Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether her Department has made an assessment of the potential impact of Sarah’s Law on women.

The Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme, also known as Sarah's law, was introduced in 2011 and allows members of the public to make an application to police for information about a person who has contact with a child.

The Scheme is designed to safeguard all children regardless of sex or gender by providing parents, carers and guardians with relevant information to help them make informed decisions about a child’s safety.

Evidence indicates that females are disproportionately affected by child sexual abuse. In the year ending March 2024, the CSEW estimated that a higher proportion of women experienced childhood sexual abuse (13.9% if women compared with 4.1% of men). Sarah's law is critical in safeguarding children from harm.

Through the Crime and Policing Act, this government is going further to strengthen the Scheme by placing it on a statutory footing. This means that chief officers will have a statutory duty to have due regard to the guidance.