Having S*x With Someone You Don’t Live With Is Illegal From Today In UK As Govt Issues New Lockdown Rules

A study has revealed that six in 10 adults in UK haven;t had sex in these months of lockdown and social distancing in view of coronavirus.

It is now illegal for couples in England who live in different homes to have sex indoors and stay overnight, according to new coronavirus laws. Previously, the Health Protection Regulations prohibited people from leaving home without a “reasonable excuse.” However, the provision has now been replaced by strict rules on where people can sleep and gather together, the Uk Independent reports.

“There is a gathering when two or more people are present together in the same place in order to engage in any form of social interaction with each other, or to undertake any other activity with each other,” the law, which will be laid in parliament on Monday, states.

Once enforced, “no person may participate in a gathering which takes place in a public or private place outdoors, and consists of more than six persons, or indoors, and consists of two or more persons.”

Another provision now makes it illegal to stay outside your home overnight “without reasonable excuse.” These excuses can include moving households, attending funerals, work, providing care, and escaping harm. Currently, there is no exception for couples who do not live together, which means they can spend time together only outdoors.

However, pre-existing laws on outraging public decency and indecent exposure will punish people who have sex outside. Authorities can arrest or fine those breaking the law with the default penalty standing at £100 ($125). However, they do not have the authority to check for violations inside properties.

Speaking to The Independent, Adam Wagner, a human rights barrister at Doughty Street Chambers, said the issue shed light on how the UK’s COVID-19 lockdown had “effectively restricted ordinary contact by people in relationships who do not live together.”

“This is a significant restriction on our rights to privacy and family life, even though it may be justified by the severity of the public health risk,” he said. “Now, as the lockdown is lifting, the regulations have become stricter about what we can do with other people in our own household. And the definition of ‘gathering’ is so wide it could encompass any kind of human activity, including sex.”

“This may be an unintended consequence of the change, but it will affect many thousands of people and the government should urgently consider whether an exception should be made for people in relationships,” Wagner added.

Several government ministers and officials explicitly banned couples who did not live together from meeting when the lockdown had just begun. Jenny Harries, the deputy chief medical officer for England, suggested at a press briefing on March 24 that such couples should move in together if they wanted to continue seeing and engaging in contact with each other. “The issue here is that we do not want to have people switching in and out of households,” she said. “It would defeat the purpose of the reduction in social interactions and would allow transmission of disease.”

Meanwhile, Matt Hancock, the health secretary, advised at the time that people should “make the choice and stick with it.”