Sexual offences in the United Kingdom

There are a number of sexual offences under the law of England and Wales, the law of Scotland, and the law of Northern Ireland (which function as three separate systems for this purpose).

Rape is defined the same way for all three legal systems as:

If a person (“A”), with A's penis – penetrates to any extent, without (1) another person (“B”) consenting, and (2) without any reasonable belief that B consents, either intending to do so or reckless as to whether there is penetration, the vagina, anus or mouth of B then – A commits an offence, to be known as the offence of rape.[1][2][3]

It is therefore only legally possible for a woman to be guilty of rape if she assists a male assailant in an attack on a third party. Otherwise, the most a woman can be charged with is a serious sexual assault. If a man has sex with someone under the age of 16 then he is also guilty of rape as a child cannot lawfully consent to sex.[4]

Of women aged 16 to 59 in England & Wales interviewed for the 2006/07 British Crime Survey, 0.5% (1 in every 200) reported that they had suffered rape or attempted rape in the previous year, equating to approximately 85,000 nationally. In the same year, less than 800 persons were convicted of rape.[5][6]

England and Wales

The following offences are created for England and Wales by the Sexual Offences Act 2003:

For other offences, see Prostitution in the United Kingdom.

Abolished offences

See History of English criminal law#Sexual Offences

Northern Ireland

The following offences are created by the Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008:

Scotland

The following offences are created by the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009:

For other offences, see Prostitution in the United Kingdom

Offences under the former law:

See also

References

  1. "Sexual Offences Act 2003 c. 42 Part 1 Section 2". The National Archives. 2003. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  2. "Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 Section 1". The National Archives. 2009. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  3. "The Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008 No. 1769 (N.I. 2) PART 2". The National Archives. 2008. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  4. "Blog: is the law on rape sexist?". blmsolicitors.co.uk. Bastian Lloyd Morris LLP solicitor advocates. 9 March 2014. Retrieved 20 November 2015.
  5. Povey, David; Coleman, Kathryn; Kaiza, Peter; Hoare, Jacqueline; Jansson, Krista (2008). Homicides, firearm offences and intimate violence 2006/07 (supplementary volume 2 to crime in England and Wales 2006/07). London: Office for National Statistics. ISBN 9781847265753. Pdf.
  6. Easton, Mark (9 July 2008). "Rape: a complex crime". London: BBC. Retrieved 20 November 2015.

External links

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