Section 135 Encouraging or assisting serious self-harmI1

England, Wales and Northern Ireland Not yet in force

(1)

A person (D) commits an offence if—

(a)

D does an act capable of encouraging or assisting the serious self-harm of another person, and

(b)

the act is intended to encourage or assist the serious self-harm of another person.

(2)

The other person mentioned in subsection (1)(a) or (b) need not be a specific person (or class of persons) known to or identified by D.

(3)

An offence under this section may be committed whether or not serious self-harm of a person occurs.

(4)

For the purposes of this section—

“act” includes any conduct except conduct consisting only of one or more omissions (and a reference to the doing of an act is to be read accordingly);
“encouraging”: a reference to encouraging the serious self-harm of a person includes doing so by putting pressure on a person to seriously self-harm (whether by threatening them or otherwise);
“serious self-harm” of a person occurs where their conduct results in self-harm to them that is grievous bodily harm (within the meaning of the Offences against the Person Act 1861).

(5)

A person who commits an offence under this section is liable—

(a)

on summary conviction in England and Wales, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding the general limit in a magistrates’ court or a fine (or both);

(b)

on summary conviction in Northern Ireland, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum (or both);

(c)

on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or a fine (or both).

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