Immorality Act
The Immorality Act is the name given to two acts of the Parliament of South Africa which prohibited, amongst other things, sexual relations between white people and people of other races. They were in force between 1927-1985, and finally repealed in 2007.
The two acts are: The Immorality Act, 1927 (Act No. 5 of 1927)[1] and The Immorality Act, 1957 (Act No. 23 of 1957; subsequently renamed the Sexual Offences Act, 1957)[2], the latter also acquiring a series of amendments over the years.
These acts have been a major source of contention in the country, and occur as central themes in numerous South African novels, plays and films in the 20th century and thereafter.
See also the entry on Miscegenation and the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immorality_Act
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immorality_Act,_1927
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_Offences_Act,_1957
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apartheid_legislation
Go to ESAT Bibliography
Return to
Return to The South African Context/General Terminology and Thematic Entries
Return to South African Theatre/Terminology and Thematic Entries
Return to South African Film /Terminology and Thematic Entries
Return to South African Media/Terminology and Thematic Entries
Return to The ESAT Entries
Return to Main Page