(1)References in this Act to a man soliciting a woman for the purpose of prostitution are references to his soliciting her for the purpose of obtaining her services as a prostitute.
(2)The use in any provision of this Act of the word “man” without the addition of the word “boy” shall not prevent the provision applying to any person to whom it would have applied if both words had been used, and similarly with the words “woman” and “girl”.
(3)Paragraphs (a) and (b) of section 6 of the M1Interpretation Act 1978 (words importing the masculine gender to include the feminine, and vice versa) do not apply to this Act.
(4)For the purposes of this Act “street” includes any bridge, road, lane, footway, subway, square, court, alley or passage, whether a thoroughfare or not, which is for the time being open to the public; and the doorways and entrances of premises abutting on a street (as hereinbefore defined), and any ground adjoining and open to a street, shall be treated as forming part of the street.
Marginal Citations
(1)This Act may be cited as the Sexual Offences Act 1985.
(2)In section 2(1) of the M2Indecency with Children Act 1960, for the words from “or of” onwards there shall be substituted “shall be seven years”.
(3)The enactments mentioned in the Schedule to this Act are hereby repealed to the extent specified in the third column of that Schedule.
(4)This Act shall come into force at the end of the period of two months beginning with the day on which it is passed.
(5)Nothing in this Act shall apply in relation to any offence committed or act done before this Act comes into force.
F1(6). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(7)This Act extends to England and Wales only.