What are Sexual Offences?

Sexual offences include the following:

i) Rape

ii)Grave sexual abuse

iii)Sexual exploitation of children

iv)Incest

v)Unnatural offenses like gross indecency between persons and intercourse against the nature with man, woman or animal.

What is Rape?

It must be emphasized that rape is a legal concept and not a medical diagnosis. The definition of rape depends on the law of the country.

The law regarding rape:

The law regarding rape varies slightly from one country to another. The Sri Lankan law regarding rape is given in section 363 of the penal code.

A man is said to commit rape ,if he has sexual intercourse with a woman under the following five circumstances:

1)Without her consent even where such a woman is his wife and she is judicially seperated from the man.

2)With her consent when her consent has been obtained ,by use of force, threats, intimidation, or by putting her in fear of death or of hurt while she was in unlawful detention.

3)With her consent when her consent has been obtained at a time when she was of unsound mind or was in a state of intoxication induced by alcohol or drugs administered to her by the man or by some other person.

4)With her consent when the man knows that he is not her husband,and that her consent is given because she beleives that he is another man to whom she is or beleives herself to be,lawfully married.

5)With or without her consent, when she is less than 16 years of age, unless the woman is his wife, who is over twelve years of age and is not judicially seperated from the man.

It must be emphasized that only penetration is sufficient to constitute rape. Physical evidence of resistance is not essential to prove rape. Only inter labial penetration is adequate to constitute sexual intercourse, ejaculation,rupture of the hymen,orgasm ,full penetration or pregnancy is not essential.

Most women that are raped do not report the incidence, due to the social stigma attached to rape. Repeated rape may happen in certain situations eg house maids.

False aligations of rape can also be made by the girls parents, girl , girls other relativves or even the girls friends.This situation may occur after a broken love affair.

What is grave sexual abuse?

Grave sexual abuse is defined as an abuse,committed by an individual for sexual satisfaction, by the use of his genitals or any other part of the human body or any instrument on any orifice or part of the body of any person, being an act which does not amount to rape under section 363 (Sri Lanka), in circumstances which fall under any of the following descriptions,that is to say:

a)Without the consent of the other person

b)With the consent of the other person, where the consent has been obtained by force, threat or intimidation or putting such other person on fear of death or of hurt or while such other person was in unlawful detention.

c)With the consent of the other person where such consent has been obtained at a time the other person was of unsound mind or was in a state of intoxication induced by alcohol or drugs.

Refrences :

Pages 120 and 121 -Chapter 19-Sexual Offences -Notes on Forensic Medicine and Medical Law by Dr Hemamal Jayawardena (Attorney at Law)MBBS,DLM,MSc,LLM,MD. 2nd edition. Former lecturer in charge, Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka.

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