Sex and The law The Facts - Sexual Consent (pauseplaystop.org.uk) To raise student awareness of the law relating to sex To recognise the harm that indecent image sharing will have on them and their futures To understand that consent must be given in all sexual activities Sussex Police | Serving Sussex 2 Sex and You © ORCA Education Limited 2004 New Words Not yet thanks! Despite everything you see and hear it is quite normal and right for people not to have sex until they meet the right person. 20% of young people do not have sex until they are in their twenties. Over 70% of young people do not have sex until they are 18 or 19. Many people are not really interested or ready to have a male or female partner until they are much older. © ORCA Education Limited 2004 and suppliers all rights reserved Do you feel there is pressure on you to have a close boyfriend or girlfriend? * Sussex Police | Serving Sussex 5 The Law There are laws to protect young people from sex at a too early age. Under age sex can be damaging both emotionally and physically. It is against the law to have sex with someone under 16. This even applies if both are under 16. Having sex with a girl under 13 is considered statutory rape and has a maximum sentence of life in prison. © ORCA Education Limited 2004 and suppliers all rights reserved Sometimes it feels like everyone’s trying to push you into having sex: your friends, your boyfriend or girlfriend, films and TV. But it’s up to you when you have sex, and it’s OK to say no. Sussex Police | Serving Sussex 7 Legal age to have sex The age you can have sex is called ‘the age of consent’. In the UK it is 16 years old. This means that according to the law, only those who are aged 16 or over are able to freely agree to any sexual activity, in full understanding of the consequences of having sex. This applies if you want to have sex with someone of the opposite sex, or the same sex. Sussex Police | Serving Sussex 8 LIFE Causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent. It is an offence for a person intentionally to cause another person to engage in sexual activity without that persons consent, if he/she does not reasonably believe that the other consents. Sussex Police | Serving Sussex 9 LIFE What is rape? A person commits rape if they intentionally penetrate the vagina, anus or mouth of another person with their penis without consent. Sussex Police | Serving Sussex 10 LIFE Assault by penetration. A person commits assault by penetration if they intentionally penetrate the vagina or anus of another person with a part of the body or anything else, without their consent. Sussex Police | Serving Sussex 11 Sexual / Indecent assault Intentionally touch someone in a sexual way without reasonable belief they consented. Touching covers all physical contact, whether with a part of the body, or anything else or through clothing. Up to 10 years imprisonment Sussex Police | Serving Sussex 12 40% thought it was ok to send topless shots Sexting Naked selfie Cyber sex Nudie SEXTING 15% thought it was ok to send fully nude shots Sexting: An Exploration of Practices, Attitudes and Influences NSPCC 2012 Sussex Police | Serving Sussex 13 Reasons for Sexting Sexting can happen for lots of reasons. You might: feel like ‘everyone else is doing it’ even if they’re not – especially if they're exaggerating about sending photos or boasting about having them on their phone worry about being seen as 'not sexy', 'frigid' or 'shy' and go along with things you're uncomfortable with feel under pressure to sext as a way of 'proving' your sexuality feel harassed, threatened or blackmailed into sending pictures feel it's easier just to 'give in' to somebody who keeps asking for things want someone's approval think you 'owe' your boyfriend or girlfriend or made to feel guilty if you don't do what they ask you for be in love with the person and trust them completely have a long distance or online relationship with someone and want to have a sexual relationship with them feel proud of your body and want to share it with other people. HOWEVER… Sussex Police | Serving Sussex 14 Sexting and the Law •It is illegal to: •create sexual images/ videos of anyone younger than 18 years old (including a video a person creates themselves). This is considered child pornography. •possess child pornography, i.e., to save child pornography (on a phone, computer or other device) •distribute child pornography, i.e., sell or share images/ videos. This includes showing it to people, forwarding it, or posting it to the internet. Sussex Police | Serving Sussex 15 IT IS ILLEGAL TO: take or make a naked selfie show or send such photographs possess such images with intent to show and/or to send them on ask for a naked picture of a child A CHILD IS A PERSON UNDER THE AGE OF 18 Sussex Police | Serving Sussex 16 Cyber Safety Awareness for parents SEXTING – THE RISKS It’s illegal It’s NOT harmless Taking, sharing or receiving an image, even voluntarily, can have a long-lasting effect. By sending a naked image, a young person is producing and distributing child abuse / indecent images and risks being prosecuted, even if the picture is taken and shared with their permission Sussex Police | Serving Sussex 17 No control of images The sender has no control about how the naked selfie is passed on. When images are stored or shared online they become public. These images may NEVER be completely removed and could be found in the future, for example when applying for jobs or university Sussex Police | Serving Sussex 18 How long can you face in jail for sexting someone underage? • If enforced, the law would mean anyone over 18 in England and Wales who sent a sexually explicit message to a child, or attempted to encourage the child to send something explicit themselves, could face up to two years in prison. Sussex Police | Serving Sussex 19 Cyber Safety Awareness for parents Sussex Police | Serving Sussex 20 What does consent mean? Agreeing for something to happen and that person has the freedom and capacity to make that choice. Still relevant to those in a relationship. Sussex Police | Serving Sussex 22 When can consent not be given? (Discuss) Sussex Police | Serving Sussex 23 Sussex Police | Serving Sussex 24 What if I have underage sex? •The law sees it as sexual assault - it's a criminal offence. This is because in the eyes of the law we are unable to give informed consent to sex when still a child. •A boy who has sex with a girl under 16 is breaking the law. Even if she agrees. •If she is 13-15, the boy could go to prison for two years. •If she is under 13 he could be sentenced to life imprisonment. •A girl age 16 or over who has sex with a boy under 16 can be prosecuted for indecent assault. What is Consent? | Disrespect NoBody YouTube https://youtu.be/n6X5I7xoxEY In what percentage of rape cases do you think the victim knows the offender? Answer: 92 per cent of offenders are known to their victim •Freely given. -Consenting is a choice you make without pressure, manipulation, or under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Reversible. Anyone can change their mind about what they feel like doing, anytime. Even if you’ve done it before, and even if you’re both naked in bed. Informed. You can only consent to something if you have the full story. For example, if someone says they’ll use a condom and then they don’t, there isn’t full consent. Enthusiastic. When it comes to sex, you should only do stuff you WANT to do, not things that you feel you’re expected to do. Specific. Saying yes to one thing (like going to the bedroom to make out) doesn’t mean you’ve said yes to others (like having sex). PSNI officers recorded 3,528 reports of sexual offences between September 2017 and August 2018, compared to 3,229 during the previous 12 months, a rise of 9.3%. However, they are concerned that many sexual assaults go unreported, and have called for all victims to come forward. Anyone can be a victim — no matter their gender, sexual orientation, or age. But certain groups of people are more likely than others to experience sexual assault in their lives. Women (especially women of color), LGBT identified people, and people with developmental disabilities are more likely to experience sexual assault over the course of their lifetimes. 2 Minutes Will Change the Way You Think About Consent YouTube If you’ve had sex with someone before, you’ve given consent for sex with them again in the future. Answer: False- Every time you have sex you need to be sure the other person is willing. Unless the other person says No and makes it very clear they don’t want to have sex, it’s ok to assume they are giving consent. Answer: False- Sometimes people are worried or scared about upsetting someone and might not say no very forcefully. A no is still a no and should be respected. Some people might freeze completely and be unable to say no at all. You should never assume consent. Instead, assume you don’t have it unless the other person makes is very clear that they definitely want to have sex. People who are raped can be responsible for putting themselves in situations where they are raped, such as wearing provocative clothing or getting drunk. Answer: False- If you were drunk and naked with someone who doesn’t think it’s ok to take advantage of someone who is vulnerable, you won’t be raped. It is ALWAYS the responsibility of the rapist if someone gets raped. CONSENT SEPTEMBER 2018. Someone could end up committing rape when they have had too much to drink or taken drugs. Answer: False- Drugs and alcohol impair your judgement, but they don’t stop you knowing right from wrong. If you’re in a relationship, you have consent! Answer: False- Just because you’re in a relationship doesn’t mean you automatically have consent. You should always check. You are not entitled to sex because you are in a relationship. At the lower end of the scale is one-off offence in which just the one deception has taken place. When sentencing, the judge will consider if the victim is vulnerable. If they are found to be, then the sentence may be a community-based sentence plus six months imprisonment. If the value of the offence is more significant, then the time imprisoned could be up to 18 months. What is the maximum penalty for rape? Rape is a serious offence to which the dangerous offender provisions apply. This means on conviction of rape, the defendant can be sentenced to a maximum of life imprisonment (the starting point is five years). Scenario 1 Jamie and Ellie are both 15 and have been going out for 6 months. They have talked about having sex for the last 2 months. They have visited the family planning clinic to get some advice on contraception methods. They both decided to have sex last Saturday. They were both sober and feel that they made the right decision. Scenario 2 Jade and Ben have been together for a year. Ben is now 17 and Jade is 15. Jade has been talking about having sex for months but Ben really wants to wait until they are both over 18. Jade feels ready and is annoyed because all of her mates have done it. One night at a party, Jade gets Ben really drunk so he agrees to have sex with her. They have sex but in the morning Ben feels disgusted and ends their relationship. Sexual Assault - Stop Blaming the Victim https://youtu.be/n6X5I7xoxEY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD2EooMhqRI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGoWLWS4-kU Task 2: Place each scenario under whether you think it legal or illegal in the UK. Disc as a class. 5 minutes! Did you guess right? Questions? Sussex Police | Serving Sussex 46 Sussex Police | Serving Sussex 47 Sussex Police | Serving Sussex 48 What to do…. Tell someone you trust Parents / carer, teacher, other family member, Police, report abuse button… Helpful websites Childline CEOP Think you know ZIPIT APP Sussex Police | Serving Sussex 49 TASKS Task 1- complete assignment 1. Create a leaflet/poster that explains WHY consent is important. Give detailed answers to each question asked. Task 2- complete the mind map on consent, providing a relevant scenario and giving detailed answers in each box Sussex Police | Serving Sussex 50