AGE OF CONSENT
A female must be at least 16 years old before she can have sex with a male. If she is under 16 then the male can be prosecuted. A male under 24, who has never been charged with a similar offence can try and argue a defence that he genuinely believed the female was over 16. Females cannot be prosecuted for having sex under the age of 16.A woman who has sex with a boy under the age of 16 can be prosecuted for indecent assault.
MARITAL CONSUMMATION
If a marriage is not consummated it can be annulled. Consummation means the male’s penis must penetrate the female’s vagina to a reasonable depth and stay there for a reasonable time!SEX IN MARRIAGE
When a couple marry they impliedly agree to have a reasonable amount of sexual intercourse with each other. Therefore a persistent refusal to have sex or indeed demands for excessive amounts of sex can be both held to be unreasonable and grounds for divorce. A married man (and woman) can be found guilty of rape.ADULTERY
Adultery is voluntary sex between two people of different sexes either or both of them being married. Sex in this situation means actual sexual intercourse but not foreplay or masturbation. Rape of course is not adultery. Adultery is of course a ground for divorce.RAPE
Rape against a female is when a male over the age of 10 years old puts his penis into a female’s vagina when she does not want him to. The male must be aware that the female does not want him to, or not to care whether she does or not. If a male threatens to force a female to have sex against her will then that is also a criminal offence. This includes married men. Rape also can be committed to men as well as women.Any victim of rape should report the matter immediately to their local police. Many police stations have specially trained officers and private suites to help.
INDECENT ASSAULT
If a male or female is touched or threatened in an indecent way then the criminal offence of Indecent Assault is committed. Victims of Indecent Assault have the right to remain anonymous.ABORTION
It is lawful for a doctor to carry out an abortion during the first 28 weeks of pregnancy if the continuance of the pregnancy would risk the mother’s life or to her physical or mental health or her children or that the child would be born with a physical or mental handicap. The consent of two doctors is necessary. A male cannot prevent his wife or girlfriend from having an abortion.LESBIANS
The law does not really recognise a females right to be gay and is generally silent on the subject. Sexual relationships between women are allowed. However one exception is that women in the armed forces are not allowed to have sexual relationships with other women.HOMOSEXUALS
The age of consent for two men to have a sexual relationship is 18. Both males must consent and it must take place in private with no one else present. Men in the armed forces are not allowed to have sexual relationships with other men.The Government is in the process of taking steps to reduce the age of consent to 16, however the date for this to become law has yet to be announced.
