On 5 February the government introduced a Bill to Parliament
that will extend S63(7) CJIA 2008 to cover the possession of pornography that
depicts rape. Unless the proposed legislation is dropped or amended it may have
greater implications for the general public than the first four categories that
were originally criminalised. This is because material that depicts rape can be
difficult to define.
However, in 2010 the Scottish Parliament introduced its own
possession offence legislation (S42 CJ&L(S)A 2010) which included a
category that depicts rape. In the light of this, and recent demands from many
feminist and religious groups, that material that depicts rape be made an
offence to possess, the government has brought forward new legislation.
Many CAAN supporters will be appalled that there really does
exist some material that features real rape being committed and this is
occasionally shared by exceptionally nasty people. But the publication and
sharing of such material is already a criminal offence. Many of us have no
sympathy for those who possess extremely brutal and callous depictions of rape,
even those where models have consented to appear as ‘victims’, but the current
legislation is sloppy, it is poorly drafted and will impact upon relatively
soft bondage and domination themed material.
The legislation will also include anything that involves
penetration with any object. So, if you were to possess an image of a
submissive man, gagged, in bondage, with a butt plug being inserted, how could
you prove that this was not rape? It could well be the case that the lucky man
involved is having the best day of his life, but his facial expression might be
interpreted by police as pain and the gag as proof that there was no consent to
the act.
Nearly a third of the UK population (British Sexual Fantasy
Research Project: 2007), fantasise about types of forced sex, often involving
bondage, gags and invariably a dark dungeon. There is a huge amount of porn
that caters for this demand, but anything without a BBFC certificate will be
very dangerous to view/possess.
CAAN is doing everything we can to secure a sensible
amendment to the legislation to protect those into bondage, submission and/or
domination. Working with the 4 other
campaigns (Backlash, Campaign Against Censorship, Sex & Censorship and the
Sexual Freedom Coalition) we have warned MPs and peers of the dangers of this
legislation, explaining the potential for thousands of harmless people to have
their lives destroyed. The government has pointed to the experience in Scotland
and notes that it is believed there has only been one conviction for possession
of material that depicts rape. However the government also predicted that
S63(7) CJIA 2008 would only result in “a handful of convictions” but the
reality was very different, with over 1,000 people charged with offences per
annum. In the year 2012/13 1,348 people were charged under S63(7) for
possession of the first four categories of extreme porn. By criminalising
possession of “rape” material, a category which will include some sexually
explicit bondage and entirely consensual material, a category that will include
material in which millions of people have an interest, it is likely that
prosecutions will soar.
Let there be no doubt that we are in engaged in war on two
fronts. The state is determined to seize control over the internet and is
equally determined to marginalise the lives of those who are into even the
mildest forms of BDSM. Evidence is also mounting that police investigations and
prosecutions are disproportionately being directed at the LGBT community. As a
consequence we fear that the new legislation poses a serious threat to minority
groups and have adopted the stance that if anything depicts a real rape, where
there is no consent, that cannot be tolerated; but anything that is consensual
should not be criminalised. Finding a watertight definition or dividing line
between the various different categories of material that exist is impossible
and so we oppose the creation of this new category.
Please write to your MP and explain why this is an
exceptionally dangerous piece of legislation. Please also write to members of
the House of Lords. This step is also important because we believe it is more
likely that this part of the legislation will be scrutinised in the Lords than
in the Commons.
Here is a link to the draft Bill (The Criminal Justice and
Courts Bill): -
Campaigning against extreme and unjust laws
Under the present government, a growing number of laws have
been passed that criminalise ordinary people for their sexual choices. The best known example of this is the extreme
porn ban which since 26th January 2009 affects England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
But the Government has also been instrumental in:
- criminalising the possession of images depicting perfectly legal sexual activity;
- putting in place a “Committee of Public Safety” whose job it will be to vet nearly half the workforce – and remove them from their jobs if they possess any porn that is “sexual and violent in nature”
- proposing to make it a criminal offence for an adult to pay for sex.
CAAN needs YOU!
If you’d like to know more about these Laws go to our Issues page. If you’d like to campaign against them go to our Campaigns page.
We’re creating many ways to join in so that everyone who
wants to get involved can do so, either behind the scenes, or out and in
public. All consenting adults are welcome in CAAN, we aim to include people of
all orientations, social or cultural groupings and genders, and we can also provide
our information in alternative formats on request.
Other BLOGS & Discussions of interest on this topic:
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