Mr McEwan said he was fortunate to become involved with the gay liberation movement at university in the 1970s.
"I was at a Catholic all boys school, and suddenly I was just utterly humiliated in front of absolutely everyone and I had not a person I could talk to and I had no emotional resources to be able to withstand it." "My name was printed on the front page of The Truth newspaper," he said. He pleaded guilty and was convicted of a homosexual offence and released on a two-year good behaviour bond. "I had no recourse for legal advice, but mostly I felt utter shame and humiliation, both with the process of the two court cases and psychiatric reports and so on, but also with my family."
"I had no idea what was happening to me, I was utterly alone, I was totally at the mercy of police processes. "At the most we were touching each other but there was no nudity. I was just utterly humiliated in front of absolutely everyone and I had not a person I could talk to and I had no emotional resources to be able to withstand it. Peter McEwan was convicted of homosexual offences in 1967 as a 17-year-old, after police found him in the bushes with a 22-year-old man at a beach known to have been frequented by gay men.
The Justice Department would also examine whether the act was consensual and once approved, the courts would be notified to expunge the conviction. The Government said applications would be assessed together with "any relevant official records to determine whether the applicant was convicted of an historical homosexual offence and that the act would not constitute an offence today". "No person should be subjected to unjust discrimination on account of their sexuality." "These historical convictions have caused ongoing harm and hurt to those who are prosecuted. "It is now accepted that consensual sexual acts between two adult men should never have been a crime," Dr Napthine said. Victorian Premier Denis Napthine said the legislation would right a wrong. Under the new legislation, they would now be able to apply to the Department of Justice to have their convictions expunged. Homosexuality was decriminalised in Victoria in 1980, though the law did not come into effect until 1981.īut some men who were convicted have still had to deal with the consequences, including restrictions on travel and applying for some jobs. This also increased (from 4.8% to 5.8%) while the numbers of HIV-positive men who were not undetectable and had sex without a condom fell by the same amount (from 1.6% to 0.6%).Victorian men who have criminal records due to historical gay sex charges will have their convictions erased by legislation introduced to State Parliament this week. The numbers of HIV-negative men who weren’t taking PrEP and had sex without a condom fell, from 30% to 25%.Īnother form of safer sex is when an HIV-positive man is taking HIV treatment and has an undetectable viral load (not enough HIV to pass it on). But this was compensated for by HIV-negative men taking PrEP (less than 1% in 2014, rising to 31% in 2019). One of the biggest changes was a decline in the number of men who said they always used a condom for anal sex with casual partners (45% in 2014, falling to 23% in 2019). He looked at what men said about casual sex in the previous six months. However, some people do continue to use the term as a synonym for condom use.
Modern definitions should also include the use of PrEP and the HIV-positive partner having an undetectable viral load. In the past, ‘safer sex’ primarily referred to the use of condoms during penetrative sex, as well as being sexual in non-penetrative ways. Describing this as ‘safer’ rather than ‘safe’ sex reflects the fact that some safer sex practices do not completely eliminate transmission risks. Sex in which the risk of HIV and STI transmission is reduced or is minimal.