Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Sexual assault definition

What does Sexual assault mean? In practice, sexual assault means intentionally (and in Scotland and Ireland, intentionally or recklessly) touching another person in a sexual way without that person’s consent, where any asserted belief in consent is not reasonable (the test varies by jurisdiction). It is a statutory offence across the UK and Ireland: England and Wales (Sexual Offences Act 2003, section 3), Northern Ireland (Sexual Offences (Northern Ireland) Order 2008, Article 7), Scotland (Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009, section 3), and Ireland (Criminal Law (Rape) (Amendment) Act 1990, as amended). Key elements are: (1) touching, which can be of any part of the body,...

Child sexual offences involving under‑13s: elements, transitional charging and sentencing under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (England and Wales)

Published by a LexisNexis Corporate Crime expert

Practice notes

Child sexual offences are chiefly set out in sections 5–8 of the Sexual Offences ACT 2003 (SOA 2003). They include:

Sexual assault on a child under 13 (SOA 2003, s 7)
assault by penetration of a child under 13 (SOA 2003, s 6)
Rape of a child under 13 (SOA 2003, s 5)
causing or encouraging a child under 13 to take part in sexual activity (SOA 2003, s 8)

These are examined in more depth below.

The 'old' law and the 'new' law

Earlier law is split into three eras, determined by the date of the alleged conduct:

1 January 1957 to 21 December 1976 are governed by section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956 (SOA 1956). Consolidated statutes, amended by the Sexual Offences Act 1967, in relation to homosexual acts
22 December 1976 to 2 November 1994 are governed by section 1 of the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1976 (SO(A)A 1976), and
3 November 1994 to 30 April 2004 are governed by SOA 1956, s 1 (as amended by the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994).

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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