Working paper on sexual offences / Home Office, Criminal Law Revision Committee.

  • Great Britain. Criminal Law Revision Committee
Date:
1980
Catalogue details

Licence: Open Government Licence

Credit: Working paper on sexual offences / Home Office, Criminal Law Revision Committee. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    11/72 (page 5)
    Working Paper,! in which they provisionally recommended that there should continue to be an age of consent for sexual intercourse with girls and that that age should remain at 16. That was a unanimous recommendation. All the members of that Committee were also in favour of reducing the minimum age for homosexual acts between males from 21 at least to 18; a minority would have reduced it further to 16. After we had examined their draft Working Paper we informed the Policy Advisory Committee that, subject to considera- tion of any representations made by the public on their Working Paper, we accepted that the age of consent for sexual intercourse should be 16 years and that the minimum age for homosexual relations should be no higher than 18 years. We share the view of the Policy Advisory Committee that “‘there has been no significant increase in recent times in the level of psychological maturity of girls under 16 [and that] these girls face greater problems today than their mothers did at their age. Although they are physically mature at an earlier age, their mental development does not necessarily keep pace. They are therefore at risk for a longer period.’’? The present law serves to protect them while they are still at risk. We agree too that the present age of majority, 18, isa most important factor in determining what should be the minimum age for homosexual acts; and like the majority of the Policy Advisory Committee most of us believe that in order to protect those young men between 16 and 18 whose sexual orientation has not yet become firmly settled the minimum age should be 18. 14. Some countries penalise sexual relations with a young man above the minimum age where the defendant is in a position of authority or advantage over him, for instance his teacher or employer. The Policy Advisory Com- mittee asked us whether it would be practicable to introduce such a concept into our criminal law. They accepted our advice that it would not be prac- ticable. Our legislative tradition, unlike that of most continental states, requires statutes to state explicitly what the law prohibits, and a statutory provision based upon general principles would be likely to lack the precision necessary for the criminal law. On the other hand, a long detailed list would be bound to prove incomplete. The provision would, for example, have to cover schools and colleges, youth clubs and youth organisations. Sexual acts pro- cured by gifts and other inducements would also need to be covered. The Policy Advisory Committee accepted our advice that the undertaking would present the legislature with a well-nigh impossible task. CODIFICATION 15. The present law relating to sexual offences is largely statutory but common law concepts have become mixed with statutory provisions. An example is provided by indecent assault. Section 14 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956 'Working Paper on the Age of Consent in relation to Sexual Offences, H.M.S.O., June 1979. In that Working Paper they invited comment on their provisional recommendations on the age of consent and on the minimum age for homosexual relations. | 2Working Paper on the Age of Consent in relation to Sexual Offences, paragraph 23.