Sarah's Law

proper noun

In England and Wales, the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme, under which the police can tell parents, carers, and guardians if someone has a record for child sexual offences.

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Meanings

proper noun
  1. In England and Wales, the Child Sex Offender Disclosure Scheme, under which the police can tell parents, carers, and guardians if someone has a record for child sexual offences.

    In recent testimony on the scandal in Parliament, Ms. [Rebekah] Brooks cited the measure named after Mrs. [Sara] Payne’s daughter, Sarah’s Law, as evidence of the good she had done in her years at the tabloid’s helm.

    2011 July 28, Ravi Somaiya, “New Hacking Case Outrages Britain”, in The New York Times, New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 28 Sep 2015
    2 more examples

    Backers of a ballot measure that would require parents to be notified before an abortion is performed on a minor acknowledged Friday that the 15-year-old on which “Sarah’s Law” is based had a child and was in a common-law marriage before she died of complications from an abortion in 1994.

    2008 August 2, Patrick McGreevy, “‘Sarah’s Law’ would not have aided ‘Sarah’”, in Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, Calif.: Los Angeles Times Communications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 22 Oct 2020

    It is unclear what such a scheme might look like but "Sarah's Law", recently rolled out nationally, may provide a model. Under that scheme, which is intended to prevent sexual abuse of children, parents can request a check for information about an individual with access to their child.

    2011 July 22, Lucy Reed, “Why Clare's Law won't prevent domestic violence”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 25 Nov 2013

Origin

The law was introduced in response to the murder of Sarah Payne.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Sarah's Law. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Sarah's%20Law

MLA

“Sarah's Law.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Sarah's%20Law. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Sarah's Law,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Sarah's%20Law.

Source: Sarah's Law on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.