What are rape and sexual assault?
The law in England and Wales uses the words ‘rape’ and ‘sexual assault’ to describe crimes where someone has sex with you our touches you in a sexual way without your consent. There are three main sexual offences:
- Rape. This is when someone puts their penis into your vagina, bottom, or mouth without your consent.
- Sexual assault by penetration. This is when someone puts another body part (anything that is not a penis) or an object into your vagina or bottom without your consent.
- Sexual assault. This is when someone touches you in a sexual way with a body part or object without your consent. This includes kissing.
It is also a crime if someone makes you do or see something sexual without your consent. This includes pressuring you to have sexual activity with another person, or showing you sexual images or videos that you did not want to see.
You may have been the victim of a sexual crime recently, or a long time ago. Even if it happened many years ago, it can still be investigated and taken to court.
What is consent?
If someone does something sexual to you, it is a crime if they do it without your consent.
Consent means that you agree to someone doing something because you want to. According to the law, you must agree by choice, and you need both freedom and capacity to make that choice. This means that you cannot be pressured or forced into your decision, and that you need to understand what you are agreeing to.
For example, if someone is threatened or frightened into saying ‘yes’, they don’t have the freedom to agree to sexual activity. A person does not have the capacity to agree if they are asleep or unconscious. Someone may also lack capacity if they are very drunk or under the influence of drugs.
You can give your consent to one type of sexual activity but not another. You can also change your mind and take back your consent at any time during sexual activity. You do not need to have said ‘no’ out loud for us to make the case that you did not consent.
What is reasonable belief in consent?
When we prosecute a case, we need to prove that the defendant did not have a reasonable belief that you consented to the sexual activity. It is not enough for them to say that they thought you were consenting. We look at whether a reasonable person would have believed that you were consenting, based on what actually happened. There are lots of ways we can prove that you did not consent.
What is the age of consent?
The age of consent in England and Wales is 16. This is the age at which young people can legally consent to taking part in sexual activity. This means that sexual activity is always unlawful if one of the participants is under 16, even if they appear to give their consent.