Sexual Offences Act 2003 Essay
Student Number: 14006073
Module Name and Number: Criminal Law UJUTD3-30-1
Coursework question: 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.
Word count: 1476 words.
The laws concerning sexual offences have always attracted criticism upon them because the legislative language with which were drafted were often considered to be inconsistent and gender-biased. For instance, the absence of the word ‘consent’ in the Sexual Offences Act 1956 and the unclear definition of rape, according to which ‘it is a felony for a men to rape a …show more content…
For example, the conviction was quashed in the case of Higson28 when a man attempted to bugger his female dog and got caught by his wife, because the sentence was considered to be inappropriate. The new law itself came as a form of criticism for the old law, by focussing on the animal as a ‘victim’29.
In conclusion, the Sexual Offences Act 2003 has remedied a substantial amount of criticism that was raised by the old law, by elaborating the new legislation in a way that gives a clear definition of rape and consent. However, the new law was drafted in such a manner that can lead to a new series of criticism, on one hand because of the subliminal blurred line created between the rebuttable and conclusive presumptions about consent, and on the other hand because of the broad and technical approach that the laws on prostitution and bestiality
Module Name and Number: Criminal Law UJUTD3-30-1
Coursework question: 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.
Word count: 1476 words.
The laws concerning sexual offences have always attracted criticism upon them because the legislative language with which were drafted were often considered to be inconsistent and gender-biased. For instance, the absence of the word ‘consent’ in the Sexual Offences Act 1956 and the unclear definition of rape, according to which ‘it is a felony for a men to rape a …show more content…
For example, the conviction was quashed in the case of Higson28 when a man attempted to bugger his female dog and got caught by his wife, because the sentence was considered to be inappropriate. The new law itself came as a form of criticism for the old law, by focussing on the animal as a ‘victim’29.
In conclusion, the Sexual Offences Act 2003 has remedied a substantial amount of criticism that was raised by the old law, by elaborating the new legislation in a way that gives a clear definition of rape and consent. However, the new law was drafted in such a manner that can lead to a new series of criticism, on one hand because of the subliminal blurred line created between the rebuttable and conclusive presumptions about consent, and on the other hand because of the broad and technical approach that the laws on prostitution and bestiality