The Consenting Adult Action Network (CAAN) is a grassroots network of individuals in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

that was formed in 2008 to protest and oppose laws restricting activities between consenting adults, most notably the criminalisation of possession of "extreme pornography" under

Section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 Section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 is a law in the United Kingdom criminalising possession of what it refers to as "extreme pornographic images". The law came into force on 26 January 2009. The legislation was brought in ...

History

On 14 June and 22 August, they attempted to seek advice on what material might be caught by the law. They took a dossier of images to three major police forces, although none of them could yet say which pictures would be deemed illegal. On 21 October 2008, they organised a protest with Ben Westwood against the law on "extreme pornography". They were awarded "Specialists Website of the Year" by the London Gay Sex and Fetish Awards 2008. On 25 January 2009, the day before the law on "extreme pornography" came into effect, CAAN protested in London. They were supported by

Backlash Backlash may refer to: Literature * '' Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women'', a 1991 book by Susan Faludi * ''Backlash'' (Star Wars novel), a 2010 novel by Aaron Allston * Backlash (Marc Slayton), comic book character * ''Backla ...

and

The Spanner Trust The Spanner Trust is a United Kingdom organisation set up to campaign for the right for adults to take part in informed consent, consensual BDSM activities without fear of prosecution. It was set up after the Operation Spanner court case. As part ...

. The protest was attended by

Peter Tatchell Peter Gary Tatchell (born 25 January 1952) is a British human rights campaigner, originally from Australia, best known for his work with LGBT social movements. Tatchell was selected as the Labour Party's parliamentary candidate for Bermondsey ...

and Ben Westwood. March 2010, CAAN announce they are publishing a book "Beyond the Circle: Sexuality & discrimination in heteronormative Britain" written by John Ozimek.

Issues

CAAN is concerned about several issues regarding consenting adults: * The law on "

extreme pornography Section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 is a law in the United Kingdom criminalising possession of what it refers to as "extreme pornographic images". The law came into force on 26 January 2009. The legislation was brought in ...

", since it criminalises possession of images involving consenting adults, including staged acts, and screenshots from legal films. * Clauses in the

Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 The Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 (c 47) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was created following the UK Government accepting recommendation 19 of the inquiry headed by Sir Michael Bichard, which was set up in the w ...

that ban people from working in jobs involving children or "vulnerable adults" if they possess "sexually explicit images depicting violence against human beings". The government state that 11.3 million will have to register with the scheme, although the number has been estimated by others at over 14 million. * As of the

Sexual Offences Act 2003 The Sexual Offences Act 2003 (c. 42) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It partly replaced the Sexual Offences Act 1956 with more specific and explicit wording. It also created several new offences such as non-consensual voyeuris ...

, sexual images of 16- and 17-year-olds are treated as

child pornography Child pornography (also called CP, child sexual abuse material, CSAM, child porn, or kiddie porn) is pornography that unlawfully exploits children for sexual stimulation. It may be produced with the direct involvement or sexual assault of a chi ...

, even though the

age of consent The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. Consequently, an adult who engages in sexual activity with a person younger than the age of consent is unable to legally claim ...

remains at 16 (CAAN states it has no interest in tinkering with the age of consent, however they believe this change in the law to be "misguided and disproportionate"). * Government plans to criminalise

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

. * Plans to recategorise lapdancing clubs as "sex encounter" establishments.

References

External links

Main websiteBlog and photos
{{Use dmy dates, date=February 2019 Civil liberties advocacy groups Freedom of expression organizations Lobbying organisations in the United Kingdom Political advocacy groups in the United Kingdom BDSM activists BDSM organizations Sex positivism Sexuality in the United Kingdom Censorship in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 2008 2008 establishments in the United Kingdom

History

Issues

See also

References

External links