Sexual assault is an act in which a person intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence which includes rape, groping, child sexual abuse or the torture of the person in a sexual manner.
The Sexual Offences Act 2003 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
A rape shield law is a law that limits the ability to introduce evidence or cross-examine rape complainants about their past sexual behavior. The term also refers to a law that prohibits the publication of the identity of an alleged rape victim.
Rape is a type of sexual assault initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, or where the person is under threat or manipulation, or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. It is the name of a statutory crime in jurisdictions such as England and Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland, California, and New York, and is a legal term of art used in the definition of the offence of sexual violation in New Zealand.
Statistics on rape and other sexual assaults are commonly available in industrialized countries, and are becoming more common throughout the world. Inconsistent definitions of rape, different rates of reporting, recording, prosecution and conviction for rape create controversial statistical disparities, and lead to accusations that many rape statistics are unreliable or misleading. In some jurisdictions, male-female rape is the only form of rape counted in the statistics. Countries may not define forced sex on a spouse as "rape". Rape is a severely under-reported crime with surveys showing dark figures of up to 91.6% of rapes going unreported. Prevalence of reasons for not reporting rape differ across countries. They may include fear of retaliation, uncertainty about whether a crime was committed or if the offender intended harm, not wanting others to know about the rape, not wanting the offender to get in trouble, fear of prosecution, and doubt in local law enforcement.
Prostitution in Australia is governed by state and territory laws, which vary considerably. Federal legislation also affects some aspects of sex work throughout Australia, and of Australian citizens abroad.
Robert Richter QC is an Australian barrister, based in Melbourne. Richter has handled a number of high-profile cases including defendants unpopular in public opinion. Mr Richter QC is reputed to cost between $12,000 and $15,000 a day. He is an Adjunct Professor at Victoria University. He is a critic of human rights violations and advocates for the rule of law.
John David Phillips QC is an Australian lawyer and judge who served on the Supreme Court of Victoria from 1990 to 2004.
Jennifer Ann Coate is an Australian jurist. Coate was a Judge of the Family Court of Australia and one of the six Royal Commissioners appointed by the Australian government Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.
Laws against child sexual abuse vary by country based on the local definition of who a child is and what constitutes child sexual abuse. Most countries in the world employ some form of age of consent, with sexual contact with an underage person being criminally penalized. As the age of consent to sexual behaviour varies from country to country, so too do definitions of child sexual abuse. An adult's sexual intercourse with a minor below the legal age of consent may sometimes be referred to as statutory rape, based on the principle that any apparent consent by a minor could not be considered legal consent.
A false accusation of rape is the reporting of a rape where no rape has occurred.
Rape is a statutory offence in England and Wales. According to the law, rape occurs when a man penetrates another person with his penis without the consent of the person being penetrated. If a victim is forcefully penetrated with an object, this is classed as "Assault by Penetration". If the victim is made to penetrate another, the act can be prosecuted as "Causing a person to engage in sexual activity without consent" . The offence is created by section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003:
Kathleen Maltzahn is an Australian author, academic and long-time anti-sex work campaigner. She is a former councillor for the City of Yarra and was the Australian Greens Victoria candidate for the state seat of Richmond in the 2010, 2014 and 2018 Greens candidate for Richmond in the Victorian elections.
Rape by deception is a situation in which the perpetrator obtains the victim's agreement to engage in sexual intercourse or other sex acts, but gains it by deception or false statements or actions. Judicial treatment of such situations varies greatly by country and even by case.
India has one of the largest population of children in the world - Census data from 2011 shows that India has a population of 472 million children below the age of eighteen, of which 225 million are girls Protection of children by the state is guaranteed to Indian citizens by an expansive reading of Article 21 of the Indian constitution, and also mandated given India's status as signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Child sexual abuse laws in India have been enacted as part of the nation's child protection policies.The Parliament of India passed the 'Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences Bill, 2011' regarding child sexual abuse on 22 May 2012 into an Act. The rules formulated by the government in accordance with the law have also been notified on the November 2012 and the law has become ready for implementation. There have been many calls for more stringent laws.
Rape is the fourth most common crime against women in India. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2013 annual report, 24,923 rape cases were reported across India in 2012. Out of these, 24,470 were committed by someone known to the victim.
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 is an Indian legislation passed by the Lok Sabha on 19 March 2013, and by the Rajya Sabha on 21 March 2013, which provides for amendment of Indian Penal Code, Indian Evidence Act, and Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 on laws related to sexual offences. The Bill received Presidential assent on 2 April 2013 and came into force from 3 April 2013. It was originally an Ordinance promulgated by the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee, on 3 April 2013, in light of the protests in the 2012 Delhi gang rape case.
Child sexual abuse in Nigeria is an offence under several sections of chapter 21 of the country's criminal code. The age of consent is 18.
Kate Jenkins is an Australian lawyer who has been Commissioner at the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission since 2013. Her appointment to the Australian Human Rights Commission as Sex Discrimination Commissioner was announced on 11 February 2016, and will take up the role on 18 April. Jenkins is also on the Board of Berry Street Victoria – the state's largest independent child and family welfare organisation – and a member of the boards of Heide Museum of Modern Art and Carlton Football Club.
Robin Camp is a former Canadian Federal Court judge. Camp was the subject of a high-profile removal hearing before the Canadian Judicial Council for his role in a 2014 sexual assault trial that he presided over, which later recommended that he be removed from the bench.
