§ Lynne JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what information he has on the number of transsexual women who have been raped vaginally in each of the last five years; and in what way charges against the perpetrator may differ from the same crime committed against other women. [49777]
§ Mr. Keith BradleyThere are no statistics available relating to the number of victims of vaginal rape who were transsexuals.
Under existing sex offences legislation, rape is an offence perpetrated by a man against a man or a woman. It consists of non-consensual penetration of the vagina or anus. There has been at least one case where a court has held that penile penetration of a surgically reconstructed vagina does constitute rape, but the current law on rape is not clear on this point. Alternative charge could be indecent assault. The Government are currently considering a proposal made within the context of the Sex Offences Review, that the offence of rape should include surgically reconstructed male or female genitalia. This would make clear in statute what is currently a matter for judicial interpretation.