Gross indecency (criminal offence)
Gross indecency is a British and Canadian legal term which was used to criminalise sexual activity between men, short of anal penetration. The term was first used in British law in a statute of the British Parliament in 1885, and was carried forward in other statutes in Britain and in Canada. The offence was never actually defined in any of the statutes which used it, leaving the scope of the offence to be defined by decisions of the courts.