Command Paper Ser. : Strengthening Protection Against Sex Offenders and Reforming the Law on Sexual Offences

This White Paper puts forward the Government's proposals to further strengthen the law in England and Wales regarding sexual offences, in order to give the public greater confidence and better protection. It states that the current law is archaic and discriminatory, and legal clarification and revision is long overdue. The proposals seek to strike a balance between protecting individuals from abuse and exploitation, whilst recognising the personal, private relationships of consenting adults. Measures include: 1) tightening the notification requirements of the sex offenders register, and additional measures to establish multi-agency risk management plans to cover sex offenders assessed as a serious public risk who cannot be held in custody, including powers to disclose information to schools, voluntary groups and others; 2) clarifying the law on consent, including specifying circumstances where consent is presumed most unlikely to have been given, and introducing a test of reasonableness in rape cases where the defendant claims an honest belief that consent was given; 3) new measures to give special protection for children and the vulnerable, particularly in the light of increased use of the internet by paedophiles, including a new crime of sexual grooming; 4) new offences involving commercial sexual exploitation, including those who buy or control the sexual services of a child under 18 years old; and 5) a new public order offence dealing with sexual behaviour in a public place which causes alarm to others, which covers both heterosexual and homosexual activity. The maximum penalties for a number of offences will be increased in order to take account of the long-term harm caused by sexual abuse, particularly in childhood.