Child Protection Guidance 2021

Part 4: Specific support needs and concerns 161 National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2021 Version 1.0 September 2021 Sexual offences and signposts to legislation It is illegal to: • cause or incite a child to engage in sexual activity • arrange or facilitate a child sex offence • meet a child following sexual grooming • have sexual communication with a child • take, make or have indecent photographs of children • sexually exploit a child (including paying for or arranging sexual services of a child) Part 4 of the Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2009 l ists offences criminalising sexual activity with a child under the age of 16 as categorised by the age of the victim. Part 5 of that Act provides for offences concerning sexual abuse of trust. The Act provides that it shall be an offence for a person, over the age of 18, in a position of trust over a child or young person under the age of 18, or a person with a mental disorder, to intentionally engage in sexual activity with that child or person. Review of sexual abuse of trust legislation in Scotland has been the subject of public consultation (Abuse of trust legislation - consultation) . Child Abuse Images – The taking, distribution, publication and possession of indecent images of children under the age of 18 is prohibited by section 52 and section 52A of the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982. The Abusive Behaviour and Sexual Harm (Scotland) Act 2016 (s2) makes it a criminal offence to disclose or threaten to disclose intimate sexual images. Sharing of intimate images (sometimes referred to as ‘sexting’), is a term referring to the production and sharing of youth‑produced intimate or sexual imagery by children who are under the age of 18. The imagery includes nude or nearly nude images and/or sexual acts; but does not include children sharing adult pornography or exchanging sexual texts which do not contain imagery. Neither does it include the sharing of sexual photos and videos of people under the age of 18 with or by adults, which would be a form of child sexual abuse and which must be referred to the police immediately by the designated child protection lead. The Protection of Children and Prevention of Sexual Offences (Scotland) Act 2005 (‘the 2005 Act’) provides for an offence of ‘grooming’ which makes it an offence for a person to meet or travel to meet or to make arrangements for that purpose, in relation to children under the age of 16 for the purposes of committing a sexual offence following earlier communications (section 1), and for specific offences concerning the sexual exploitation of children under the age of 18 through prostitution (e.g. section 9) or the sale of sexually abusive imagery.