The Act came about as the result of the First Report of the Criminal Law Revision Committee, which examined the flaw in criminal law relating to indecent assaults against children.

Under the law as it then stood, there was no "indecent assault" unless there was some form of threat or show of force to the victim, and the Act was intended to close this gap.

[1] These figures were amended by Statutory Instruments in 2000, which increased the imprisonment for conviction after indictment to ten years, or two years for a summary conviction.

The fine for a summary conviction was increased by the Criminal Justice Act 1967 to £400.

[2] Section 2 of the Act increased the punishment for committing incest with a girl under the age of thirteen to seven years in prison for sexual intercourse or attempted sexual intercourse, and five years for indecent assault.