Closed petition Make the minimum penalty for all sexual offences imprisonment.

Closed on 23 September 2021

Under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, forty six offences including sexual assault have a summary conviction finding including paying a fine. The Government should make the minimum punishment for those convicted of any sexual offence imprisonment and inclusion on the Sex Offenders Register.

Our law does not reflect the fact that sexual offences have detrimental and long-lasting impacts upon victims. Often seen as a trivial offence, sexual assault is reported less than 25% of the time. Women, as recent events have shown, do not feel safe in the UK. The Government needs to demonstrate that it takes sexual offences seriously, by reflecting it in our law and enforcement, for the protection of people, and particularly women and children, within the UK.