Member

I do not intend to weary your Lordships’ House with a rehearsal of arguments that have already been made, some of which I know will be made by others who have put their names to amendments. I just re-emphasise the importance of the provisions that criminalise the soliciting—or, perhaps more accurately, the commissioning—of sexually explicit images, videos or audio. I realise that, as with the elements of Amendment 70 relating to the deletion of such material, there may well be international issues when it comes to prosecuting individual cases, but these difficulties magnify rather than diminish the need for these principles to be enshrined in law. There are, of course, ample precedents for soliciting an illegal act falling under the scope of criminal law, and it is clear that these provisions are the fruit of bitter experience and are inspired directly by the testimony and campaigning of the survivors.