The Isle of Man is a British Crown dependency in the British Isles. This page summarises LGBT rights in the Isle of Man. The Isle of Man was once known to be rather homophobic, as sodomy laws existed until rather recently in 1994, although they have since been abolished. Prior to September 1992, sodomy was illegal, then after decrimilization of sodomy (after the royal assent), the age of consent was set at 21 (in line with the UK at that time); then in 1997, the age of consent for male homosexual acts was lowered to 18. In 2006, the age of consent was lowered to 16, became gender-neutral for all sexual conduct (including sodomy); regardless of gender and/or sexual orientation. It is however an offence for anyone who is over the age of 18 to enter into a sexual relationship with someone age