Archive for 'UK law' Category
Editorial: When Rape Does not Mean Rape; the London Schoolboys and the Sexual Offences Act
26 May 2010British commentators have understandably expressed outrage at the treatment of two London schoolboys who, at the ages of 10 and 11, have been convicted of attempted rape of a child under 13 for having consensual sex with an 8 year old girl when they were 10. Unfortunately, commentators who use the word “rape” merely hide […]
“Offensive” Virtual Images of Children are now Illegal in the UK
14 November 2009After much lobbying by numerous commercialised “charities”, the parliament of the United Kingdom has enacted a law which is likely to lead to the sexual abuse of countless real children but is likely to win support for the spineless and dangerous politicians who supported it.
In their earlier defence of legislation against images of virtual children, […]
The Perverse Politics of Virtual Child Porn Law
6 July 2009In 2006, the UK Home Office (which has since devolved many of its powers to the Ministry of Justice) announced plans to criminalise the possession of “non-photographic images of child sexual abuse” (BBC, 2006). The justification for this law was based upon several assumptions, none of which are supported empirically.
The first and most significant claim […]
Proposing, Veiling and Prosecuting Thoughtcrime
20 January 2009In George Orwell’s dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four the government attempts to control not only the speech and actions, but also the thoughts of its subjects, labelling disapproved thoughts with the term thoughtcrime or, in Newspeak, “crimethink”. In the book, Winston Smith, the main character, writes in his diary: “Thoughtcrime does not entail death: thoughtcrime is […]
Politics of an Obscene Character
29 May 2008The suitably Orwellian-sounding Ministry of Justice has announced that it is to criminalise the possession of “all images of child sexual abuse, including drawings and computer-generated images”.
When the Home Office originally outlined their plans to criminalise such cartoons, I urged people to send a reply to the consultation and many people did voice their concerns. […]
The Contemporary Moral Crusade
31 March 2008UK nationals living in any part of the world could face prosecution under UK law - for acts done legally abroad - if the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill is enacted as amended at present.
Section 71 of the bill intends to make it illegal for a UK national living, working or travelling abroad to commit […]
The Metropolitan Police: Harassing Paedophiles
26 January 2008In July 2007, the Metropolitan Police published plans to engage in the “proactive disruption of 130 individuals with a sexual interest in children“. The article was reported by the Daily Express, here. The full text of the “Serious Violence Strategy” draft can be found at the Metropolitan Police’s website, here [pdf].
The response to a Freedom […]
Child Nudity: Indecency vs Illegality
22 December 2007If you are a regular reader of this website, you will already be aware that many people in the UK are convicted of making and possessing indecent images of children - contrary to the Protection of Children Act (1978) and the Criminal Justice Act (1988) - simply for viewing naturist images of children.
At the […]
Hate Law: Pedophiles overlooked, used as pawns
15 November 2007(@ link):
LONDON, November 12, 2007 – Ken Livingstone, the Mayor of London, has today supported the Government’s plan to make it an offence to incite hatred against people on the basis of their sexual orientation.
Why am I not holding my breath?
The Mayor was adamant that this move would not infringe on freedom of […]
A Discussion About Laws Against Indecent Images
22 October 2007A recent e-mail from a friend asking how low the threshold for indecency is - and an event which occurred around two months ago - made me think, yet again, about the indecent nature of indecency laws. Indecency laws - and their suggested interpretations - are not just unreasonable, they are contradictory and violate the […]