ABSTRACT
Sexual practices have varied across cultures and throughout human history. Legal definitions of sex offending in the UK include a broad range of offences involving sexual victimisation of others and also acts which are ‘victimless’ in the sense that they may involve two consenting partners but still contravene societal norms. For example, acts of sadism between consenting adults are illegal in the UK. The age of consent for heterosexual intercourse is 16 years but is 18 years for homosexual intercourse. In this section we are concerned exclusively with sexual behaviour which victimises others in that they do not consent to the behaviour, or are unable to do so. Such offences can include both contact and non-contact offences.
