Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether she has made an assessment of the potential merits of introducing a separate criminal offence of desecration of a corpse.

The Government understands the concerns of bereaved families who are pressing for a review of the legislative framework around the desecration of corpses. While there is no specific offence of desecrating a corpse in England and Wales, other related offences can apply, such as preventing the lawful burial of a body. When the concealment or desecration of a body is linked to a homicide (to avoid detection, for example), the current sentencing framework treats this as an aggravating factor, ensuring robust sentences. The Government recognises that desecration could include a range of behaviours and is keeping the law under review.

The Government is also taking action to expand the offence of sexual penetration of a corpse under section 70 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003. The Crime and Policing Bill will replace this offence with a broader offence of sexual activity with a corpse. This will ensure that all intentional sexual touching of a corpse is criminal, not just penetration as is currently the case. Non-penetrative sexual touching will attract a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment. The Bill will increase the maximum penalty for sexual penetration from 2 years’ imprisonment to 7 years.