Government watering down measures to protect girls

[Imnobody4]

I hate this government more than I can say.
Where's Jess Philips on this.
From Nordid Model Now

WHY IS THE UK GOVERNMENT RENEGING ON ITS PROMISE TO PROTECT KIDS FROM PREDATORY MEN?

Most people in the UK think that the age of consent is 16 and that the rape of a child under 16 is considered statutory rape – which means that if the act is proven, there is no defence and the perpetrator is found guilty of rape. But that is not how it works in England and Wales.

In England and Wales, the age of consent below which rape is treated as statutory rape is 13.

If the child is 13, 14 or 15, the police, Crown Prosecution Service, judiciary, and defendant can all claim that she consented and therefore an offence did not take place, or the offence is downgraded to a lesser one. Furthermore, the defendant can claim that he “reasonably believed” she was 16 or older and the prosecution must prove beyond reasonable doubt that this is not true.

Changing this was the FIRST RECOMMENDATION of Baroness Casey in the rapid national audit of “group-based child sexual exploitation and abuse” that she undertook on behalf of the Government in response to the enormous public concern about what had come to be known as “grooming gangs” or “rape gangs” – and which the Government promised to implement in full. Casey said that men should have NO EXCUSES AND NO DEFENCE to raping children under 16.

However, the Government has now introduced amendments that DO NOT IMPLEMENT this in full – they will still enable men to make excuses and offer a defence (e.g. that he believed she was 16 etc) – while CLAIMING that they are implementing the recommendation in full.

This is an utter outrage and a total insult to all the survivors who have fought so hard and at such personal cost for change.

x.com/i/status/2024390731759222956

Sorry this is link to full article

nordicmodelnow.org/2026/02/18/why-is-the-uk-government-reneging-on-its-promise-to-protect-kids-from-predatory-men/

It drives me mad that a huge number of men think 13 year olds are fair game. How could they! The are blinded by their lust.

Tracy Emin, who was raped when she was thirteen, expresses her outrage about these predatory men in this interview.
www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2026/feb/14/tracey-emin-interview-tate-modern-regrets-smoking

I seem to be on the naughty step for some reason. But if you go to x you get a link to the full report.

Why not ask why? It may be a mistake.

Thanks I have. It was an overactive spam filter

I know why I think they've added it, but I won't say for fear of unleashing the racist, racist, racist brigade.

They are the worst government ever. 🤬

Just boiling with fury. How dare they keep that ‘I believed she was 16” rape as you please get-out clause.

What I find particularly egregious is that they've slipped it in at the 11th hour.

This means that there is very little scope for these amendments to be changed and no scope for the House of Commons to bring changes – for example to remove the “reasonable belief” clause. Once these amendments are law, they are unlikely to be reexamined for many years.

So not only has the Government reneged on its commitment to implement in full Casey’s first – and perhaps most important – recommendation but it has gone about it in what can only seem to be a cynical and undemocratic way.

This is a cynical government showing contempt for the democratic process.

what is wrong with them? Why would they protect men doing this?

Lammy has just been stopped from deleting Courtsdesk records. Just caught in time or they'd have gone. It can't just be incompetence.
https://www.thetimes.com/article/ccb542fd-0a0d-4a13-9b76-71064c66fbe2?shareToken=1d4e2a87d8442732910b1729b262ea02
Nick Timothy, the Conservatives’ shadow justice secretary, said: “It’s another screeching U-turn from this flailing Labour government. Under pressure from campaigners, journalists, survivors and the Conservatives, Lammy is no longer hitting the delete button on court records. Courtsdesk has provided a vital service, and it is right that this vital database should be preserve
“If we are going to stop the rape gangs and expose other patterns of criminal behaviour, we need comprehensive and accurate data. But the sad truth is that the archive should never have been put at risk in the first place. David Lammy needs to get a grip of his department and put the public first.”

I swear this bloody government lives to disappoint and anger me 🤬

Because the likelihood is they have similar predilections towards young girls/boys themselves therefore see it as no big deal.

Yes probably. I think for many men ‘ age 16’ feels, even if secretly, as though it starts with clear signs of puberty.