Crimes against chastity are crimes most commonly prosecuted in the Islamic states according to Sharia law nowadays, though such crimes have been prosecuted all over the world throughout history. They are, where prosecuted, usually treated as the gravest of crimes, usually punishable with death penalty.

They include, but are not limited to, the following sexual acts, defined as such in the jurisdiction where they are prosecuted:

• Adultery
  Adultery
  Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
  
  
• Prostitution
  Prostitution
  Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
  
  
• Sodomy
  Sodomy
  Sodomy is an anal or other copulation-like act, especially between male persons or between a man and animal, and one who practices sodomy is a "sodomite"...
  
  
• Paedophilia
• Homosexuality
  Homosexuality
  Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
  
  
• Fornication
  Fornication
  Fornication typically refers to consensual sexual intercourse between two people not married to each other. For many people, the term carries a moral or religious association, but the significance of sexual acts to which the term is applied varies between religions, societies and cultures. The...
  
  

On April 6, 1967, birth control advocate Bill Baird was arrested in Boston, Massachusetts on charges of "crimes against chastity" for holding a lecture on birth control at Boston University

Boston University

Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...

 and giving an unmarried female a condom

Condom

A condom is a barrier device most commonly used during sexual intercourse to reduce the probability of pregnancy and spreading sexually transmitted diseases . It is put on a man's erect penis and physically blocks ejaculated semen from entering the body of a sexual partner...

 and a contraceptive sponge

Contraceptive sponge

The contraceptive sponge combines barrier and spermicidal methods to prevent conception. Three brands are marketed: Pharmatex, Protectaid and Today. Pharmatex is marketed in France and the province of Quebec; Protectaid in the rest of Canada and Europe; and Today in the United States.Sponges work...

. Baird served three months in prison, but in 1972 he won a Supreme Court case, Eisenstadt v. Baird

Eisenstadt v. Baird

Eisenstadt v. Baird, , was an important United States Supreme Court case that established the right of unmarried people to possess contraception on the same basis as married couples and, by implication, the right of unmarried couples to engage in potentially nonprocreative sexual intercourse .The...

. The US state of Massachusetts continues to have laws on "Crimes Against Chastity, Morality, Decency and Good Order", which includes laws against providing contraception or information on contraception to unmarried persons (Chapter 272, Section 21 & 21A), however this is not enforced today.

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