The Homosexual Law Reform Society (HLRS) was formed in 1958 to campaign for the Government to implement reforms recommended by the Wolfenden Report, published the previous year. Its Executive Committee included public figures such as the poet, Stephen Spender.
As their political allies began to augment their reformist agenda within Parliament, the HLRS initiated a robust lobbying programme of pamphleteering to inform Parliamentarians about the importance of these legislative initiatives in the context of societal changes.
Their popular appeal was highlighted in 1960 when an unprecedented crowd of over 1000 people attended a HLRS open meeting at Caxton Hall, London. However, it wasn't until the passing of the Sexual Offences Act seven years later that they achieved full vindication for their endeavours. As the 1970s began, the society changed its name to become the Sexual Law Reform Society, with its guiding principle being the lowering of the age of consent.