Wolfenden

This print takes two pages of the recommendations of the Report of the Departmental Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution (1957), better known as the Wolfenden Report, and partly translates the document into Polari, a form of secret slang used among the gay community in the early 20th century. It would have been at the height of its usage when the Wolfenden Report was produced. The recommendations of the Report eventually led to the passing of the Sexual Offences Act in 1967, which partially decriminalised homosexual activity. The act of translating the Report into polari reflects the great lengths that individuals were forced to go to in order to live their lives without persecution or retaliation in the years before the passing of the Act. The print was commissioned by the House of Commons (UK) as part of the Festival of Freedoms, celebrating 750 years of Parliament in the UK, and highlighting specific pieces of legislation which had significant impact.