Policing and Crime Bill

As has been said, Amendments 53, 54 and 63 would increase the maximum penalty for the offences created by Clauses 13 and 14 from a fine of £1,000 to 14 years’ imprisonment. This issue was debated in another place, where, as here, it was linked with other amendments which sought to remove the strict liability element of the offence and to replace it with a requirement to prove that the defendant knew that he had been with a prostitute who had been subject to force or deception. These amendments are therefore based on the new mental element that, in the view of the Official Opposition, should be introduced into the offence, which is why they wish to increase the maximum penalty for such an offence. In the other place, it was also argued that the offence of having sex with someone who had been forced in some way was the equivalent of rape and should be treated as such. However, this offence is distinct from rape because there is no requirement to show that the defendant knew or ought to have known that the prostitute was threatened or deceived; hence, under strict liability we intend to give what we consider to be an appropriate penalty of a fine. That would be consistent with the penalties for similar offences, such as kerb-crawling, and in our view it would tackle the demand for prostitution. If someone has sex with a person who does not consent and they do not reasonably believe that that person has consented—