Sexual Offences Act 2003
Journalist Briefing, November 2006
NSPCC director and chief executive Mary Marsh said:
"This is the most significant package of sex offences legislation in the last 50 years. The legislation sends out a strong message that those who sexually harm children will feel the full force of the law.
"However, clearer laws and tougher sentencing is only one side of the coin. The NSPCC believes that if sexual abuse of children is to be addressed effectively, a broad approach is required to ensure that children are supported to talk about abuse, that adults take responsibility to stop abuse and potential abusers themselves are provided with help before they abuse.
"To better protect children, the Government must now move to ensure that preventative measures are put in place. A major element of this is to ensure that children who engage in harmful sexual behaviour receive support and comprehensive treatment."
The full recommendations that the NSPCC is making to Government in light of the Sexual Offences Act are as follows:
More therapeutic services are needed
There is an urgent need for additional services for therapeutic children who have been abused. A Department of Health study found that three months after referral, therapeutic work had happened or was planned in less than a quarter of cases of children who had been sexually abused. After a year, only 29% of children who had been sexually abused had received any kind of therapeutic intervention.(1)
The NSPCC is calling on the government to ensure that every child who experiences abuse is given the therapeutic services they need. This requires a detailed analysis of current provision and a fully funded delivery plan to the action that must be taken at national and local levels to achieve this.
More local preventative services and resources
The NSPCC would like to see services at local level to:
Ensure that adults and communities are provided with information to be able to recognise the warning signs of sexual abuse and report their concerns.
Enable children and young people to talk about abuse so they have someone to turn to such as independent counsellors in schools and increased funding of national help lines.
More help for children and young people who display sexually harmful behaviour
Children who display sexually harmful behaviour must be treated as children first and foremost. This means that they should be supported and receive treatment.
Research suggests that juveniles commit at least a quarter of all sexual offences, therefore any effort to lower the level of child sexual abuse must address the problem of children and young people with sexually harmful behaviour. As such the NSPCC is calling for:
- An awareness campaign targeted at children and young people to ensure they are aware of how the changes in the law affects them in relation to sexual behaviour and relationships.
- A prevention programme to run in parallel with the legal process to bring together education, health, social services and youth justice system to develop a range of services to respond to the continuum of sexual behaviour. This must include protocols for care arrangements and treatment. The roll-out of the strategy must also be evaluated for an on-going basis for effectiveness.
Greater support for children and young people at risk from harmful sexual relationships
The NSPCC recognises that teenagers experiment with sexual activity and that children can and do coerce and abuse other children. The Government's latest Working Together to Safeguard Children guidance (April 06) recognised the importance of confidentiality for youngsters accessing services but also the need to share information when there is reason to believe that a child is at risk. However, this must be supported by a proper strategy for the assessment, referral and treatment of children and young people who display sexually harmful behaviour.
More training for professionals
More protection for children from sexually harmful adults
Specific comments on the Act:
Sex offenders travelling abroad
Sex offenders should notify the authorities every time they leave the UK Currently offenders must notify in advance of foreign travel that exceeds a period of three days. The NSPCC does not believe that this three day rule is helpful as many destinations can be visited in under three days
The authorities must have effective powers at their disposal to prevent foreign travel of offenders who are a risk to children.
Foreign Travel Orders (FTOs) are designed to prevent dangerous sex offenders from travelling abroad. However, so far this order has not been widely used. Currently local police forces find this new order difficult to use as new evidence is required each time an order is made. Also the ban on travel it imposes is limited to six months. We would like to see a review of how sex offenders are risk assessed and managed in relation to foreign travel.
What the Sexual Offences Act means for children and young people:
The law has been tightened to protect young people from broader methods of sexual exploitation
The following is now an offence:
- Grooming
- Trafficking and moving children in, out and within of the UK for sexual purposes
- Whatever is an offence offline is also an offence online.
Sexual activity between under 16s
The law in relation to sexual activity between under 16s (13-15 year olds) has been further clarified. It remains illegal for under 16s to have sex. This has also been extended to include other 'sexual touching'. Theoretically this could include sexual kissing but this is not the intention. The Home Office has released guidelines to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) instructing it not to prosecute under 16s involved in consensual experimentation. The criminal law must cover under-age sexual activity in order to protect those who are victims of abuse. The guidance to the CPS will outline this further.
The age of consent is still 16, however there are some crucial caveats to this
If there is a proven 'abuse of trust' between a young person and an adult the age of consent is 18. So for example, if you work as a Connexions advisor or a residential social worker and you were considering becoming sexually involved with any of the young people you work with, it would be illegal to do so if they where 16 or 17.
Similarly, even if you are not blood related to a young person but you live with the family and sometimes take part in family life (such as a longstanding lodger or an extended family member) then the age of consent would also be 18.
Tougher sentences for adults
The adult penalties for engaging in sexual activity with anyone aged between 13 and 16 is now much more severe: A maximum of life for rape/penetrative assault and 14 years for non-penetrative assault.
Previously, the maximum sentence for unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl aged between 13 and 16 years was two years. There have been a number of high profile cases where paedophiles have deliberately waited until their victims have turned 13 before having sex with them. For example: Michael Wheeler was found guilty of sexually abusing two 13 year-old girls in October 2003 was given a three year sentence, the maximum term allowed under the previous law.
Sexual relations by an adult with a young person aged 13, 14, 15
The adult penalties for anyone engaging in sexual activity with a young person aged 13, 14, 15 are now much more severe: a maximum of life for rape/penetrative assault and 14 years for non penetrative assault. Previously this was 2 years.
The only defence for this is a 'reasonable belief' that the child was 16. It must be proved that you took reasonable steps to verify the young person's age.
The penalty if 5 years if the offender is under 18.
Sexual relations with a child aged 13 and under
Sexual relationships between young people ages between 13- 15 years
It is an offence for children under the age of 16 to have a sexual relationship and this includes sexual touching. However, it is not the intention to prosecute young people involved in consensual sexual experimentation. The Home Office have released guidelines to the CPS to ensure this does not happen.
The definition of 'sexual' has been broadened
Dangerous offenders movements will be prohibited
SOPO (Sexual offences prevention orders) can only be granted for convicted offenders and are granted upon application by the police. The terms of the SOPO would be fixed to relate to their crime. So for example, if an offender was caught taking pictures of children in a swimming pool, they would be banned from pools and sports centres etc.
FTOs (Foreign Travel orders) are granted upon police application and only for those who have been convicted of a sexual offence. FTOs aim to prevent dangerous offenders from travelling but this is very hard to police. (Please refer to the section above which outlines NSPCC concerns on this matter.)
ROSHOS (Risk of sexual harm orders) Although granted on police application, they do not require a conviction. The grounds of the order is agreed on a case by case basis. For example, Ian Huntley may have been given a ROSHOS which would have prevented him from working in a school.
Miscellaneous
It is now illegal for papers and magazines to show pictures of topless girls under the aged 18. Previously, the threshold was 16.
This law is not retrospective and so any offences committed before the May 1st 2004 will be charged under the old laws.
Key stats
1% of children experienced sexual abuse by a parent or carer and another 3% by another relative during childhood. (2)
(Cawson et al., 2000, Child Maltreatment in the UK: A Study of the Prevalence of Child Abuse and Neglect, NSPCC, p.85)
11% of children experienced sexual abuse during childhood by people known but unrelated to them. (3)
(Cawson et al., 2000, Child Maltreatment in the UK: A Study of the Prevalence of Child Abuse and Neglect, NSPCC, p.86)
5% of children experienced sexual abuse during childhood by an adult stranger or someone they had just met. (4)
(Cawson et al., 2000, Child Maltreatment in the UK: A Study of the Prevalence of Child Abuse and Neglect, NSPCC, p.86)
Three-quarters (72%) of sexually abused children did not tell anyone about the abuse at the time. 27% told someone later. Around a third (31%) still had not told anyone about their experience(s) by early adulthood.
(Cawson et al., 2000, Child Maltreatment in the UK: A Study of the Prevalence of Child Abuse and Neglect, NSPCC, p.83)
Over a quarter (27%) of all rapes recorded by the police are committed against children under 16 years of age. Children under the age of 12 were the most likely of all those 16 and under to have reported being raped by someone they knew well, and were least likely to have been raped by a stranger. Children between 13 and 15 years of age were the most likely to have reported being raped by an acquaintance.
(Harris and Grace, 1999, A question of evidence? Investigating and prosecuting rape in the 1990s, Home Office Research Study 196, Home Office, p.7)
How the NSPCC helps children and young people who have been sexually abused:
The Services
Treatment work varies according to the needs of the individual child and family. It is important to remain flexible to a child's response to treatment so they can receive the best possible help. The following methods may be used:
Individual counselling The primary form of therapy for children who have been abused. The therapist establishes a relationship of trust with the child and encourages them to talk about their experiences, expressing how they feel.
Play Therapy This therapy is particularly for younger children to express their emotions and experiences. Many NSPCC have specific 'play rooms' where children can express themselves and be helped to come to terms with what has happened to them.
Group work Children often benefit from spending time with others who have suffered similar experiences, or who are at a similar stage of development. This can help begin the recovery process.
Footnotes
(1) Sharland et al., 1996, Professional Intervention in child sexual abuse, HMSO, p. 108 - 109
(2 + 3 + 4) The study defined sexual abuse as acts against the respondent's wishes or involving children under 12. Sexual acts were categorised as 'contact' (physical contact with genital, anal or other normally private areas of the body; and other physical contact such as sexual hugging and kissing) and 'non-contact' (exposure of genitals or other private areas of the body, voyeurism, exposing children to, or using them to make, pornography or to watch sexual acts).
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