Sex, Lies and Vitiation

Last month, the Crown Prosecution Service was hauled before the High Court by campaign group Sex Matters over guidance on when someone can be prosecuted for lying about their sex before having intercourse. 

Sex Matters is taking legal action against the Director of Public Prosecutions, arguing that CPS guidance wrongly tells prosecutors a person’s gender identity can be relevant when deciding whether consent was obtained by deception. The charity says the law is clear that only a person’s sex can be relevant in such cases.

At the heart of the dispute is the CPS’s guidance on “deception as to sex”—the legal principle that consent may be invalid if someone is deliberately misled about an essential fact before sex takes place. Sex Matters argues the guidance blurs the distinction between biological sex and gender identity and is therefore unlawful.

If the campaign group succeeds, the CPS could be forced to rewrite its guidance. 

For more detail, read Nick Wallis’ excellent reporting.