Sexual Act, 1956 - Legislation.gov.uk

1 Sexual offences Act, 1956 4 & 5 ELIz. 2 CH. 69 ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS PART I offences , AND THE PROSECUTION AND PUNISHMENT OF offences Intercourse by force, intimidation, etc. Section 1. Rape. 2. Procurement of woman by threats. 3. Procurement of woman by false pretences. 4. Administering drugs to obtain or facilitate intercourse. Intercourse with girls under sixteen 5. Intercourse with girl under thirteen. 6. Intercourse with girl between thirteen and sixteen. Intercourse with defectives 7. Intercourse with an idiot or imbecile. 8. Intercourse with defective. 9. Procurement of defective. 10. Incest by a man. 11. Incest by a woman. Incest Unnatural offences 12. Buggery. 13. Indecency between men. Assaults 14. Indecent assault on a woman. 15. Indecent assault on a man. 16. Assault with intent to commit buggery. CH. 69 Sexual offences Act, 1956 4 & 5 ELiz. 2 Abduction Section 17. Abduction of woman by force or for the sake of her property.

2 18. Fraudulent abduction of heiress from parent or guardian. 19. Abduction of unmarried girl under eighteen from parent or guardian. 20. Abduction of unmarried girl under sixteen from parent or guardian. 21. Abduction of defective from parent or guardian. Prostitution, procuration, etc. 22. Causing prostitution of women. 23. Procuration of girl under twenty-one. 24. Detention of woman in brothel or other premises. 25. Permitting girl under thirteen to use premises for intercourse. 26. Permitting girl between thirteen and sixteen to use premises for intercourse. 27. Permitting defective to use premises for intercourse. 28. Causing or encouraging prostitution of, intercourse with, or indecent assault on, girl under sixteen. 29. Causing or encouraging prostitution of defective. 30. Man living on earnings of prostitution. 31. Woman exercising control over prostitute. 32. Solicitation by men. Solicitation Suppression of brothels 33.

3 Keeping a brothel. 34. Landlord letting premises for use as brothel. 35. Tenant permitting premises to be used as brothel. 36. Tenant permitting premises to be used for prostitution. Powers and procedure for dealing with offenders 37. Prosecution and punishment of offences . 38. Powers of court in case of incest with girl under twenty-one. 39. Evidence of wife or husband of accused. Powers of arrest and search 40. Power of arrest in case of procuration or prostitution of women. 41. Power of arrest in cases of trading in prostitution, or of soliciting by men. 42. Power of search in case of man living on earnings of prostitution. 43. Power to search for and remove woman detained for immoral purposes. ii 4 & 5 ELCZ. 2 Sexual offences Act, 1956 CH. 69 Section Interpretation 44. Meaning of " Sexual intercourse ". 45. Meaning of " defective ". 46. Use of words " man ", " boy ", " woman " and " girl ". 47. Proof of exceptions.

4 PART II SUPPLEMENTARY 48. Amendments of Acts not consolidated. 49. Adaptation of enactments applying to Scotland. 50. Adaptation of enactments applying to Northern Ireland. 51. Repeal. 52. Savings, etc. 53. Construction of references to enactments. 54. Extent. 55. Short title. 56. Commencement. SCHEDULES : First Schedule-Rights of landlord where tenant convicted of permitting use of premises as brothel. Second Schedule-Table of offences , with mode of prosecution, punishments, etc. Third Schedule-Consequential amendments of enact- ments not consolidated. Fourth Schedule-Repeals. 4 & 5 Eiiz. 2 Sexual offences Act, 1956 CH. 69 CHAPTER 69 An Act to consolidate (with corrections and improvements made under the Consolidation of Enactments (Proce- dure) Act, 1949) the statute law of England and Wales relating to Sexual crimes, to the abduction, procuration and prostitution of women and to kindred offences , and to make such adaptations of statutes extending beyond England and Wales as are needed in con- sequence of that consolidation.

5 [2nd August, 1956 ] B E it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:- PART I offences , AND THE PROSECUTION AND PUNISHMENT OF offences Intercourse by force, intimidation, etc. (1) It is felony for a man to rape a woman. (2) A man who induces a married woman to have Sexual intercourse with him by impersonating her husband commits rape. Rape. (1) It is an offence for a person to procure a woman, procurement by threats or intimidation. to have unlawful Sexual intercourse of woman in any part of the world. by threats. (2) A person shall not be convicted of an offence under this section on the evidence of one witness only, unless the witness is corroborated in some material particular by evidence implicating the accused. CH. 69 Sexual offences Act, 1956 4 & 5 ELIz.

6 2 PART I -cont. Procurement of woman by false pretences. Administering drugs to obtain or facilitate intercourse. (1) It is an offence for a person to procure a woman, by false pretences or false representations, to have unlawful Sexual intercourse in any part of the world. (2) A person shall not be convicted of an offence under this section on the evidence of one witness only, unless the witness is corroborated in some material particular by evidence impli- cating the accused. (1) It is an offence for a person to apply or administer to, or cause to be taken by, a woman any drug, matter or thing with intent to stupefy or overpower her so as thereby to enable any man to have unlawful Sexual intercourse with her. (2) A person shall not be convicted of an offence under this section on the evidence of one witness only, unless the witness is corroborated in some material particular by evidence implicat- ing the accused.

7 Intercourse with girls under sixteen Intercourse 5. It is felony for a man to have unlawful Sexual intercourse with girl under with a girl under the age of thirteen. thirteen. Intercourse (1) It is an offence, subject to the exceptions mentioned with girl in this section, for a man to have unlawful Sexual intercourse between with a girl not under the age of thirteen but under the age of thirteen and sixteen. sixteen. (2) Where a marriage is invalid under section two of the Marriage Act, 1949, or section one of the Age of Marriage Act, 1929 (the wife being a girl under the age of sixteen), the invalidity does not make the husband guilty of an offence under this section because he has Sexual intercourse with her, if he believes her to be his wife and has reasonable cause for the belief. (3) A man is not guilty of an offence under this section because he has unlawful Sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of sixteen, if he is under the age of twenty-four and has not previously been charged with a like offence, and he believes her to be of the age of sixteen or over and has reasonable cause for the belief.

8 In this subsection, " a like offence " means an offence under this section or an attempt to commit one, or an offence under paragraph (1) of section five of the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1885 (the provision replaced for England and Wales by this section). Intercourse with an idiot or imbecile. Intercourse with defectives 7. It is an offence for a man to have unlawful Sexual inter- course with a woman whom he knows to be an idiot or imbecile. 2 4 & 5 ELiz. 2 Sexual offences Act, 1956 Cli. 69 (1) It is an offence, subject to the exception mentioned PART I in this section, for a man to have unlawful Sexual intercourse -cont. with a woman who is under care or treatment in an institu- Intercourse tion, certified house or approved home within the mean- with defective. ing of the Mental Deficiency Act, 1913, or placed out on licence therefrom or under guardianship under that Act. (2) A man is not guilty of an offence under this section because he has unlawful Sexual intercourse with such a woman, if he does not know and has no reason to suspect her to be a defective.

9 (l) It is an offence, subject to the exception mentioned Procurement in this section, for a person to procure a woman who is a defec- of defective. tive to have unlawful Sexual intercourse in any part of the world. (2) A person is not guilty of an offence under this section because he procures a defective to have unlawful Sexual inter- course, if he does not know and has no reason to suspect her to be a defective. Incest (1) It is an offence for a man to have Sexual intercourse Incest by a with a woman whom he knows to be his grand-daughter, man. daughter, sister or mother. (2) In the foregoing subsection " sister " includes half-sister, and for the purposes of that subsection any expression importing a relationship between two people shall be taken to apply not- withstanding that the relationship is not traced through lawful wedlock. (1) It is an offence for a woman of the age of sixteen Incest by a or over to permit a man whom she knows to be her grandfather, woman.

10 Father, brother or son to have Sexual intercourse with her by her consent. (2) In the foregoing subsection " brother " includes half- brother, and for the purposes of that subsection any expression importing a relationship between two people shall be taken to apply notwithstanding that the relationship is not traced through lawful wedlock. Unnatural offences (1) It is felony for a person to commit buggery with Buggery_ another person or with an animal. (2) Section thirty-nine of this Act (which relates to the com- petence as a witness of the wife or husband of the accused) does not apply in the case of this section, except on a charge of an offence with a person under the age of seventeen. A4 3 CH. 69 Sexual offences Act, 1956 4 & 5 ELiz. 2 PART I (3) For the purposes of the last foregoing subsection a person --cont. shall be presumed, unless the contrary is proved, to have been under the age of seventeen at the time of the offence charged if he is stated in the charge or indictment, and appears to the court, to have been so.