OUTRAGE OVER SNP’S ‘CHARTER FOR SEX AT 13’
Parents WON’T need to be told about underage sex, say Ministers
A FURIOUS row erupted last night over new government guidance on underage sex amid claims that it effectively lowers the age of consent in Scotland to just 13.
Although it is illegal for under-16s to have sex, SNP guidance for police, teachers and social workers says that parents should not automatically be told if their children are engaging in sexual activity.
For the first time, the policy states that a young person’s ‘confidentiality’ should be given priority as long as they are in a ‘safe and mutually
respectful’ relationship. The guidance presumes that ‘a child’s wishes and feelings’ are more important than parents’ rights over their children.
Family campaigners say it has given the green light to sex among children as young as 13.
Piers Shepherd of the Family Education Trust said: ‘This guidance, while acknowledging that the age of consent is 16, effectively ignores it in practice as long as it is taking place in “a safe and mutually respectful relationship”.
‘It is effectively a charter for underage sex. The whole emphasis on confidentiality shows scant respect for parents who are principal legal guardians.
‘If a young person under 16 is involved in sexual activity, it raises serious health and safety concerns. Parents are best placed to shield children from the harmful effects of underage sexual activity.’
The Catholic Church in Scotland has also hit out at the new advice. A spokesman said: ‘This morally bankrupt guidance entirely ignores the statutory protection given to children and should be revised immediately.
‘Believing children are equipped to make moral judgments about how they behave sexually fundamentally undermines child protection. The sheer hypocrisy is highlighted by the fact that the Scottish Government requires applications for the new free bus travel card for young people to be made by a parent, if the young person is under 16.’
The updated advice is contained in the Scottish Government’s 276page National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2021.
The Scottish Government says it ‘describes the responsibilities and expectations for all involved in protecting children’ including Police Scotland, the NHS and local authorities.
The guidance acknowledges that 16 is the legal age of consent and says that ‘a young child (under 13 years of age) cannot consent to any form of sexual activity’.
It also points out that ‘older children (aged between 13 and 16) engaging in sexual conduct with or towards one another’ are also committing an offence. However, these older children are not automatically considered at ‘risk of significant harm’.
Factors considered before taking further action include their ages, whether there is a power imbalance, whether alcohol or drugs are involved, and whether the child may have been groomed, bribed or coerced into sexual activity.
The guidance says: ‘If sexual activity is taking place/has taken place within a safe and mutually respectful relationship, then confidentiality should generally be maintained as there is a high threshold for when the duty of confidentiality should be outweighed.
‘The facts and circumstances of each case must be carefully considered before deciding if the public interest favours the disclosure of confidential information.’
It goes on: ‘Information may lawfully be shared where there is an overriding interest which outweighs the duty of confidentiality. Overriding confidentiality must be justified and proportionate, taking into account the nature and probability of risk to the young person and/or others.
‘The child’s wishes and feelings must be heard and taken into account. The reasons for decisions made (for instance, in relation to information sharing) must be recorded.’
Previous 2014 guidance did not mention confidentiality but included questions to ask about the child, the relationship, the second person and other factors.
Meghan Gallacher, Scottish Conservative spokesman for Children and Young People, said: ‘Maintaining clear and robust age of consent regulations is crucial to protecting children from potential abuse.
‘It is vital for children’s safety that guidance on this is as straightforward as possible. Any grey or contradictory areas could result in child safety being impacted.’
A spokesman for the Scottish Government said: ‘This non-statutory guidance does not conflict in any way with the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009, which maintains the age of consent at 16.
‘The law continues to make clear that society does not encourage sexual intercourse in young people under 16. It does not, however, follow that there are child protection concerns in all cases.
‘Overriding confidentiality must be justified and proportionate, taking into account the nature and probability of risk to the young person and/or others. The child’s wishes and feelings must be heard and taken into account.’
‘Raises serious health and safety concerns’