Sex attack sentences - Fines should not replace jail terms

Every society has a set of mores around sex, every society has a code of behaviour and if it is breached there are usually pretty severe consequences.

These constraints vary from society to society. Some are influenced by religious beliefs or, at the opposite end of the spectrum, a liberalism that champions the individual’s freedoms, rights and, occasionally, responsibilities.

Despite diversity, nearly all societies, no matter how prudish or non-judgmental, have rules rooted in one objective — the protection of the vulnerable, nearly always women, from violent attack by sexual predators.