ENGAGING in any kind of sexual activity with someone under the age of 16 is illegal. The law is quite clear on that, and thank goodness for it.

Where the law is slightly less clear is when it comes to relations with teenagers aged 16 and 17.

It is illegal for someone in a position of trust, such as a teacher or social worker, to engage in sexual activity with a person under the age of 18 towards whom they hold that position of trust.

The NSPCC has pointed out, however, that for some reason this does not apply to sports coaches or youth leaders. They are not regarded as being ‘in a position of trust’ - so it is perfectly legal for them to have sexual contact with a 16-year-old in their care.

Given the recent scandals related to football coaching, this seems clearly unacceptable.

“It is baffling that sports coaches and other youth workers are not deemed to be in a position of trust given the significant responsibility, influence and authority that adults in these roles have over children,” said the NSPCC’s Almudena Lara.

The charity has now called for the ‘position of trust’ laws to be extended so as to include sports coaches and other youth workers, thus ‘bolstering protection for teenagers at risk of grooming’.

We agree. It seems a nonsense that a teacher is held to be in a ‘position of trust’ towards teenagers in his or her care, while a sports coach or youth worker is not. Amending the law to clarify who exactly is deemed to be in such a ‘position of trust’ shouldn’t be too difficult. We look forward to the government taking action urgently.