Closed petition Make it an offence to intentionally view pornographic material in a public place

The Sexual Offences Act 2003 needs updating to reflect the development of technology that has made it easier to view pornographic material in a public place. A person should not have to be exposed to such material that may make them feel unsafe, unwelcome, degraded or threatened in a public place.

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Whilst there is currently a common law offence of outraging public decency, this is problematic because a prosecution depends on a moral view which is overly subjective and lacking in the clarity that the rule of law requires.

We believe the best way to develop modern sexual offences is to repeal offences that rely on ‘indecency” and replace them with specific criminal offences - including one making intentionally view pornographic material in a public place a specific criminal offence.

This process would allow Parliament to debate and decide what specific behaviours ought to be classified as criminal.

This petition is closed All petitions run for 6 months

125 signatures

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10,000

Date closed 27 November 2022
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