what is the law on sex???

Former Member

Im 15 and im dating a 14 year old girl. We are ready to have sex but not sure what the law states. She has had sex before with older guys. I know under-aged sex is illegal but to what extent? Lots of people are having sex at school and i think im ready to take the step. But what is the law on it?
Can Anyone Help Me???
Thanks,
Anon x

Former Member

It's statutary rape. End of.

Former Member

its illegal but if you both consent and youre both underage im not sure if youd be prosecuted unless her parents found out and decided to press charges.

Make sure youve got contraception well and truly sorted out. Have you discussed it?

Former Member

BritJamez wrote: »

It's statutary rape. End of.

That's not true. It's statutory rape if one of them is under 13.

The law is in a grey area in regards to 13-15 year olds having sex with each other. Even if the police found out it's highly unlikely anything would actually happen and I heard the CPS would probably stop anything happening on 'public interest' grounds

Former Member

It depends on what country you are in.

Former Member

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Former Member

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/1999/02/99/e-cyclopedia/437789.stm

from 1999 but i doubt it's changed THAT much

Former Member

First of all - to make something clear and I still don't understand where this comes from - there has never been anything called 'statutory rape' in UK law.

It's an unhelpful term from some American states that has no relevance for how the law works. In the UK the sexual offences are divided between those that apply to under 13 year olds and those over. However there is nothing in the Act that allows for the implications of 'statutory rape' - i.e. sex with consent below the legal age. In the UK the law doesn't work that way.

The most important thing to bear in mind for understanding the law in the Uk is that there are laws and there is the decision about whether a crime should be prosecuted. Just because someone has broken a law doesn't mean the Crown Prosecution Service are required to take the case to court, indeed the Police aren't require to pass a case to the CPS at all.

What that means is that it's necessary to understand that the Sexual Offences Act 2003 defines the law in very stark terms, but that doesn't mean everyone would be prosecuted.

So bearing that mind here's what the law is if you are aged 13 - 15 -

The age of consent in the UK is 16. Below that age it is not possible legally have sex. Doesn't matter about anything else - no sexual activity can happen legally. Though consent is relevant when deciding if rape has taken place.

Now the very serious sexual offences related to children only apply to children under 13 - those are the ones with life sentences and aren't relevant here.

However under the Sexual Offences act Section 4 covers sexual activity without consent. This means everything, any form of touching, kissing, basically there's nothing that isn't included and the fact that it is legally illegal for 15 year olds to kiss since the introduction fo the Act has been something that alarmed many people on its introduction.

The penalty for any sexual activity is a maximum of 10 years. The maximum penalty for anything involving penetration is life imprisonment.

Now when two people are both under the age of consent my understanding is that the police and CPS would make a judgment on which party instigated the activity and decide if they wanted to prosecute that person, rather than both. Though in theory a couple could find that legally they could be prosecuted for having sex with each other.

Here's the explanation from channel 4

the sexual offences bill
Since the 2003 Sexual Offences Bill became law, all sexual acts ? not just penetrative sex ? became a criminal offence if at least one of the people involved, male or female, is under 16.

One of the main concerns of the policymakers was protecting young people from abuse by people older than themselves. Whilst this is good in theory, some people believe it complicates the position with regard to consent even more. In extreme cases, it could even have the effect of criminalizing people under 16 for consensual sexual acts with other people of the same age.

However, remember it's important to bear in mind that sex two 15 years old had agreed to is unlikely to be prosecuted - it is however illegal.

So basically the law is that anything sexual involving a person below 16 is illegal with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. However that is very, very unlikely to happen and the government has taken measures to ask the CPS not to prosecute.

Here's the statement on the issue from a Home Office Spokesperson when the Bill was passed - basically addressing the issue of why they'd made kissing a crime -

The Home Office says legalising consensual sexual activity between children "would damage a fundamental plank in our raft of child protection measures".

"We are not prepared to do this," says a spokesman. "We accept that genuinely mutually agreed, non-exploitative sexual activity between teenagers does take place and in many instances no harm comes from it.

"We are putting safeguards in place to ensure that these cases, which are not in the public interest, are not prosecuted - by amending guidance to the police and Crown Prosecution Service."

He added that young people under 16 would have the same rights to contraception and sexual health advice as at present.

You can see the full details of the relevant section here -

Causing sexual activity without consent

4 Causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent

(1) A person (A) commits an offence if-

(a) he intentionally causes another person (B) to engage in an activity,
(b) the activity is sexual,
(c) B does not consent to engaging in the activity, and
(d) A does not reasonably believe that B consents.

(2) Whether a belief is reasonable is to be determined having regard to all the circumstances, including any steps A has taken to ascertain whether B consents.

(3) Sections 75 and 76 apply to an offence under this section.

(4) A person guilty of an offence under this section, if the activity caused involved-

(a) penetration of B's anus or vagina,
(b) penetration of B's mouth with a person's penis,
(c) penetration of a person's anus or vagina with a part of B's body or by B with anything else, or
(d) penetration of a person's mouth with B's penis,
is liable, on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for life.

(5) Unless subsection (4) applies, a person guilty of an offence under this section is liable-

(a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or both;
(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years.

The full act is here is you want to read it - although it is fucking grim
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/Acts/acts2003/ukpga_20030042_en_1

But just to clarify again - anything done before 16 is a crime. The government has asked the cases that don't seem like crimes aren't prosecuted but you still need to bear in mind that legally it is something you could be prosecuted for - especially when cases are presented to the Police by parents.

Former Member

girl with sharp teeth wrote: »

In the UK it is illegal to have sex with a person under the age of 16, but the Home Office guidance says that the police should not prosecute children for having sex unless there is evidence of abuse or exploitation.

There's no such thing as statutory rape in the UK. Sex with a person under the age of 13 carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment but it is a separate offence to rape.

Dammit - I so knew someone was answering this quickly as I was typing

Former Member

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Former Member

Ah good points - I'm clearly too black and white about the consent issue and will edit those bits - would have thought they could have structured the law to make things clear given they spent about 5 years writing it...

Former Member

And to the OP, you've asked about the law but there's also a much bigger issue - just making sure you are ready to have sex or not. There's a number of places you can speak to if you'd like to talk to someone about the issues involved in that decision including -

Youth2Youth, who provide a telephone helpline, email advice and online chat. The service is run by young people, for young people and provides advice and support in complete confidence

Brook provide information and advice about relationships. You can call them on 0800 0185 023 or contact them online.

Get Connected is a free, UK wide helpline that finds young people the best help, whatever the problem, you can call them on 0808 808 4994.

In addition you might want to have a look at our article on deciding if you're ready for sex and I'd be remiss not to mention our section on contraception.

Hope that helps.

Former Member

Probably not accurate now but I was taught at school that in the case of underage activity, if there is a question of 'should we charge' it will by the male who gets prosecuted and not the girl. Maybe that was just the teachers at school trying to scare us not to have sex.. in the actual event the average age of first having sex in the UK is between 15 and 16 so it would seem that most kids are doing it and getting away with it, so just from 'me and my friends and their friends' kind of perspective, you shouldn't have any issues. But I think the thing of making sure you trust the other person is so much more important if you are breaking the law. I wouldn't trust people around that age to be grown up enough emotionally / mentally (on average) to be able to deal with it.

Former Member

Am i also right in thinking that in the very unlikely event that the CPS did take it to court you could also end up on the sex offenders register?

Former Member

In the very unlikely event of being prosecuted and convicted then any punishment would be likely to involve being added to the sex offenders register.