Abstract
In England and Wales, the Sexual Offences Act 2003 has redefined crimes of serious sexual assault and introduced evidential presumptions in relation to consent. At the same time, the Criminal Justice Act 2003 has made changes to the law of evidence that may affect sexual offence trials. Its provisions must be understood in conjunction with judicial attempts to interpret the ‘rape shield’ provided by s. 41 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999.