Following high-profile cases, scrutiny has intensified around legal protections for children under 16 against predatory grooming and sexual abuse. Although prosecution rates have more than doubled over seven years, advocates argue the current framework still leaves vulnerable minors exposed. Charities and experts are urging ministers to criminalize the intent to groom on its own and eliminate consent assumptions that allow offenders targeting 13-to-15-year-olds to escape rape charges. In June, judges were also formally required to increase penalties for child sex offences whenever evidence demonstrates grooming took place.
Key points
New rules implemented in June mandate increased sentences for child sex offenders wheneve…: New rules implemented in June mandate increased sentences for child sex offenders whenever grooming is proven to have occurred.
Campaigners like ThirtyOne:Eight want the intention to groom recognized as a standalone c…: Campaigners like ThirtyOne:Eight want the intention to groom recognized as a standalone criminal offence even if no sexual abuse follows.
Government ministers have provided assurances to address legal gaps that allowed suspects…: Government ministers have provided assurances to address legal gaps that allowed suspects to face lesser charges instead of rape for victims aged 13 to 15.
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Time and again since the international explosion of the "Me Too" movement in 2017 against sexual violence against women and girls, politicians have been pushed on whether we in the UK have an adequate list of crimes in place to deal with all manner of incidents.
Those demands for reviews and rethinks have come back again with the conviction of one comedian Russell Brand for rape and sexual assault - and separate accusations of sexual misconduct against another one, David Walliams. He denies being a sexual predator and is not facing a criminal investigation.
The modern landscape of sexual offences in England and Wales is complicated - but it is far more nuanced than it once was because of major changes over the last two decades.
There is some confusion in public debate over what counts as grooming - but in general it's understood in the criminal courts to refer to situations where a predator builds a relationship of trust with a child target in order to prepare the ground for sexual activity. Given the end goal, that…
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