Age Of Consent

EDM number 319 in 1998-99, proposed by Evan Harris on 11/02/1999.

That this House welcomes the Government's commitment to the equalisation of the age of consent at 16 years; further welcomes that Government's acceptance of the provision that the underage victim, of an unlawful consensual sexual act committed with an older man should no longer be criminalised; notes that this measure equalises that provision between heterosexuals and homosexuals since under age girls cannot be charged with an offence; believes that homosexual men accused of age of consent offences should have recourse to the same defences in law as heterosexual men; notes that a heterosexual man under the age of 24 years who has not previously been charged with a similar offence, is able to offer as defence that he believed the female to be over 16 years and that he had reasonable cause for that belief; notes that the Government has introduced a similar defence of 'reasonable belief for mistake as to age' in its abuse of trust measures; notes that, except in Scottish law, such a defence is not available to homosexual men charged with age of consent offences; notes that without such a defence homosexual men are uniquely vulnerable to entrapment and blackmail; further notes that without recourse to the same defence as heterosexuals, homosexuals will be much more likely that heterosexuals to be unfairly convicted to an offence; and believes that natural justice requires the Government to introduce such a provision in the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill.

This motion has been signed by a total of 20 MPs.