Assessment 1-Laura Humphries           Adam Rushton

Consent is an act action that takes place is every person’s day to day lives but can interpret different meanings depending on the situation. Regarding Criminal Law consent is essential when dealing with physical and mental actions of a person. In this essay there will be and evaluation into the concept of consent in the United Kingdom and its role in cases involving battery.

Consent is defined by section 74 Sexual Offences Act 2003. Someone consents to vaginal, anal or oral penetration only if s/he agrees by choice to that penetration and has the freedom and capacity to make that choice. Rape and other sexual offences are among the highest numbers regarding convictions for criminals in the United Kingdom. In 2022/23 there was a increasing rise of 68,949 offences of Rape in country. This staggering amount is very concerning and has been rising since 2012/13 where there were 16,083 offences reported in that year.

Today there are many criminals that attempt to participate in these crimes and new restrictions and laws are being set into place consistently over the course of time to prevent these crimes from happening.
In terms of battery, a person cannot accuse another of assault or battery if they consented to the force being used against them. This law comes under the offences against the person act. An example of this would be in contact sports such as rugby or football ( R v Billinghurst 1978).

Other areas of consent include Tattooing and Branding, Horseplay and Sexual Activity. Many cases get taken to court regarding was consent given by an individual in certain acts and if not, then how may this have affected the individual. Consent can also come under the Theft Act 1968 which is when he/she enters any building or part of a building as a trespasser and with intent to commit theft.

Entering a building without consent is trespassing and if anything is taken from the building or a part of the building then that is stated as theft. For the year ending September 2022 there were 2.6 million incidents of theft.(ons.gov.uk). Consent regarding property can be difficult as certain cases have suggested that there may be disputes between defendants over who owns the certain property in connection and if consent was ever given.

Owners of buildings where multiple owners exist or pets and material products can all be shared under this act as it belongs to someone in these cases. There have been many cases where a lack of consent regarding entering or taking items from properties have led to physical and mental abuse and actions and these are all crimes that must be accounted for. Physical harm can take place on an individual after a dispute with consent and when taken to court it is discussed whether the individuals in connection to the crime have given consent and convictions such as battery may be given to these individuals if physical harm is undertaken.

Battery occurs when there is unlawful contact between the accused and the victim. It is committed when an individual intentionally imposes harm on someone unlawfully. There are actions in these cases such as self-defence where lawyers and judges will argue whether the act was assault or battery.

Consent is only seen in the eyes of the law as a defence if it is effective. If an individual has been given authority and consent to participate in any of the actions stated, then that cannot be seen as a crime. The supreme court and crown court deal with cases involving battery and assault every day as it is very common in the United Kingdom and the rate of crime has not decreased for a very long time.

In the case of (DPP V K (a minor) ) [1990] 1 WLR 1067, a 15 year old school boy took some acid from a science lesson. He placed the acid into the air hand drier in the boys’ toilets. A pupil then proceeded to use the hair dryer where the nozzle was facing up and acid was squirted into his face causing permanent scars.

This case is an example of where the application of force need not be directly applied to the individual. The United Kingdom has always been firm on its stance against rape and sexual offences and in 2023 the monarch announced increased prison sentences for individuals who commit sexual crimes in the United Kingdom. These actions and others will be measures put into place to ensure maximum levels of justice of victims are being applied in the United Kingdom.

The power of social media has caused the level of convictions regarding consent and sexual assault to rise dramatically in recent times. Online websites such as Facebook, Instagram and snapchat have been at the forefront of where the police and government officials are monitoring behaviours of the general public in ensuring no sexual crimes are being committed.

Young adults and minors have been targeted by sexual predators for many years as their lack of ability for consent is exposed. These criminals carry out these despicably acts with no remorse and can affect young people massively physically and mentally. 

In addition to this, any individual with mental disorders or certain disabilities cannot give consent themselves in all cases regarding these actions therefore a breach in freedom and mental awareness towards a particular act can be seen there.

Intoxication is also needed to be considered when cases of consent are being brought to a criminal court. The relevance to consent when intoxicated to a certain level can determine a criminal’s intentions when participating in an act of sexual violence or the attempt of sexual violence.

Looking at the case of R v Malone (1998), this case states that one of the consequences when vulnerable people are groomed for sexual exploitation is that compliance can lead to a lack of trust from the individual. Vulnerable individuals are targeted alongside the younger generation as their ability to make correct and accurate decisions for themselves are less likely and more exposed than an adult’s mindset.

Physical abusive relationships commonly result in crimes such as sexual assault and rape due to the level of potential deterrents to a healthy person. This can include the abuse of drugs and alcohol. Every year women and men get assaulted physically by their partners and participate in non-consensual sexual activities which are strictly forbidden in line with parliament and government laws and rules.


In conclusion, the United Kingdom’s government faces many challenges in fighting non-consensual crimes and rape and further laws are set to be put into place soon. The ability to consent to certain activities depends on age, mental ability and levels of intoxication or drug use. Many crimes including battery are connected in line with these other crimes as more than one of these crimes are usually committed and one given time.

A person may be taken to court from an abuse of consent in various outlooks of activities depending on whether it’s sexual or non-sexual and the severity that these actions have had on the certain individual. Consent has always been a fundamental aspect of people’s lives regarding certain life choices and an abuse of these powers and ability to be able to consent for yourself can be seen by the courts as a convicted crime and incarceration is the most common justifiable conviction for these criminals.

The levels of crimes regarding a lack of consent and battery continues to rise in the United Kingdom and protests and further advertisement of resolving these issues are happening frequently in cities such as London for members of the general public to get their points across and receive justice for victims and to prevent further individuals from becoming victims of these crimes.

Future ideas and preventions are being brough to the Houses of Commons and a response and action taken from the prime minister and fellow MPs is imminent. Further convictions will be set into place for the United Kingdom to follow to create a safer country for the younger generation and to prevent both physical and mental abuse of the future in the country. 

These legislations and laws conclude the overall concept for what consent means for an individual and the rights that these individuals have to use their own ideas and to be able to stand up to criminals and be comfortable in using consent in many different scenrios.