2.5.3. FB's writings on the Sexual
Offences Act 2003
2.5.3.1. SEXUAL ETHICS AND CRIMINAL
LAW
2.5.3.1.1.
Description of book
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.
2.5.3.1.2.
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
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
"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."
