We’re calling on government to make it illegal for all adults to have sexual activity with children in their care

Government faces pressure to close the loophole in the law making it possible for adults such as sports coaches, faith leaders and driving instructions to engage in sexual activity with children in their care

Hannah*, who was manipulated into having sex with her swimming coach when she turned 16 has urged the Ministry of Justice to extend the law to protect teenagers from adults abusing their position of trust .

She is part of a growing campaign that now includes national sporting bodies, MPs, the network of council safeguarding leads and a 4,420-strong petition¹in backing our #Close the Loophole campaign.

Currently, it is a crime for teachers, social workers and other professionals legally in a position of trust to engage in sexual activity with 16 and 17-year-olds in their care².

We are calling for this law to be extended to also cover adults who could abuse their role, such as sports coaches, faith leaders and driving instructors, to make it illegal for all adults to engage in sexual activity with any young person under 18.

Hannah* story

In the letter, Hannah*, a determined swimmer, explained how her coach, Jeff*, who’s close to her parents’ age, abused his position of power over her.

He became a constant in her life and waited until she was 16, then began to compliment on her appearance and pushed the limits of their relationship, before legally having sex with her.

"This was my first sexual experience but when this relationship came tumbling down, I changed with it. I was left feeling really angry, I was a difficult person to be around. It took me a long time to trust friends and family, to let them hug me"
Hannah

Close the loophole: our campaign

It's illegal for teachers, care workers and youth justice workers to have sex with 16 or 17-year-olds in their care. But there's a loophole in the law that means other adults who hold a position of power over a young person can legally have sex with them. This is wrong and we're calling for the law to be extended to include any adult who holds a position of power over 16 or 17-year-olds.

#CloseTheLoophole

Peter Wanless, NSPCC CEO, said:

“It’s unacceptable that gaps in our law mean that teenagers are protected from predatory behaviour in the classroom, but not on the sports pitch.

“Young people should never be expected to fend off the sexual advances of adults, and yet the loophole means that 16 and 17-year-olds have to do just that, whilst their abusers are let off the hook.

“This is a significant moment for the Ministry of Justice to listen to those who were affected and safeguarding experts to Close the Loophole and make it clear that sexual abuse is never tolerable.”

Take action

Join our current campaigns and help us demand that all children are worth fighting for.

Campaign with us

NSPCC press office

Contact our national and regional press offices for enquiries about our work or to request interviews.

Contact our press office

Help children staying safe

Two teenage girls in NSPCC t-shirts smiling while holding fundraising buckets.

Fundraise with us

Whether you're running your first marathon, baking up a storm, attending a special event or fundraising at school — we've got everything you need to succeed.

*DISCLAiMER

Names have been changed to protect identities. Any photographs are posed by models.

References

1. A petition, launched by the NSPCC on 19^th June 2020 for two weeks, received 4,420 signatures supporting their Close the Loophole campaign.
2. In England and Wales, under the offence of Abuse of Position of Trust of a Sexual Nature, it is a crime for an adult working in a position of trust to have sex with a child aged 16 or 17 in their care. The law is limited, and only covers adults working in education, health, care, or youth justice. This means that if adults working in any other settings have sex with children aged 16 or 17 under their supervision, it is not currently a crime, even if the adult has a significant level of power, responsibility and influence over the child.