Guidance does not require mandatory reporting of underage sex

doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7546.872

BMJ 2006;332:872 (15 April), doi:10.1136/bmj.332.7546.872

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Guidance does not require mandatory reporting of underage sex

London Susan Mayor

Health professionals will not have to report teenagers who are having underage sex to the police, says guidance for England on child protection published this week. The guidance advises that decisions on referral to child protection agencies should be considered on a case by case basis.

The guidance was developed by the UK Department for Education and Skills to update previous recommendations after a series of child abuse cases and changes in legislation and policy.

It included a review of the Bichard inquiry, carried out after the murder of two schoolgirls by Ian Huntley, a school caretaker with a history of sex with underage girls. The inquiry report recommended that police should be informed whenever someone aged under 16 was having sex with an older partner. But health professionals were concerned that young people might not consult for medical advice, including contraception, if they thought they would . . . [Full text of this article]

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Relevant Article

Mandatory reporting to the police of all sexually active under-13s: Ruth Bastable and Julian Sheather
BMJ 2005 331: 918-919. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]