London: The British government will discuss plans for a “staggered” age of consent that would stop men of a certain age from having sex with much younger women after the conviction of celebrity Russell Brand for rape.
Prime Minister Andy Burnham and colleagues will consider changing consent laws that allow sex with girls aged over 16, a cabinet minister confirmed, after a judge sentenced Brand to a decade in prison for rape and sexual assault.
The move also follows allegations against Little Britain comedian and children’s book author David Walliams, who is accused of preying on teenagers and young women. He denies the claims and is facing a police investigation.
The cabinet discussion heightens the national debate over predatory conduct after one of Brand’s accusers called for the law to be changed to make it a criminal offence for a man over 30 to have sex with a girl under the age of 18.
Work and Pensions Minister Pat McFadden confirmed that the issue would be discussed in cabinet given the concerns about the treatment of women.
“The whole country, last week, has been appalled by the abuse of power by powerful men, and a big age gap can be part of that, can be a factor in that,” he told Sky News on Sunday (UK time).
“We probably will consider it, but I can’t give you a result of that at the moment. What we will definitely do is think about whatever we can do to help people at the wrong end of these abuses of power.”
Asked about the issue on the BBC on Sunday, he said: “It’s certainly a question that has been raised and will be discussed.”
The government has already pledged to change the law on non-disclosure agreements after some of Walliams’ accusers said they had received threatening legal letters that stopped them warning others about him.
Victims Minister Alex Davies-Jones said last week it “should not be possible” for people in positions of power to use injunctions or NDAs to prevent people going public to reveal abuse.
Consent laws in the UK were changed in 1885 to raise the age of consent for girls from 13 to 16. Later changes brought the age into line for males and females, as well as for gay and straight sex.
Brand was sentenced to nine years in prison after a jury found him guilty of raping a 21-year-old woman at his home in 2009, when he was 34. The woman told Southwark Crown Court that they had begun having consensual sex but that he had “flipped” her over and anally raped her despite her telling him to stop.
Brand was also found guilty of three counts of sexual assault, taking his prison sentence to 10 years and six months, and he was acquitted of two charges of rape.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed last week they were investigating other claims against Brand, including some aired by the Sunday Times and Channel 4 in 2023. The women who testified in the court case were separate from those in the 2023 reports.
One of those who spoke to the media three years ago, Mia Latter, chose to waive her anonymity on the weekend by telling the Sunday Times of her claims against Brand.
Latter said she was raped by Brand when she was 16 and he was 30 after she had met him and gave him her number while shopping in Leicester Square in central London.
She said she told him her age, but he invited her to dinner and referred to her as “the child” in front of his entourage.
“He was a very successful man who had a lot of power and sway in the industry,” she told the Sunday Times .
“Whereas I was a 16-year-old with no life experience, no sexual experience and no prior relationships. What was my level of maturity meant to be?”
Latter, now 37, said she =suffered as a mother and sister as a result of Brand’s conduct. She was known as “Alice” when she spoke to the media three years ago.
“I don’t want to criminalise teenagers having sex with each other,” she told the newspaper.
“If you’re between the ages of 16 and 18, it seems reasonable that you can have relationships with each other, and [teenagers] are always going to.
“But… if you’re in your thirties, forties and fifties and you’re trying to have a relationship with someone under the age of 18, it [should be] a criminal offence.”
Support is available from Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636 and Lifeline on 13 11 14, and from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).
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