Francis Bennion -

The book is a critique of Part I (Sexual Offences) of the UK Government's Sexual Offences Bill in the form in which it was introduced into the House of Lords on 28 January 2003. The Bill is expected to be given Royal Assent in November 2003. So there is still time to change it, if the book's warnings are heeded.

The book is based on the fundamental proposition laid down in FB's related book The Sex Code: Morals for Moderns that sexual positivism or the healthy acceptance of human sexuality, seeking its fulfilment, is largely absent from British society - even though it is essential for human happiness. Yet much of Part I of the Bill is fuelled by public hysteria and founded on what might be termed a Victorian spinster's view of sex, namely that it is frightening, horrendous, and fit only for life with one's head beneath the bedclothes desperately hoping no wicked man will approach.

There are no fewer than 57 varieties of new sexual offences contained in Part I of the Bill. Some, but not many, replace existing offences that would be abolished by it. The Government's proposals are not based on any system of morals and values. On the question of a basis of agreed common morality the Bill is strangely silent, as was the White Paper on which it is based. While some sexual acts are obviously immoral and criminal, the vast majority are innocent and healthy A few others are on the borderline. Here there is a grey area, which needs to be addressed very carefully by those who lay down the criminal law. The proposals in the Bill fail to do that, as the book explains.

Contents

The text of the sections within the book can be read by clicking on the relevant link. Italicised lines relate paragraphs within the sections.

Introductory

The Sex Hate Bill?

The nature of sexuality

Law and ethics

No ethical basis

Specific proposals in the Bill

Sex with children

Sexual activity between minors

Adult sexual activity with a child

Grooming of children

Familial sexual abuse of a child

Mistaken belief in child’s age

Prohibited adult sexual relationships

Sex with mentally disabled

Bestiality

Sexual interference with human remains

Drafting points on the Bill

Monosexual drafting

Meaning of “sexual”

Overlapping offences

Unnecessary complexity

Summary

Conclusion

Text of Book

You are able to read the text of the book on-line, either in html or Adobe pdf format.

Publishing Details

	Title	Sexual Ethics and Criminal Law
	Subtitle	A Critique of the Sexual Offences Bill 2003
	ISBN	0 9542855 2 2
	Type of book	Paperback
	Number of Volumes	1
	Number of Pages	47
	Name of Publisher	Lester Publishing
	Address of Publisher	29 Pegasus Road, Oxford OX4 6DS
	Date of publication	2003
	Reprinted	No
	Current edition	1st
	Previous editions	None
	Supplements	None
	Current availability	Out of print

Selections from reviews

"It seems a thoughtful, passionate, knowledgeable and careful piece of work and if what half it says is true then [the Sexual Offences Bill] is the shoddiest, meanest-minded most ignorant and demotically creepy piece of legislation the government has yet to let fall."

- Stephen Fry

"In a trenchant analysis of the Bill's provisions, Bennion argues that the Government's attempt to deal with the problem through the inventive creation of more and more criminal offences is misconceived and even dangerous. But of course he is crying for the moon if he expects a reactionary Home Secretary, in a Government chasing popular votes, to do anything else."

- Richard Oerton

The book has also been reviewed on the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Web Site by Andy Armitage