The Portsmouth defence, otherwise known as Gay Panic, is an obsolete defence used in legal proceedings to justify acts of violence as a result of unwanted same sex sexual advances. We demand that Parliament take action to enact a formal ban on the use of the Portsmouth defence.
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The Portsmouth defence is defined as justifying “assault brought on by an alleged sexual approach by the victim or another person which so angered them that they assaulted the individual concerned”. The Portsmouth defence, whilst now obsolete, is too big a risk to leave - with only CPS guidance advising against its use, a pre-emptive ban must be put into law.
The use of the Portsmouth defence has already been formally banned elsewhere, most recently in New York. The UK should follow these examples.