Sex trafficking refers in practice to the recruitment, movement, harbouring or control of a person for the purpose of sexual exploitation, typically through force, threats, coercion, deception, abuse of vulnerability or payment to a person having control over the victim. It commonly involves prostitution, pornography or other forms of commercial sexual exploitation, and may occur domestically or across borders.In England and Wales and Northern Ireland, relevant conduct is principally criminalised under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and related Sexual Offences Acts, which define trafficking for sexual exploitation as a specific form of human trafficking. In Scotland, comparable offences are contained in the Human Trafficking and Exploitation (Scotland) Act 2015 and sexual offences legislation. In Ireland, sex trafficking is addressed under the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 (as amended) and prostitution-related offences.“Sex trafficking” is therefore a shorthand, descriptive term rather than a single, uniform statutory label, but across all four jurisdictions its core legal features are: exploitation for sexual purposes, lack of genuine consent, and improper means of control. It is central to criminal prosecutions, victim identification, immigration and asylum claims, and compensation and safeguarding frameworks.

The Treasury Committee has published the transcript of oral evidence given in its Sexism in the City inquiry by the CEO of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), Nikhil Rathi; the FCA’s executive director for markets and international, Sarah Pritchard; the CEO of the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), Sam Woods; and the PRA’s executive director for prudential policy Vicky Saporta.

The Treasury Committee has published its Sexism in the City report, following an inquiry launched in July 2023, and is calling for an end to the ‘era of impunity’ after finding a ‘shocking’ prevalence of sexual harassment and bullying, and a culture which is ‘holding back women’ in the City. The Committee welcomes proposals by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) to strengthen their regimes for tackling non-financial misconduct, including sexual harassment, but calls on them to ‘drop their prescriptive plans for extensive data reporting and target setting’. The FCA has responded to the report.

This Practice Note identifies the potential causes of action in cases of sexual abuse. It considers the basis for the liability of not just the perpetrator but also vicarious liability of employers and agencies involved in the care of children. It also looks at the common procedural issues which can arise when dealing with non-recent abuse (also known as historical abuse) claims. Procedural issues Civil claims arising from abuse can frequently involve complex and novel issues in relation to fact, law and procedure. Limitation Claims for abuse are often presented many years after the events giving rise to them. It is usual practice in cases involving allegations of sexual abuse for limitation to be tried as an issue at the same time as liability and causation in order to avoid the claimant having to give evidence twice. Ultimately, a claim often comes down to the credibility of the witnesses and, in particular, of the claimant. The Crime and Policing Act 2026 inserted sections 11ZA and 11ZB of the Limitation Act 1980 (LA 1980). Subject to specified

Sexual assault is intentional touching by A of B, which is sexual, to which B does not consent and A does not reasonably believe that B consents.

The 'old' law and the current law The old law: • 1 January 1957–21 December 1976 fall under sections 14 and 15 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956 (SOA 1956) The current law: • 1 May 2004 onwards fall under section 3 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (SOA 2003) This Practice Note explains the law relating to historic sexual offences prosecuted under the legislation preceding the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (SOA 2003), as well as the law governing rape under SOA 2003, s 3. Territorial jurisdiction The extra-territorial jurisdiction provisions under SOA 2003, s 72 apply to this offence. A British national committing the offence abroad is guilty in England and Wales of the offence. SOA 2003, s 72 also provides detail on the extra-territorial jurisdiction in relation to British residents (rather than nationals) and non-nationals/residents. In R v Wisher, the Court of Appeal considered whether amendments to SOA 2003, Sch 2, which added rape and certain other offences to the list of offences subject to SOA 2003, s 72, conferred

The child sex offences are principally set out at sections 5–8 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 (SOA 2003). These are: • sexual assault of a child under 13 years old (SOA 2003, s 7) • sexual assault of a child under 13 years old by penetration (SOA 2003, s 6) • rape of a child under 13 (SOA 2003, s 5), and • causing or inciting a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity (SOA 2003, s 8) These are discussed in detail below. The 'old' law and the 'new' law The old law falls over three periods depending when offences were committed: • 1 January 1957 to 21 December 1976 fall under section 1 of the Sexual Offences Act 1956 (SOA 1956). Consolidated statutes, amended by Sexual Offences Act 1967, in relation to homosexual acts • 22 December 1976 to 2 November 1994 fall under section 1 of the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1976 (SO(A)A 1976), and • 3 November 1994 to 30 April 2004 fall under the SOA 1956,

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This Practice Note outlines the law in relation to licensing of sex establishments in England, Wales together with variations in London. It also covers enforcement powers and the use of local policies to manage these establishments. What is a sex establishment? The Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1982 (LG(MP)A 1982) (as amended) creates four distinct ‘sex establishments’. These being: • sex cinemas • sex shops • sex entertainment venues (following the amendments introduced under the Policing and Crime Act 2009), and • hostess bars (following amendments introduced by the London Local Authorities Act 2007 (LLAA 2007)) Hostess bars are limited in geographic area to Greater London. Sex cinemas A sex cinema means any premise, vehicle, vessel or stall used to a significant degree for the exhibition of moving pictures, by whatever means produced, which are concerned primarily with the portrayal of or primarily deal with or relate to, or are intended to stimulate or encourage

Sexual harassment describes unwanted conduct of a sexual nature, or conduct related to sex or gender, that violates a person’s dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment in the workplace or other settings. It commonly arises in employment law, equality and discrimination claims, professional discipline, education, housing and service provision.In England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, sexual harassment is defined in the Equality Act 2010 (GB) and the Sex Discrimination (NI) Order 1976, as amended, and is closely linked to protection from sex discrimination and victimisation. In Ireland, it is defined in the Employment Equality Acts and the Equal Status Acts. Across all these jurisdictions, the focus is on the impact of the behaviour on the recipient, assessed objectively, while taking into account the complainant’s perception and the wider circumstances.Sexual harassment can involve verbal, non-verbal or physical conduct, including online behaviour. It may overlap with criminal offences (such as sexual assault or voyeurism) and give rise to civil liability, regulatory action and internal disciplinary proceedings. Usage and core elements are broadly consistent across the UK and Ireland, though precise statutory wording and remedies differ.

This is a template action plan and monitoring log for an employer to use when taking steps to prevent sexual harassment of its staff in accordance with the duty to prevent sexual harassment set out in section 40A of the Equality

This Practice Note considers: • sexual harassment under section 26(2) of the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010) (see: Sexual harassment below), and • the separate duty on an employer under EqA 2010, s 40A to take ‘reasonable steps’ to prevent sexual harassment of its employees in the course of their employment (see: Duty to prevent sexual harassment below); with effect from 30 October 2026, the duty is to take ‘all reasonable steps’ • the protection from whistleblowing that an individual making a sexual harassment-related disclosure may enjoy (see: Whistleblowing, below) The protection provided by these provisions is separate from the ‘standard’ protection from harassment related to the protected characteristic of sex, which is dealt with comprehensively in Practice Note: Harassment. For a sample harassment and bullying policy that deals specifically with sexual harassment, see Precedents: Policy—harassment and bullying and Policy—harassment and bullying (short form). For a toolkit for an employer to use when carrying out a sexual harassment risk assessment and determining the steps needed to mitigate the risks identified, see Precedents: • Sexual

Law360: Inquiries to Acas regarding sexual harassment have grown by 39% following the introduction of a statutory duty on employers to take steps to protect their employees, data released on 17 September 2025 has revealed.