Essay On Sexual Offences Act 2003
Prior to the enactment of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, the law on sexual offences was considered to be a “patchwork quilt of provisions ancient and modern that works because people make it do so, not because there is a coherence and structure.” (Setting the Boundaries: Reforming the Law on Sex Offences, Home Office, iii, 2000).
Critically analyse whether the Sexual Offences Act 2003 has remedied these criticisms.
In the UK, around 404,000 women and 72,000 men are reported as victims of sexual violence every year . Laws regarding these horrendous crimes must protect people from abuses, giving priority to children and the more helpless, and punish sexual offenders. In England and Wales, until the enactment of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, sexual …show more content…
The Home Office Consultation Document Setting the Boundaries (2000) is the starting point of the law’s modernization. This paper set out some recommendations to Ministers by identifying the principles on which the new legislation had to be based. In accordance to the document, the law must be clear, unambiguous, non-discriminatory and in accordance with the ECHR and the Human Rights Act. The law must protect the all community from sexual violence, especially those people who are not able to defend themselves such as children or people with mental disabilities. At the same time, it must establish reasonable penalties for those who commit sexual crimes. Moreover, Setting the Boundaries suggested to clarify what it is meant by ‘unacceptable behavior’ and proposed essential changes to the definitions of rape and …show more content…
In this work, it is strongly expressed the intention to improve the whole criminal justice system from the police investigations, to the role of prosecutor, until the cross-examination of the victim and the witnesses. This general need for renewal was confirmed by statistics, which proved that convictions for rape dropped by 25% in 1985 to 7% in 2000 . Today these evidences are greatly changed: the conviction rate for sexual offences has risen from 49.4% in 2005 to 60.3% in 2011 . These numbers would imply that the changes made to the legislation of 1956 have contributed to the improvement of law enforcement. 310
Critically analyse whether the Sexual Offences Act 2003 has remedied these criticisms.
In the UK, around 404,000 women and 72,000 men are reported as victims of sexual violence every year . Laws regarding these horrendous crimes must protect people from abuses, giving priority to children and the more helpless, and punish sexual offenders. In England and Wales, until the enactment of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, sexual …show more content…
The Home Office Consultation Document Setting the Boundaries (2000) is the starting point of the law’s modernization. This paper set out some recommendations to Ministers by identifying the principles on which the new legislation had to be based. In accordance to the document, the law must be clear, unambiguous, non-discriminatory and in accordance with the ECHR and the Human Rights Act. The law must protect the all community from sexual violence, especially those people who are not able to defend themselves such as children or people with mental disabilities. At the same time, it must establish reasonable penalties for those who commit sexual crimes. Moreover, Setting the Boundaries suggested to clarify what it is meant by ‘unacceptable behavior’ and proposed essential changes to the definitions of rape and …show more content…
In this work, it is strongly expressed the intention to improve the whole criminal justice system from the police investigations, to the role of prosecutor, until the cross-examination of the victim and the witnesses. This general need for renewal was confirmed by statistics, which proved that convictions for rape dropped by 25% in 1985 to 7% in 2000 . Today these evidences are greatly changed: the conviction rate for sexual offences has risen from 49.4% in 2005 to 60.3% in 2011 . These numbers would imply that the changes made to the legislation of 1956 have contributed to the improvement of law enforcement. 310