Saturday, May 1
The BBC reports today on the
changes to sex laws which come into effect today. On the whole, they seem surprisingly sensible and welcome. Rape is now defined as penetration into the mouth, vagina or anus, instead of just the vagina, which is good news. As is the detail that "a rapist will have to be 'honest and reasonable' in their belief they took reasonable steps to ensure their partner consented to sex."
Even the "grooming" sections seem sensible. The only bit which seems out of place to me is the part which says "incest offences to cover not just blood relatives but also foster and adoptive parents and live-in partners." Surely the whole point of the incest laws in the first place was to restrict the number of children born with similar DNA from each parent? There isn't a risk of disabilities caused by inbreeding to children born of someone who's mated with a foster relative. I see no crime in it. Maybe it's just me, but it seems a very strange item to have included.
11:50
