MSPs urged to shelve child sex laws

Children’s commissioner feels planned new legislation will criminalise teenage girls

By Tim Pauling

Published:

Scotland’s children’s commissioner has called on MSPs to rethink planned legislation that would criminalise teenage girls who have under-age sex.

Under a wide-ranging review of legislation, it will become an offence for youngsters between the ages of 13-15 to have sex.

Professor Kathleen Marshall has warned of the unintended consequences of the move, including giving young girls a criminal record and discouraging them from seeking medical help.

She argued that more research was needed before changing the law.

The commissioner stressed that her main concern was to ensure that any change in the law is effective in discouraging early sexual activity.

Currently, boys aged 13-15 who engage in consensual sexual activity with girls of the same age are judged to have broken the law and can be subject to criminal punishment.

In practice, cases are usually not prosecuted but can be referred to the children’s hearings system, on the grounds that the boy has committed an offence.

While this is regarded as a welfare issue, it can result in a criminal record with “significant potential” to compromise future job prospects.

The Sexual Offences Bill proposes extending this criminal liability to girls as well.

Prof Marshall said she was not calling for any lowering of the age of consent.

She said: “Imagine your 15-year-old girl has had a relationship with her 15-year-old boyfriend, she is pregnant and standing before you, she is upset, you are upset, and now it is a criminal offence as well.

“Are you going to get a police investigation? Even if it goes to the children’s hearing on the grounds that she has committed an offence, it is going to follow her for the rest of her life on the basis that she has committed a sexual offence. Is that what people actually want?”

Prof Marshall sympathised with people who believe that decriminalising consensual sex between 13-15-year-olds may lead to it becoming “normalised”.

“I would not like this fear to be realised,” she said.

“It is right that the age of consent should remain at 16 and that we should find effective measures that discourage children from early sexual activity.

“That is why I am calling for further research so we can formulate effective policy that will help our young people make the right choices.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said that under the changes, the law would operate as it does now, with the majority of cases referred to the children’s panel on welfare grounds but on a gender-neutral basis.

He said ministers believed the proposal struck the right balance between protecting children from harm and any adverse consequences.

“Clearly, if there are any concerns about long-term consequences in the bill we are happy to consider that with parliament,” the spokesman said.