Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1976
| Year | 1976 |
Sexual Offences(Amendment) Act 1976
1976 CHAPTER 82
An Act to amend the law relating to rape.
Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
1 Meaning of ‘rape’ etc.
(1) For the purposes of section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956 (which relates to rape) a man commits rape if—
(a ) he has unlawful sexual intercourse with a woman who at the time of the intercourse does not consent to it; and
(b ) at that time he knows that she does not consent to the intercourse or he is reckless as to whether she consents to it;
and references to rape in other enactments (including the following provisions of this Act) shall be construed accordingly.
(2) It is hereby declared that if at a trial for a rape offence the jury has to consider whether a man believed that a woman was consenting to sexual intercourse, the presence or absence of reasonable grounds for such a belief is a matter to which the jury is to have regard, in conjunction with any other relevant matters, in considering whether he so believed.
2 Restrictions on evidence at trials for rape etc.
(1) If at a trial any person is for the time being charged with a rape offence to which he pleads not guilty, then, except with the leave of the judge, no evidence and no question in cross-examination shall be adduced or asked at the trial, by or on behalf of any defendant at the trial, about any sexual experience of a complainant with a person other than that defendant.
(2) The judge shall not give leave in pursuance of the preceding subsection for any evidence or question except on an application made to him in the absence of the jury by or on behalf of a defendant; and on such an application the judge shall give leave if and only if he is satisfied that it would be unfair to that defendant to refuse to allow the evidence to be adduced or the question to be asked.
(3) In subsection (1) of this section ‘complainant’ means a woman upon whom, in a charge for a rape offence to which the trial in question relates, it is alleged that rape was committed, attempted or proposed.
(4) Nothing in this section authorises evidence to be adduced or a question to be asked which cannot be adduced or asked apart from this section.
3 Application of s. 2. to committal proceedings, courts-martial and summary trials.
(1) Where a magistrates' court inquires into a rape offence as examining justices, then, except with the consent of the court, evidence shall not be adduced and a question shall not be asked at the inquiry which, if the inquiry were a trial at which a person is charged as mentioned in subsection (1) of the preceding section and each of the accused at the inquiry were charged at the trial with the offences of which he is accused at the inquiry, could not be adduced or asked without leave in pursuance of that section.
(2) On an application for consent in pursuance of the preceding subsection for any evidence or question the court shall—
(a ) refuse the consent unless the court is satisfied that leave in respect of the evidence or question would be likely to be given at a relevant trial; and
(b ) give the consent if the court is so satisfied.
(3) Where a person charged with a rape offence is tried for that offence either by court-martial or summarily before a magistrates' court in pursuance of section 6(1) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1969 (which provides for the summary trial in certain cases of persons under the age of 17 who are charged with indictable offences) the preceding section shall have effect in relation to the trial as if—
(a ) the words ‘in the absence of the jury’ in subsection (2) were omitted; and
(b ) for any reference to the judge there were substituted—
(i) in the case of a trial by court-martial for which a judge advocate is appointed, a reference to the judge advocate, and
(ii) in any other case, a reference to the court.
4 Anonymity of complainants in rape etc. cases.
(1) Subject to subsection (7)(a ) of this section, after a person is accused of a rape offence no matter likely to lead members of the public to identify a woman as the complainant in relation to that accusation shall either be published in England and Wales in a written publication available to the public or be broadcast in England and Wales except as authorised by a direction given in pursuance of this section.
(2) If, before the commencement of a trial at which a person is charged with a rape offence, he or another person against whom the complainant may be expected to give evidence at the trial applies to a judge of the Crown Court for a direction in pursuance of this subsection and satisfies the judge—
(a ) that the direction is required for the purpose of inducing persons to come forward who are likely to be needed as witnesses at the trial; and
(b ) that the conduct of the applicant's defence at the trial is likely to be substantially prejudiced if the direction is not given,
the judge shall direct that the preceding subsection shall not, by virtue of the accusation alleging the offence aforesaid, apply in relation to the complainant.
(3) If at a trial before the Crown Court at which a person is charged with a rape offence the judge is satisfied that the effect of subsection (1) of this section is to impose a substantial and unreasonable restriction upon the reporting of proceedings at the trial and that it is in the public interest to remove or relax the restriction, he shall direct that that subsection shall not apply to such matter relating to the complainant as is specified in the direction; but a direction shall not be given in pursuance of this subsection by reason only of an acquittal of a defendant at the trial.
(4) If a person who has been convicted of an offence and given notice of appeal to the Court of Appeal against the conviction, or notice of an application for leave so to appeal, applies to the Court of Appeal for a direction in pursuance of this subsection and satisfies the Court—
(a ) that the direction is required for the purpose of obtaining evidence in support of the appeal; and
(b ) that the applicant is likely to suffer substantial injustice if the direction is not given,
the Court shall direct that subsection (1) of this section shall not, by virtue of an accusation which alleges a rape offence and is specified in the direction, apply in relation to a complainant so specified.
(5) If any matter is published or broadcast in contravention of subsection (1) of this section, the following persons, namely—
(a ) in the case of a publication in a newspaper or periodical, any proprietor, any editor and any publisher of the newspaper or periodical;
(b ) in the case of any other publication, the person who publishes it; and
(c ) in the case of a broadcast, any body corporate which transmits or provides the programme in which the broadcast is made and any person having functions in relation to the programme corresponding to those of an editor of a newspaper,
shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 500.
(6) For the purposes of this section a person is accused of a rape offence if—
(a ) an information is laid alleging that he has committed a rape offence; or
(b ) he appears before a court charged with a rape offence; or
(c ) a court before which he is appearing commits him for trial on a new charge alleging a rape offence; or
(d ) a bill of indictment charging him with a rape offence is preferred before a court in which he may lawfully be indicted for the offence,
and references in this section and section 7(5) of this Act to an accusation alleging a rape offence shall be construed accordingly; and in this section—
‘a broadcast’ means a broadcast by wireless telegraphy of sound or visual images intended for general reception, and cognate expressions shall be construed accordingly;
‘complainant’, in relation to a person accused of a rape offence or an accusation alleging a rape offence, means the woman against whom the offence is alleged to have been committed; and
‘written publication’ includes a film, a sound track and any other record in permanent form but does not include an indictment or other document prepared for use in particular legal proceedings.
(7) Nothing in this section—
(a ) prohibits the publication or broadcasting, in consequence of an accusation alleging a rape offence, of matter consisting only of a report of legal proceedings other than proceedings at, or intended to lead to, or on an appeal arising out...
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