A ‘Romeo and Juliet’ clause in a new crime bill will mean adults who do not report underage people who are sexually active with each other will not get in trouble with the law.
The exemption is almost certain to make its way into the government’s flagship Crime and Policing Bill after winning cross-party support.
It will mean consensual sexual relationships between underage people will not fall under the category of child sexual abuse, and professionals who work with them will not need to contact police.
Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips said: ‘This avoids situations such as two kissing teenagers having to be reported to the authorities by a teacher who knows them both well.’
The Crime and Policing Bill, currently more than 300 pages long, is going through the committee stage after its second reading last month.
It has been described by the government as ‘one of the most significant updates to crime and policing legislation in the UK for decades’.
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Among the measures included in the draft legislation are proposals to combat child abuse in reaction to the grooming gang scandal.
Adults who work with young people would be required to report any claims of child sexual abuse to the police or face sanctions.
According to the Times, Conservative MP Harriet Cross told the committee examining the bill the exemption would recognise ‘that not all sexual activity involving under-18s is a cause for alarm or state intervention’.
Named after Shakespeare’s pair of young star-crossed lovers, similar Romeo and Juliet exemptions already exist in places like France and New South Wales in Australia.
In the play, Juliet is described as a few days short of her 14th birthday, while Romeo is assumed to be in his mid-to-late teens.
Cross said: ‘Sexual activity for under-16s is, as we know, illegal in law but without this clause, a teacher who learns of two 15-year-olds in a consensual relationship would legally be bound to report that as a child sexual offence.
‘The clause empowers the teacher to use their professional judgment, but the exemption applies only where the reporter is satisfied that the relationship really is consensual and not appropriate to report given the circumstances.
‘The bar for not reporting should be high. As a safeguard, the clause explicitly says to consider the risk of harm. If there is any indication of harm or imbalance, the duty to report remains.’
She used the example of a relationship between a 14-year-old and a 17-year-old, where a teacher ‘might rightly feel uneasy about the power dynamic’ and decide it would be appropriate to report.
Phillips told the committee: ‘Consensual relationships between young people should not be considered child sexual abuse in the absence of coercion or significant differences in age or maturity, and that an exception can therefore be made to the duty in such circumstances.’
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