It's rape if the woman is drunk, according to new law

London, Thursday 28.12.06

Men face being charged with rape if they have sex with women who are drunk.

The proposal, contained in a Home Office report, is being considered by ministers in a bid to boost conviction rates for sex offences and bring more “date rapists” to justice.


The new law would mean a woman judged to be drunk at the time of having sex would be deemed incapable of giving her consent. That would potentially open the way for the prosecution of thousands of men for having sex with drunk women — regardless of whether agreement had been given at the time.

Successful prosecutions for rape often founder before they get to court because of the difficulty in proving to juries that a victim had not given consent.

The law change would end that uncertainty and is expected to lead to a huge rise in the current conviction rate of five per cent.

Proof of whether a woman was drunk would come from medical tests — including those taken many hours later using a “back calculating” technique — as well as evidence from witnesses and victims.

The new offence will be proposed in a report on countering date rape by the Home Office's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs.

The report also looks at the role played in sex attacks by drugs such as GHB and rohypnol, which are used by rapists to sedate their victims.

It warns that many attacks are missed because some medical staff fail to realise that rohypnol can be detected up to 36 hours after it was administered — unlike GHB which lasts about 12 hours — and so fail to take tests.

To counter this, it calls for medical guidance to recommend that samples be taken whenever possible. It also recommends the increased testing of victim's hair, which retains drug traces weeks later, and the increased provision of testing kits to enable urine and other samples to be taken swiftly.

At the moment, a drunken woman is deemed to be capable of giving consent so long as she is not unconscious.

This makes it difficult to bring rape prosecutions when the victim has consumed large quantities of alcohol because of the difficulty in countering defence claims that the victim agreed to sex.

The report, to be published shortly, recommends tackling this problem by removing the issue of consent in cases where the victim was inebriated.

Although the council concedes that the wording of a new law will be difficult to achieve, its intention is that the prosecution would be required only to show that the woman — or man — had drunk sufficient amounts to seriously cloud their judgment.

Similar ideas that could lead to a change in the definition of “consent” in rape cases are being considered by the Solicitor General Mike O'Brien as part of a government review designed to tackle low conviction rates.

A spokeswoman said the Home Office would be publishing its plans for increasing the number of successful rape prosecutions, including possible legislative changes, in the New Year.

Police investigate child abuse in northern town

By Matthew Moore

An investigation has been launched into the targeting of teenage girls in Oldham, Greater Manchester, by a group of local paedophiles.

As many as 20 girls - some as young as 12 - are thought to have been abused by older men who buy them gifts and pose as their "boyfriends", before turning the relationship sexual.

More than 20 people have already been arrested, and five people have been charged with offences including abduction and rape.

Greater Manchester Police have described the abuse as a major problem but say they have no evidence that it is the work of an organised paedophile ring.

The abusers typically prey on girls they do not know, approaching them in public places. They offer gifts of mobile phones and electronic gadgets to gain their victims' trust, before plying them with drink and drugs.

It is alleged that the girls - a small number of whom are in local authority care - end up being physically harmed or forced into sex.

The joint inquiry is being carried out by police, Oldham council, Oldham Primary Care Trust and the charity Barnardos.

Activisim days against violence

Sixteen days of activism against gender violence is due to be launched in Northern Ireland later.

Delegates from the health professions, policing, justice and women's sectors will hear the extent of violent abuse that women experience globally.

Women's Aid said the PSNI respond to a domestic incident every 22 minutes in Northern Ireland.

Its conference, which will also address human trafficking, gets under way in Belfast on Monday.

Annie Campbell, director of Women's Aid Federation, said: "Women's Aid has been supporting women affected by domestic violence for 30 years.

"Women rarely experience one form of violence in isolation.

"We know from supporting victims that there is often a horrific tale of interlinked abuse, which can include multiple rapes, forced prostitution, physical abuse, elder abuse and child abuse."

She said many women who were trafficked into Northern Ireland were themselves victims of domestic violence in their country of origin.

"Violence against women is endemic across the world," she said.

"This is intolerable; it is a global abuse of women's human rights. It is time for all of us to face the facts and work together to end all forms of violence against women."