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Crimes Act 1961

Crimes against morality and decency, sexual crimes, and crimes against public welfare - Sexual crimes

138: Sexual exploitation of person with significant impairment

You could also call this:

“A person can get in trouble for taking advantage of someone who has trouble understanding sex because of a disability.”

If you have a significant impairment, the law protects you from sexual exploitation. A significant impairment is a condition that greatly affects your ability to understand sexual conduct, make decisions about it, see its consequences, or communicate about it. This impairment can be intellectual, mental, physical, or a mix of these.

If someone knows you have a significant impairment and takes advantage of it to have sexual connection with you, they can go to prison for up to 10 years. This is also true if they try to do this but don’t succeed.

If someone knows about your impairment and takes advantage of it to do an indecent act on you, they can go to prison for up to 5 years.

The law considers it exploitation if the person knows about your impairment and uses it to get you to agree to, submit to, take part in, or do the sexual act.

Remember, this law is there to protect you and make sure no one takes unfair advantage of your impairment in sexual situations.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM329227.

Topics:
Crime and justice > Criminal law
Rights and equality > Anti-discrimination
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137: Inducing sexual intercourse under pretence of marriage, or

“This law used to punish people who tricked others into having sex by promising to marry them, but it's not used anymore.”

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139: Indecent act between woman and girl, or

“A law about inappropriate touching between women and girls that is no longer used”

Part 7 Crimes against morality and decency, sexual crimes, and crimes against public welfare
Sexual crimes

138Sexual exploitation of person with significant impairment

  1. Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years who has exploitative sexual connection with a person with a significant impairment.

  2. Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years who attempts to have exploitative sexual connection with a person with a significant impairment.

  3. For the purposes of subsections (1) and (2), a person has exploitative sexual connection with a person with a significant impairment (the impaired person) if he or she—

  4. has sexual connection with the impaired person knowing that the impaired person is a person with a significant impairment; and
    1. has obtained the impaired person's acquiescence in, submission to, participation in, or undertaking of the connection by taking advantage of the impairment.

      1. Every one is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years who exploitatively does an indecent act on a person with a significant impairment.

      2. For the purposes of subsection (4), a person exploitatively does an indecent act on a person with a significant impairment (the impaired person) if he or she—

      3. does an indecent act on the impaired person knowing that the impaired person is a person with a significant impairment; and
        1. has obtained the impaired person's acquiescence in, submission to, participation in, or undertaking of the doing of the act by taking advantage of the impairment.

          1. For the purposes of this section, a significant impairment is an intellectual, mental, or physical condition or impairment (or a combination of 2 or more intellectual, mental, or physical conditions or impairments) that affects a person to such an extent that it significantly impairs the person's capacity—

          2. to understand the nature of sexual conduct; or
            1. to understand the nature of decisions about sexual conduct; or
              1. to foresee the consequences of decisions about sexual conduct; or
                1. to communicate decisions about sexual conduct.

                  Notes
                  • Section 138: replaced, on , by section 7 of the Crimes Amendment Act 2005 (2005 No 41).