Sexual Offences Act (2003)
The Sexual Offences Act (2003) is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom which was enacted in 2003. It was introduced as "An Act to make new provision about sexual offences, their prevention and the protection of children from harm from other sexual acts, and for connected purposes."[1]
The Act introduced many new sexual offences and, due to a recent amendment enacted as part of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act, provides that UK nationals who act contrary to UK child sex offence laws abroad may be prosecuted in the United Kingdom.[2] It also defines penetrative sexual activity between two children under the age of 13 as rape.[3]
The Act makes it an offence to encourage, arrange or facilitate certain child sex offences, including both contact[4] and non-contact [5] offences.