Social policies from the 1960s-70s

The Divorce Act

• 1969

• Rapid increase in divorce

• Subsequent increase into single person, single parent and step family households

• Undermines traditional Nuclear family roles

• Women have more say in divorce and can leave unhappy marriages

Sexual offences Act

• 1967

• Decriminalised homosexual activity between two men over 21 years old.

• On the condition that they were consensual, in private

• However, it wasn’t fully legalising homosexual activity yet was a considerable milestone in achieving homosexual law reform

Abortion Act

• 1967

• Legalised termination for pregnancies under 28 weeks.

• The decade saw two major milestones for women’s sexual liberation with the 1961 NHS Contraceptive pill

Child Benefit Acts

• 1974/1975

• The Child Benefit Bill introduced for the first time a universal payment, paid for each child.

• The rate payable was £1/week for the first and £1.50 for each subsequent child.

• An additional 50p was payable to lone-parent families.

The Employment Protection Act

• 1975

• Many women were routinely sacked for becoming pregnant until the late 1970s

• The UK only introduced its first maternity leave legislation through this, helping pregnant women

The NHS Contraceptive Pill

• 1961

• First oral contraceptive pill

• It was only officially for married women until 1967

• Allowed women to have a choice, women were able to avoid pregnancy while having sex on their own accord

• Greater contraceptive choice did change sexual power dynamics, for the better.