Sexual offences
This page highlights some of the current parliamentary material available on sexual offences. This includes select committee reports, briefing papers on current legislation and other subjects produced by the parliamentary research services, and the latest Early Day Motions put down by MPs.
Standard Notes
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 14.08.2012 | Registration and management of sex offenders under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 |
| This note provides an overview of the various measures in Part 2 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 aimed at enabling the police to monitor and manage sex offenders living in the local area. It considers the requirement for certain sex offenders to notify the police of personal information such as their name and address, and to update the police whenever this information changes. The police record of these notifications is commonly referred to as the "sex offenders' register". It also considers a range of civil orders that can be used to manage the behaviour of sex offenders. | |
| 16.03.2012 | Human Trafficking: UK responses |
| This note examines the UK responses to human trafficking, including the Government's strategy and implementation of the Council of Europe Convention Against Trafficking and a related EU Directive. | |
| 06.03.2012 | Sarah's law: the child sex offender disclosure scheme |
| This note summarises the child sex offender disclosure scheme, also known as Sarah's law, under which members of the public can ask the police whether an individual (e.g. a neighbour or family friend) is a convicted sex offender. In August 2010 the Home Secretary announced that the scheme would be rolled out across all police force areas in England and Wales, following a successful pilot. | |
| 07.02.2012 | Anonymity in rape cases |
| People who complain that they have been the victims of sexual offences are automatically given anonymity. Defendants in such cases, however, are not. This note considers the relevant legislation and the continuing debate as to whether defendants should be granted some form of anonymity. Shortly after the general election the Government indicated that it intended to introduce anonymity for defendants in rape cases. However, these plans were subsequently dropped on the basis that there was insufficient empirical evidence on which to base a decision on providing those accused of rape with anonymity. | |
| 20.05.2010 | Limitation period in sexual abuse case |
Research Papers
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 09.08.2007 | The Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill Bill 130 of 2006-07 |
| 10.07.2003 | Sexual Offences Bill (HL);policy background (Bill 128 2002/03) |
| Sexual Offences Bill (HL):policy background (Bill 128 2002/03). House of Commons Library Research Paper 03/61. | |
| 10.07.2003 | Sexual Offences Bill (HL) (Bill 128 2002/03) |
| Sexual Offences Bill (HL) (Bill 128 2002/03). House of Commons Library Research Paper 03/62. | |
| 07.02.2000 | Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill: 'Age of consent' and abuse of a position of trust (Bill 55 1999/2000) |
| Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill: 'Age of consent' and abuse of a position of trust (Bill 55 of 1999/2000). House of Commons Library Research Paper 00/15. | |
| 21.01.1999 | Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill: 'Age of consent' and abuse of a position of trust (Bill 10 1998/99) |
| Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill: 'Age of consent' and abuse of a position of trust (Bill 10 of 1998/99). House of Commons Library Research Paper 99/4. |
Early Day Motions
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 21.06.2011 | VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN AND PREVENTION THROUGH EDUCATION |
| That this House is concerned that a YouGov poll for the End Violence Against Women Coalition (EVAWC) found that close to one in three girls in UK schools experiences unwanted sexual ... | |
| 17.01.2011 | SELF-HELP SUPPORT AND INFORMATION GROUP FOR ADULT SURVIVORS OF CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE IN BASSETLAW |
| That this House recognises the role played by survivors' groups, such as Survivors Helping Each Otherin Nottinghamshire; further recognises that such groups help the victims of sexual ... | |
| 01.11.2010 | TRAFFICKING AND SEXUAL EXPLOITATION |
| That this House congratulates the Soroptimist International of Poole for highlighting issues of trafficking for sexual exploitation through the Purple Teardrop Campaign; recognises ... | |
| 26.05.2010 | ANONYMITY FOR DEFENDANTS IN RAPE CASES |
| That this House believes that the Government's proposal to grant anonymity to defendants in rape cases sends a message to juries and rape victims that the victim is not to be believed; ... | |
| 18.03.2010 | HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND THE SEX TRADE |
| That this House condemns human trafficking; notes with dismay that human trafficking for the sex trade is a particularly brutal part of this criminal activity; further notes that this ... |
Lords Library Notes
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| 22.10.2012 | Debate on 25 October: Looked-after Children |
| This Library Note provides background reading for the debate on looked-after children on 25 October. | |
| 23.01.2012 | Question for Short Debate on 2 February: Human Trafficking |
| This Lords Library Note provides definitions of human trafficking, statistics on its incidence, and an outline of domestic and international policy to combat the problem. |
