Sexual Offences Act 1956

Sexual Offences Act 1956
Act of Parliament
Long titleAn Act to consolidate (with corrections and improvements made under the Consolidation of Enactments (Procedure) Act 1949) the statute law of England and Wales relating to sexual crimes, to the abduction, procuration and prostitution of women and to kindred offences, and to make such adaptations of statutes extending beyond England and Wales as are needed in consequence of that consolidation.
Citation4 & 5 Eliz. 2. c. 69
Territorial extent England and Wales
Dates
Royal assent2 August 1956
Commencement1 January 1957
Repealedmostly 1 May 2004
Other legislation
Amended bySexual Offences Act 1985
Repealed bySexual Offences Act 2003
Status: Partially repealed
Text of statute as originally enacted
Revised text of statute as amended

The Sexual Offences Act 1956 (4 & 5 Eliz. 2. c. 69) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that consolidated the English criminal law relating to sexual offences between 1957 and 2004. It was mostly repealed (from 1 May 2004) by the Sexual Offences Act 2003 which replaced it, but sections 33 to 37 still survive. The 2003 Act also added a new section 33A. These sections create offences to deal with brothels.

Although the rest of the Act has been repealed, the repealed sections still apply to sex crimes committed before the repeal, such as in the Pitcairn sexual assault trial of 2004.