Animal Sexual Assault: Concurrent offences and co-offending in animal sexual assault convictions in England and Wales

• In Event: GREEN Panel 2, Addressing Environmental and Animal Harm: Regulation and Enforcement Across Jurisdictions

Abstract

Sexualised violence usually refers to sexual acts involving persons who are non-consenting, underage or involving specifically prohibited activities (e.g., voyeurism). Non-human animals are seldom considered victims and largely only appear in existing literature when referring to human sexual preference (e.g., zoophilia) or criminality (e.g., bestiality). Sexualised violence towards nonhuman animals, like that towards humans, can involve diverse behaviours and harms, and importantly involves individuals who are non-consenting. Such violence may include specifically prohibited activities and other sexual behaviours which involve force or coercion. Based on content analysis of over a decade of court and media reported animal sexual assault (ASA) cases, this paper examines the nature of reported ASA offences in England and Wales. Since 2018, convictions for ASA pornography (aniporn) offences have increased rapidly, raising the profile of ASA among enforcement agencies, though not the profile of the animal victims. The study evidences the victimisation of our closest nonhuman companions and the intersectionality of human and nonhuman violence and victimisation among the most vulnerable in society. Specifically, the paper considers co-offending and concurrent offending in ASA cases - highlighting the role of ASA in fuelling sexualised and other violence towards both nonhuman and human animals, and the importance of enquiring into this type of harm due to its implications for understanding and responding to sexual violence and animal abuse more generally.

Author

• Jennifer Ann Maher, University of South Wales