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English Law
Under the Sexual Offences Act 2003 ("the 2003 Act"), which came into force on May 1, 2004, rape in England and Wales was redefined from non-consensual vaginal or a**l intercourse, and is now defined as non-consensual penile penetration of the v****a, a**s or mouth. The forcing of a p***s into a v****a by a female is separataly criminalised. The maximum sentence of life imprisonment was maintained under the new Act. It also altered the requirements of the defence of mistaken belief in consent so that one's belief must be now both genuine and reasonable (see above under common law). Presumptions against that belief being reasonably held also now apply when violence is used or feared, the complainant is unconscious, unlawfully detained, drugged, or is by reason of disability unable to communicate a lack of consent. The change in this belief test from the old subjective test (what the defendant thought, reasonably or unreasonably) to an objective test was the subject of some debate (see [1] and [2]), as it permits a man to be convicted of rape if he thought a person was consenting, were the circumstances thought by a jury to be unreasonable.

Any consent of the complainant is of no relevance if he or she is under the age of thirteen.

A woman who forces a man to have sex can be prosecuted for rape under section 3 of the 2003 Act. A woman assisting a man commit a rape can be prosecuted for the crime as an accessory. A woman can also be prosecuted for causing a man to engage in sexual activity without his consent under section 4 of the 2003 Act, a crime which also carries a maximum life sentence if it involves penetration of the mouth, a**s or v****a. Section 2 of the 2003 Act introduces a new sexual offence, "assault by penetration", with the same punishment as rape. It is committed when someone sexually penetrates the a**s or v****a with a part of his or her body, or with an object, without that person's consent. The policy of the 2003 Act is to make offences gender neutral.