The government has confirmed its support for an amendment to the Protection from Sex-Based Harassment in Public Bill, to ensure the law is as robust as possible
The legislation will introduce harsher sentences if someone who deliberately harasses, alarms, or distresses someone in a public place does so because of the victim’s sex, with the maximum sentence increasing from six months to two years.
The amendment, tabled by the bill’s sponsor Greg Clark MP, will require the government to produce statutory guidance for the police to help them enforce the new offence.
MPs have now agreed that the statutory guidance should become part of the bill. It will clarify how the legal defence available to defendants, whereby they could prove that their conduct was “reasonable”, should be applied. The guidance will make clear that what is deemed “reasonable” is what would objectively be considered reasonable, not what the defendant claims is reasonable.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman said:
Greg Clark MP said:
The government announced its support for the legislation in December 2022 after consulting a wide range of experts on introducing a specific offence. The consultation showed the need for a specific offence to make the laws surrounding public harassment clearer to both the public and the police. Despite public sexual harassment already being illegal, the introduction of a specific offence will encourage women to report to the police, as well as emphasising the severity of the crime.
The bill has now completed all stages in the House of Commons and will be considered by the House of Lords.