Part of Orders of the Day — Sexual Offences Bill – in the House of Commons at 11:30 am on 10 May 1985.
My new clause 7 has been selected. It refers to section 32 of the Sexual Offences Act and applies it to the offences with which we are now dealing. I believe that it can be so applied, and with benefit. It is already being applied in cases of men soliciting men, and it is not a dead letter. Many cases of men soliciting men are brought successfully. It has not proved impossible for the police to prove persistence; indeed, in many ways it has proved too easy for the police to do that. There is no reason why the same burden of proof should not apply in cases of men soliciting women from a motor vehicle.