Northern Ireland Office

The Government has published a wide ranging consultation paper on reforming the law on sexual offences to provide modern robust legislation for Northern Ireland, Criminal Justice Minister David Hanson MP has said.

The ‘Reforming the law on Sexual Offences in Northern Ireland’ consultation period will run to 13 October and the Minister has urged everyone to take this opportunity to make their views known and help shape future legislation.

David Hanson said: “This paper provides a unique opportunity to canvass views on how we shape the law on rape and other serious sexual offences for the 21st century. It offers the chance to define what should or should not be criminal sexual behaviour, how we protect the most vulnerable in our society from inappropriate sexual activity, and what penalties we attach when offences are committed.  

“Our aim in reforming the law is ultimately to provide the public with the maximum protection from this type of particularly traumatic crime, and to make it easier to prosecute and convict the guilty.

“We want to ensure that children are as safe as they can be from both predatory and familial abuse, and from those who would exploit them for commercial gain. This means having a range of specific offences with heavy penalties.

“We also want to make sure that prosecuting offences where young children are involved can be done with as little trauma as possible.

“We are also suggesting that the most serious offence of rape is given a wider definition and joined by an offence of sexual assault by penetration, both with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

“The consultation will allow views to be given on all the proposals before action is taken on legislation, planned for next year. Northern Ireland will then have a modern and robust body of law on sexual offences.

“I would urge everyone to use this consultation period to express their views on how legislation on this issue can be taken forward for Northern Ireland.”

Notes to Editors

Volume 1 and Volume 2 of  the consultation paper ‘Reforming the law on Sexual Offences in Northern Ireland’ are currently available for viewing. The main proposals are:

• a redefined offence of rape to include oral intercourse and to apply in a gender neutral context.
• a new offence of sexual assault by penetration with the same maximum penalty as rape to deal with those extremely serious assaults which involve non penile penetration.
• consent to be given the same statutory definition here as in England and Wales of ’agrees by choice and has the freedom and capacity to make that choice’, with a list of rebuttable and conclusive presumptions.
• any sexual activity with a child under the age of 13 to be charged as a non consensual offence (ie rape or sexual assault) without the need to raise consent as an issue.  
• an offence of sexual activity with a child to replace the offence of unlawful carnal knowledge with a girl under the age of 17. This offence would apply to all sexual activity, not just sexual intercourse, and would be gender neutral, applying to both boys and girls. We are proposing to make the offence apply to sexual activity by those over 18 with girls and boys under the age of 16, which is a change to the current law which protects those under 17. Such a change would bring the law into alignment with England and Wales.
• views on how the criminal law should react to incidences of sexual activity between those under 18 and those under 16 (assuming that this lower age is accepted as the new ‘age of consent’), or 17 as it is now. The new offence in England and Wales applies to all sexual activity (touching, kissing) with those under 16, is gender neutral (so both parties are criminalized) and carries a 5 year maximum sentence. Also, in Northern Ireland (not in England and Wales), it is a criminal offence not to report to the police the commission of an arrestable offence (ie one which carries a sentence of 5 years or more). The paper seeks views on an alternative.   
• the addition of more offences from the SOA which seek to protect those who are vulnerable as a result of a mental disorder.  
• changes to allow the criminal law to recognize the extent of sexual abuse which takes place within the wider family structures found in today’s society. The offences that are being proposed – all from the Sexual Offences Act – cover sexual activity with a child family member under the age of 18 and extend the family relationships to include, for example, adoptive relations, foster parents, step-parents and siblings, and other persons who live in the same household and regularly care for the child.
• all gender specific offences will be gender neutralized and any remaining provisions which discriminate between gender or sexual orientation will be repealed. The new modernized body of law will be designed to capture all sexual offences in a non-discriminatory way.