Content warning: This article deals explicitly with issues relating to transgender sexual assault and reports of official guidance which may be expressed in language that readers may find upsetting.

In the first of a proposed series of articles looking at the impact of anti-trans changes of legislation or guidance in England and Wales, we investigate what went on during the first year after the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) issued their ‘deception as to sex’ guidance in December 2024.

This has been a lengthy and difficult investigation, which yielded very little usable data, but some particularly concerning findings.

Note: the views reflected in the CPS guidance and discussed in this article may be distressing. In particular, the guidance views transgender status as a de-facto deception: ie a person who has not disclosed that status prior to consensual sex can subsequently be accused of rape. We strongly disagree but, in order to ask questions of police forces and the CPS, we can only make queries in relation to the wording of the guidance as it stands.

CPS guidance on ‘deception as to sex’

The CPS’s own summary of the guidance is as follows:

• In line with the law on consent – charges will depend on whether a victim was aware of the person’s birth sex and therefore consented to sexual activity by choice. The suspect must also have reasonably believed consent had been given.
• It also clarifies that a suspect may deceive a complainant as to their birth sex if they choose not to disclose their sex or trans identity. It also clarifies there is no expectation for a complainant to confirm the sex of the defendant prior to sexual activity.
• Not every situation where a trans or non-binary person fails to disclose their sex will involve a criminal offence – each will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Read the full article on The criminalisation of transgender bodies