The age of consent to any form of sexual activity is 16 for both men and women. The age of consent is the same regardless of the gender or sexual orientation of a person and whether the sexual activity is between people of the same or different gender.
It is an offence for anyone to have any sexual activity with a person under the age of 16. However, Home Office guidance [1] is clear that there is no intention to prosecute teenagers under the age of 16 where both mutually agree and where they are of a similar age.
It is an offence for a person aged 18 or over to have any sexual activity with a person under the age of 18 if the older person holds a position of trust (for example a teacher or social worker) as such sexual activity is an abuse of the position of trust.
The Sexual Offences Act 2003 provides specific legal protection for children aged 12 and under who cannot legally give their consent to any form of sexual activity. There is a maximum sentence of life imprisonment for rape, assault by penetration, and causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity. (ref Family Planning Association, The Law on Sex Factsheet April 2015).
http://www.torbayandsouthdevon.nhs.uk/services/sexual-medicine-service/clinic-opening-times/
Sexting
What is sexting?
Sexting is the word used to describe the sharing of personal sexual content electronically. The word is a combination of ‘sex’ and ‘texting’.
Not got a lot of time? Check out our short film for parents on sexting.
Why do people sext?
Sexting is usually deliberate (i.e. people choose to do it) and is often when someone takes an intimate or sexually explicit image of themselves and sends it to another person (for example a boyfriend or girlfriend). Although it’s completely natural for young people to want to explore their own sexual identity and their relationships, sexting can be really risky and have very serious consequences.
Sexting and the law
If anyone under the age of 18 is sexting (i.e. sending indecent images of themselves), they’re also breaking the law. You can find out more about sexting and the law on the Think You Know website but in brief it’s a criminal offence to:
- TAKE an indecent image of someone under the age of 18 (which includes someone taking an image of themselves).
- MAKE an indecent image of someone under 18 (i.e. copy it or save it to another device).
- SEND an indecent image of someone 18 to another person.
- ASK someone under 18 to take an indecent image of themselves.
- HAVE an indecent image of someone under 18.
Remember the law is that it is there to protect young people from harm and from being exploited and it’s not designed to punish them for making genuine mistakes. That said, every case is different and is always dealt with based on the circumstances and facts involved.
- Guidance for Schools from UK Safer Internet Centre
- Share Aware Resources for Schools from the NSPCC
- Stop It Now: A project of the Lucy Faithful Foundation
Removal of sexual images which have been shared online.
Childline and the Internet Watch Foundation have come together to provide a service where children can request the removal of sexual images of themselves which have been shared online. As part of that process the child would be asked to provide a link to where the image is stored online, rather than send the image itself.
The child is also required to verify their identity and age and this is done through the YOTI app. YOTI will not store images of the child’s ID following the verification process.
Below are a links to resources which contain details regarding this service: