There are more and more cruisers who go `dressed` and this is not against the law either. Nor is having a driver's licence in a male name and being in a car as a female, or vice versa. Cottaging BUT, listen to this! ANY form of sexual activity in and around public toilets is now specifically against the law – whether you are gay, bi, str8 or trans. Reasons are pretty obvious. These are pretty dangerous areas for single men anyway, and should now be avoided at all costs. You are very likely to upset or be a nuisance to Joe public who just wants a pee in privacy. How would you like someone wandering unannounced into your bathroom? These are often near houses and shops, with CCTV, cleaners and worse, thugs on the lookout for an easy target. Give all public toilets a miss. Cruising In well-known open spaces, away from families and dog-walkers, this is less offensive, if low-key.. But you can still be targeted by thugs. We and the Police know many married men and older people have no other way of accessing friends and sexual fun – even if you have. Nude sunbathing is also not illegal as such, provided it's not sexual. However, local councils get hot under the collar. Victim of a Hate Crime or see someone else in trouble? Tell us, in confidence. Take registration numbers, descriptions. Robbery, criminal damage to cars, name – calling, blackmail , being filmed and put on YouTube, and assault – it's al happened in Lincolnshire, so be safe. If it doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t. Get out - don't act like a victim – or you'll become one. If it's a ongoing incident with a thug at the scene - call 999, say “it is a homophobic attack.” Witnesses invariably have anonymity - whatever you were doing, won't interest the police, what you might have seen could help bring a thug to justice and save an LGBT person from serious injury. But what if I don't go cruising? Why do some people do it? |