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[ | [[wikipedia:Francis_Bennion|'''Francis Alan Roscoe Bennion''']] (2 January 1923 – 28 January 2015) was a barrister in the United Kingdom, and lecturer in law at the University of Oxford from 1984 until his retirement in 2002. Francis Bennion was the author of several leading UK legal texts, sometimes working as Parliamentary Counsel and drafting various Acts of Parliament, such as the [[wikipedia:Sex_Discrimination_Act_1975|Sex Discrimination Act 1975]]. In 1956, Bennion drafted the constitution by which Pakistan became a republic, and in 1960, he drafted the constitution by which Ghana became a republic. His first book, explaining the Ghana constitution, followed in 1962.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160215101920/http://francisbennion.com/book/ghana.htm ''BENNION'S CONSTITUTIONAL LAW OF GHANA''] (London: Butterworths, 1962).</ref> | ||
Bennion was, at one time, a member of the executive committee of the [ | In relation to [[MAP]]s, [[AAM]]s, and debates around [[pedophilia]] and children's sexuality, Bennion participated in debates around [[pornography]], sexual morality, and gay liberation throughout his life, and would eventually dedicate much effort to criticizing then-burgeoning UK sex offence law. A sex positive, secular and humanist thinker, his writings such as ''The Sex Code: Morals for Moderns'' (1991), and ''Sexual Ethics and Criminal Law: A Critique of the Sexual Offences Bill 2003'' (March, 2003) - and many more cited here - criticized what Bennion perceived as the UK's increasingly sex-negative culture and harmful sex laws. | ||
Bennion was, at one time, a member of the executive committee of the [[wikipedia:Campaign_Against_Censorship|Defence of Literature and the Arts Society]] (UK).<ref>Francis Bennion, [https://web.archive.org/web/20160215102657/http://francisbennion.com/pdfs/fb/1977/1977-003-libertine-trial.pdf ''The Libertine Trial''] (1977).</ref> He wrote for the organization's journal ''Uncensored'',<ref>Bennion, [https://web.archive.org/web/20160215102709/http://francisbennion.com/pdfs/fb/1977/1977-008-scotching-the-sex-haters.pdf Scotching the Sex Haters] (''The Free Thinker'' – Vol. 97, No. 4 April 1977). [Originally published in ''Uncensored''.]</ref> and drafted the evidence the group submitted to the [[wikipedia:Committee_on_Obscenity_and_Film_Censorship|Williams Committee on Obscenity and Film Censorship]].<ref>Bennion, [https://web.archive.org/web/20160215102856/http://francisbennion.com/pdfs/fb/1980/1980-029-sex-and-law.pdf SEX AND LAW,] (''The Advocate'', Easter 1980).</ref> Bennion consistently defended pornography against censorship and criminalization,<ref>Bennion, Review of [https://web.archive.org/web/20160215102737/http://francisbennion.com/pdfs/fb/1978/1978-010-dont-mind-sex-review.pdf I DON'T MIND THE SEX IT'S THE VIOLENCE by Enid Wistrich], in ''The Freethinker'' - Vol No. 1978. Quote: | |||
''The folly of censorship is that it supposes one human mind competent to decree what shall be | ''The folly of censorship is that it supposes one human mind competent to decree what shall be | ||
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censor supposes that censors can be corrupted by what they see. Censors are supermen, above | censor supposes that censors can be corrupted by what they see. Censors are supermen, above | ||
corruption. They thus confess themselves heirs of Nietsche, Bowdler and Adolf Hitler. However | corruption. They thus confess themselves heirs of Nietsche, Bowdler and Adolf Hitler. However | ||
well meaning, they fail to see that the adult mind needs to grapple with unfiltered reality.''</ref><ref>Bennion, [https://web.archive.org/web/20160215102822/http://francisbennion.com/pdfs/fb/1979/1979-010-sex-violence-media-review.pdf Review of SEX, VIOLENCE AND THE MEDIA by H. J. Eysenck and D. K. B. Nias], in ''The Freethinker'' - Vol. 99 (1979).</ref> | well meaning, they fail to see that the adult mind needs to grapple with unfiltered reality.''</ref><ref>Bennion, [https://web.archive.org/web/20160215102822/http://francisbennion.com/pdfs/fb/1979/1979-010-sex-violence-media-review.pdf Review of SEX, VIOLENCE AND THE MEDIA by H. J. Eysenck and D. K. B. Nias], in ''The Freethinker'' - Vol. 99 (1979).</ref><ref>Bennion, [https://web.archive.org/web/20160215102038/http://francisbennion.com/pdfs/fb/1983/1983-007-pornography-on-behaviour.pdf Review of ''The Influence of Pornography on Behaviour''], Edited by Maurice Yaffe and Edward C. Nelson, in ''The Freethinker'' - Vol. 103, No. 1983.</ref> and argued for "Free speech till it hurts" (1979),<ref>Bennion, [https://web.archive.org/web/20160215102824/http://francisbennion.com/pdfs/fb/1979/1979-012-free-speech-till-it-hurts.pdf Free Speech Till it Hurts], ''Uncensored'' (Journal of the Defence of Literature and the Arts Society), Winter 1979/80, p. 4.</ref> criticizing the homophobic anti-sex campaigner [[wikipedia:Mary_Whitehouse|Mary Whitehouse]]<ref>Bennion, [https://web.archive.org/web/20160215102716/http://francisbennion.com/pdfs/fb/1977/1977-012-t014-mary-whitehouse-prosecutes.pdf Mary Whitehouse prosecutes for blasphemy] (''The Times'', 17 June 1977).</ref><ref>Bennion, [https://web.archive.org/web/20160215102733/http://francisbennion.com/pdfs/fb/1978/1978-007-restrictive-attitudes.pdf ATTACK ON RESTRICTIVE ATTITUDES TO SEX], ''The Freethinker'' - Vol 98 No. 1978.</ref> and her book ''Whatever happened to sex?'' (1977).<ref>Bennion, [https://web.archive.org/web/20160215102709/http://francisbennion.com/pdfs/fb/1977/1977-009-whatever-happened-to-sex.pdf Review of WHATEVER HAPPENED TO SEX by Mary Whitehouse], in ''The Freethinker'' - Vol 97 No. 6 June 1977.</ref> | ||
Bennion | Bennion argued for the reform (effectively abolition) of the House of Lords,<ref>Bennion, [https://web.archive.org/web/20160215102747/http://francisbennion.com/pdfs/fb/1978/1978-018-t021-advantages-of-abolishing-lords.pdf Advantages of abolishing the House of Lords] (''The Times'', 4 September 1978).</ref><ref>Bennion, [https://web.archive.org/web/20160215102750/http://francisbennion.com/pdfs/fb/1978/1978-024-t022-abolishing-lords.pdf Further thoughts on abolishing the House of Lords], (''The Times'', 12 September 1978).</ref><ref>Bennion, [https://web.archive.org/web/20160215102854/http://francisbennion.com/pdfs/fb/1980/1980-027-t028-further-on-attempt.pdf How the House of Lords could reform itself] (''The Times'', 5 August 1980).</ref> against the privatization of public water utilities,<ref>Bennion, [https://web.archive.org/web/20160215103025/http://francisbennion.com/pdfs/fb/1986/1986-009-t044-water-privatisation.pdf Why water shouldn’t be privatised] (''The Times'', 6 May 1986).</ref> and for government to be reasonable<ref>Bennion, [https://web.archive.org/web/20160215103027/http://francisbennion.com/pdfs/fb/1986/1986-011-t046-walking-to-school.pdf Walking to school] (''The Times'', 22 October 1986).</ref> and economically supportive towards the poor whose jobs were being made obsolete through technological advancement.<ref>Bennion, [https://web.archive.org/web/20160215102955/http://francisbennion.com/pdfs/fb/1983/1983-015-t035-never-paid-jobs-for-all.pdf There will never again be paid jobs for all] (''The Times'', 28 July 1983).</ref><ref>Bennion, [https://web.archive.org/web/20160215102956/http://francisbennion.com/pdfs/fb/1983/1983-016-t036-more-on-unemployment.pdf More thoughts on unemployment] (''The Times'', 21 September 1983).</ref> | ||
Before Bennion began focusing on sex offence law, he first wrote about age-gap sex in a review of [[Parker Rossman]]'s 1976 book ''Sexual Experience Between Men and Boys''.<ref>Bennion, [https://web.archive.org/web/20160313141206/http://francisbennion.com/pdfs/fb/1979/1979-007-men-and-boys.pdf Review of Sexual Experience Between Men and Boys], in ''The Freethinker'' - Vol 99, No. 1979.</ref> Later, he would author ''The Sex Code'' (1991),<ref>Bennion, [https://web.archive.org/web/20160215101926/http://francisbennion.com/book/sexcode.htm ''The Sex Code''] (1991) book.</ref> and ''Moral Sex'' (2004),<ref>Bennion, [https://web.archive.org/web/20160215102033/http://francisbennion.com/book/moralsex.htm ''Moral Sex''] (2004) book.</ref> offering a Code of 60 precepts covering most aspects of human sexual behavior. In 2009, Bennion wrote briefly on the legal trial of [[Thomas_O'Carroll|Tom O'Carroll]], the former Chairperson of [[PIE]], arguing that "a photograph of naked children playing normally on a beach is not indecent. The courts should rule accordingly."<ref>Bennion’s note cites it as ''R. v O'Carroll [2003] EWCA Crim 2338/''. This correctly refers to the decision in the EWCA – England and Wales Court of Appeal, but this was not the end of the matter, as O'Carroll appealed multiple times and was eventually successful in having his sentence quashed. For Bennion's short comment, see Bennion, [https://web.archive.org/web/20120423104338/http://francisbennion.com/pdfs/fb/2009/2009-046-child-nudity.pdf Letter in Criminal Law and Justice Weekly: Simple child nudity is not ‘indecency’], 173 ''CL & J'' (19 & 26 Dec 2009), p. 807.</ref> O'Carroll did not believe these photographs to be 'indecent', and after making an unsuccessful appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR),<ref>This case was ''O'Carroll v United Kingdom (2005)'', which was written about in this law journal article: Gillespie, A. A. and Bettinson, V. (2006). [http://hdl.handle.net/2086/6524 European Court of Human Rights: ‘Indecent’ images: European Convention on Human Rights, Article 7. O'Carroll v United Kingdom (2005) 41 EHRR SE1]. ''Journal of Criminal Law'', 70 (2) pp. 127-130.</ref> his 9-month prison sentence was eventually quashed entirely by a separate, British appeal court. | |||
==References== | ==References== | ||
Latest revision as of 22:28, 12 October 2025
Francis Alan Roscoe Bennion (2 January 1923 – 28 January 2015) was a barrister in the United Kingdom, and lecturer in law at the University of Oxford from 1984 until his retirement in 2002. Francis Bennion was the author of several leading UK legal texts, sometimes working as Parliamentary Counsel and drafting various Acts of Parliament, such as the Sex Discrimination Act 1975. In 1956, Bennion drafted the constitution by which Pakistan became a republic, and in 1960, he drafted the constitution by which Ghana became a republic. His first book, explaining the Ghana constitution, followed in 1962.[1]
In relation to MAPs, AAMs, and debates around pedophilia and children's sexuality, Bennion participated in debates around pornography, sexual morality, and gay liberation throughout his life, and would eventually dedicate much effort to criticizing then-burgeoning UK sex offence law. A sex positive, secular and humanist thinker, his writings such as The Sex Code: Morals for Moderns (1991), and Sexual Ethics and Criminal Law: A Critique of the Sexual Offences Bill 2003 (March, 2003) - and many more cited here - criticized what Bennion perceived as the UK's increasingly sex-negative culture and harmful sex laws.
Bennion was, at one time, a member of the executive committee of the Defence of Literature and the Arts Society (UK).[2] He wrote for the organization's journal Uncensored,[3] and drafted the evidence the group submitted to the Williams Committee on Obscenity and Film Censorship.[4] Bennion consistently defended pornography against censorship and criminalization,[5][6][7] and argued for "Free speech till it hurts" (1979),[8] criticizing the homophobic anti-sex campaigner Mary Whitehouse[9][10] and her book Whatever happened to sex? (1977).[11]
Bennion argued for the reform (effectively abolition) of the House of Lords,[12][13][14] against the privatization of public water utilities,[15] and for government to be reasonable[16] and economically supportive towards the poor whose jobs were being made obsolete through technological advancement.[17][18]
Before Bennion began focusing on sex offence law, he first wrote about age-gap sex in a review of Parker Rossman's 1976 book Sexual Experience Between Men and Boys.[19] Later, he would author The Sex Code (1991),[20] and Moral Sex (2004),[21] offering a Code of 60 precepts covering most aspects of human sexual behavior. In 2009, Bennion wrote briefly on the legal trial of Tom O'Carroll, the former Chairperson of PIE, arguing that "a photograph of naked children playing normally on a beach is not indecent. The courts should rule accordingly."[22] O'Carroll did not believe these photographs to be 'indecent', and after making an unsuccessful appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR),[23] his 9-month prison sentence was eventually quashed entirely by a separate, British appeal court.
References
- ↑ BENNION'S CONSTITUTIONAL LAW OF GHANA (London: Butterworths, 1962).
- ↑ Francis Bennion, The Libertine Trial (1977).
- ↑ Bennion, Scotching the Sex Haters (The Free Thinker – Vol. 97, No. 4 April 1977). [Originally published in Uncensored.]
- ↑ Bennion, SEX AND LAW, (The Advocate, Easter 1980).
- ↑ Bennion, Review of I DON'T MIND THE SEX IT'S THE VIOLENCE by Enid Wistrich, in The Freethinker - Vol No. 1978. Quote: The folly of censorship is that it supposes one human mind competent to decree what shall be admitted to other human minds. This supposition is self-evidently false, but persists. That is because many adults, uneasy at their loss of infant-dependence, yearn for parent-figures to direct them. They long for a God-our-father and create one wherever they can. That comforts them, but it is a child's comfort. Censorship shows distrust of people. They are not to be allowed to form their own judgments based (as true judgment must be) on all the evidence. Other, better adjusted minds must intervene. What the masses see must be filtered by those with a loftier view, a better balance and a firmer base. No censor supposes that censors can be corrupted by what they see. Censors are supermen, above corruption. They thus confess themselves heirs of Nietsche, Bowdler and Adolf Hitler. However well meaning, they fail to see that the adult mind needs to grapple with unfiltered reality.
- ↑ Bennion, Review of SEX, VIOLENCE AND THE MEDIA by H. J. Eysenck and D. K. B. Nias, in The Freethinker - Vol. 99 (1979).
- ↑ Bennion, Review of The Influence of Pornography on Behaviour, Edited by Maurice Yaffe and Edward C. Nelson, in The Freethinker - Vol. 103, No. 1983.
- ↑ Bennion, Free Speech Till it Hurts, Uncensored (Journal of the Defence of Literature and the Arts Society), Winter 1979/80, p. 4.
- ↑ Bennion, Mary Whitehouse prosecutes for blasphemy (The Times, 17 June 1977).
- ↑ Bennion, ATTACK ON RESTRICTIVE ATTITUDES TO SEX, The Freethinker - Vol 98 No. 1978.
- ↑ Bennion, Review of WHATEVER HAPPENED TO SEX by Mary Whitehouse, in The Freethinker - Vol 97 No. 6 June 1977.
- ↑ Bennion, Advantages of abolishing the House of Lords (The Times, 4 September 1978).
- ↑ Bennion, Further thoughts on abolishing the House of Lords, (The Times, 12 September 1978).
- ↑ Bennion, How the House of Lords could reform itself (The Times, 5 August 1980).
- ↑ Bennion, Why water shouldn’t be privatised (The Times, 6 May 1986).
- ↑ Bennion, Walking to school (The Times, 22 October 1986).
- ↑ Bennion, There will never again be paid jobs for all (The Times, 28 July 1983).
- ↑ Bennion, More thoughts on unemployment (The Times, 21 September 1983).
- ↑ Bennion, Review of Sexual Experience Between Men and Boys, in The Freethinker - Vol 99, No. 1979.
- ↑ Bennion, The Sex Code (1991) book.
- ↑ Bennion, Moral Sex (2004) book.
- ↑ Bennion’s note cites it as R. v O'Carroll [2003] EWCA Crim 2338/. This correctly refers to the decision in the EWCA – England and Wales Court of Appeal, but this was not the end of the matter, as O'Carroll appealed multiple times and was eventually successful in having his sentence quashed. For Bennion's short comment, see Bennion, Letter in Criminal Law and Justice Weekly: Simple child nudity is not ‘indecency’, 173 CL & J (19 & 26 Dec 2009), p. 807.
- ↑ This case was O'Carroll v United Kingdom (2005), which was written about in this law journal article: Gillespie, A. A. and Bettinson, V. (2006). European Court of Human Rights: ‘Indecent’ images: European Convention on Human Rights, Article 7. O'Carroll v United Kingdom (2005) 41 EHRR SE1. Journal of Criminal Law, 70 (2) pp. 127-130.