Legal News

New guidelines on sexual activity among schoolchildren from the Department for Education (DfE) have sparked a backlash, after Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg and the Education Secretary Nicky Morgan appeared to back penetrative sex for 13-year-olds.

The Daily Mail reports that DfE guidelines state that penetrative and oral sex should be regarded as “’normal’ behaviour for 13-year-olds” – despite the legal age of consent remaining 16. The guidelines have been drawn up by charity Brook and state that having sexual relationships is a “safe and healthy” part of growing up, including taking an interest in pornography as early as 13. The guidelines are intended to improve the quality of advice given to young people regarding sex education.

The Family Education Trust has told MPs the guidelines are illegal, however.

In July, the Prime Minister spoke at the Girls’ Summit in London and called for an end to child marriage, forced marriage and FGM within a generation.

The recent scandal surrounding the sexual exploitation and abuse of young girls by groups of older men in Rotherham who trafficked them to different parts of the country to be abused also involved young girls and boys below the age of consent.

Many of the men who abused the children were from the British Pakistani community. In June, Pakistan moved to strengthen laws against child marriage and forced marriage introduced in 1929, which many families and men ignore. Around 50% of marriages between girls under the age of 18 take part in southeast Asia, according to UN figures.

In the UK, Operation Yewtree is also currently investigating allegations of historic sexual abuse in the entertainment world, as well as in hospitals and care homes where celebrities such as Jimmy Savile were allowed access to vulnerable children and teenagers, many of whom have now come forward with allegations they were sexually abused and raped.

The UK now has the highest teen pregnancy rate in Western Europe, despite 80% of women aged between 15 and 44 using contraception.

Attempts to control the number of underage teenagers who fall pregnant each year have included free access to condoms and the morning after Pill for girls under the age of consent. However, every year in the UK, around three (2.9) out of 100 girls aged 15-19 gives birth. In France, less than one girl (0.9) out of 100 aged 15-19 gives birth on average every year – despite lower levels of contraception in France, according to figures from US pressure group Population Action International.

Girls who are under 16 are also now able to seek advice on contraception and sexually transmitted diseases without their parents being informed – removing control from parents.

The DfE has said the new guidelines on sex education are not intended to be for the purpose of planning to have sex, however.

In a further move to protect the health of young girls, the NHS has started vaccinating 12-year-old schoolgirls against the HPV virus (also known as “wart virus”), which can cause cervical cancer. HPV can also cause mouth, tongue and throat cancer if unprotected oral sex takes place with a sexual partner who has genital warts or is infected with the virus.

Many children are now exposed to sexual material online – and are also exposed to revenge porn, in which sexually explicit photos of children and teenagers are distributed online as a form of bullying. Peer pressure online can encourage children to upload images of themselves which may end up being used as revenge porn.

In October, the government legislated against revenge porn to protect victims, after several high-profile cases in which youngsters committed suicide. Those who upload explicit images of others without permission may face up to 14 years in jail.

There have been calls from children’s campaigners to protect children from being exposed to sexual activity – including banning clothing which sexualises children.

In June 2011, David Cameron – himself a father of four children – backed proposals for tackling the sexualisation of children and protect them from sexualised imagery in the media. In a letter to the Christian charity the Mothers’ Union, Mr Cameron said:

“…we should not try and wrap children up in cotton wool or simply throw our hands up and accept the world as it is. Instead, we should look to put 'the brakes on an unthinking drift towards ever-greater commercialisation and sexualisation’.”

Duncan Lewis Children Lawyers

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For expert legal advice on childcare law, call Duncan Lewis children lawyers on 020 7923 4020.

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