Clause 29 - Family relationships
Sexual Offences Bill [Lords]
3:45 pm
Ms Harriet Harman (Solicitor General, Law Officers' Department; Camberwell and Peckham, Labour)
I know that we are not allowed to use visual aids in Committee, but I have one because the matter is complicated. We are examining a matrix of who is or is not allowed to have sex with which family members at what age. We need to identify the changes that the Bill makes and compare the new position of the law with the old position.
I will explain the Government amendments and why we will resist amendment No. 152, tabled by the hon. Member for Beaconsfield, in relation to cousins. The child familial sex offences are primarily designed to protect children up to the age of 18 within the family environment, where they are particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse and exploitation. Because of the balance of power within the family unit and the close and trusting relationships that exist within it, the family can create opportunities for exploitation and abuse. A great deal of thought was given to the scope of the offence and the familial relationships that should be covered. It is clear that the most important factors are the proximity of the relationship and the balance of power that exists between the abuser and his victim. Those attributes extend beyond a child's immediate blood relatives.
The definition of a family unit also needs to be drawn widely to reflect the fairly loose structure of the modern family and the sometimes transitory nature of familial relationships. Thus the definition of a familial relationship in clause 29 extends beyond the immediate blood relatives of the child covered in subsection (2) and falling within the scope of the offence simply by virtue of that relationship.
Subsection (3) deals with more distant family members who are or who have been part of the child's household, or who are or have at any time held a position of trust in relation to the child. The automatic inclusion within the sphere of criminality is contained in subsection (2), whereas in subsection (3) it is conditional not only on them being in one of the categories in paragraphs (a) to (d), but on them having lived in the same household or regularly been involved in caring for, training, or supervising—
Sitting suspended for a Division in the House.
On resuming—