This blog has previously bemoaned the lack of education about consent. BBC Three this week tried to plug the gap with its programme “Is this Rape? Sex on Trial”. I watched with trepidation, but the result was much better than I expected. It allowed discussion by 24 young people who showed themselves to be thoughtful … Continue reading
Latest Entries
Does Gender Matter?
As Gayle Newland is convicted of sexual assault[1] over her relationship with a female friend during which she pretended to be a man called Kye, the issue of gender and consent is back in the public eye. There are a lot of sensibilities touched upon by a case like Newland, but it is important to … Continue reading
Goddard Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse
Want to know the law on sexual offences since 1957? Click here On 9 July 2015, the Goddard Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse began. Justice Goddard gave an opening statement, setting out the principles of the independent inquiry. […] 2. The task ahead of us is daunting. The sexual abuse of children over successive generations has … Continue reading
Sexual Offences Handbook – Review by Andrew Keogh, Crimeline
This book review was first posted by Andrew Keogh on his Crimeline website on 1 May 2015. Publication of this updated text is timely given the rise in prosecutions for sexual offences and the heightened public scrutiny of the trial process. Practitioners in this field go to court ill equipped at their peril, and therefore need … Continue reading
How the DPP did not change the law on consent
The DPP, Alison Saunders, has released an aide memoire on the issue of consent in sexual cases, for the use of prosecutors and investigators. The document only applied to consent under what many of us still find ourselves calling the “new law”, that is the Sexual Offences Act 2003. The SOA 2003 was a modernising … Continue reading
Sexual Offences Prevention Orders repealed: All change?
On 8 March 2015, the Sexual Offences Act 2003 was amended, making changes to the provisions dealing with behaviour orders to be imposed following complaint or conviction (etc.) for a sexual offence. The following orders were repealed: Sexual Offences Prevention Orders (ss.104-113) Risk of Sexual Harm Orders (123-129) Foreign Travel Orders (ss.114-122) These orders will … Continue reading
Complainant and suspect anonymity: Misconceived arguments and Parliamentary Privilege
This blog post has been adapted from Felicity’s Huffington Post article, which can be viewed here. In the current debate over suspect anonymity, the fundamental importance of open justice is being overshadowed by the impact on individuals who have been the subject of salacious publicity. Most recently MP Mark Pritchard against whom allegations of rape … Continue reading
