The Rape Of Assault By Penetration - 2494 Words

The Sexual Offences Act was introduced in 2003 and came into force on the 1st May 2004. It aimed to improve and clarify the law of rape in England and Wales by introducing a definition of ‘consent’ . The 2003 Act also created the new offence of ‘assault by penetration’ , which we will be focusing on in this essay. The main purpose of the introduction of this new offence is the regulation of the conviction rate for rape. The first part of this essay will examine the differences and similarities between section 2 and section 1 of the act and explore the reasons why the creation of the offence of ‘assault by penetration’ occurred, it will then go on to look at the ‘Rape Myths’ and why the new offence under section 2 is not called ‘rape’.†¦show more content†¦(3) Sections 75 and 76 apply to an offence under this section. (4) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable, on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for life.† When comparing this section with section 1 of the SOA 2003, it is noticeable that both offences carry the same maximum penalty . The crucial difference between the two sections is that in subsection 1(a) of section 1 it is made clear that the main requirement for the offence is penile penetration as opposed to section 2 where the requirement for the offence is penetration with ‘a part of the body or anything else’ . Ultimately there is a clear overlap between the two offences because the penis is a ‘part of the body’. Moreover, section 1 does not precise that the penetration must be sexual ; however, there is probably no need to mention it because it can be assumed that penile penetration has sexual character. It can also be noted that for the offence of assault by penetration the mouth is not included. The requirements when it comes to consent are identical, sections 75 and 76 apply to both sections, and they both require no reasonable belief of consent from the defendant. This new offence of assault by penetration also covers cases where the defendant is not sure as to