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{{Short description|Minimum age for agreement to sexual activities}} | |||
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{{Sex and the Law}} | {{Sex and the Law}} | ||
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While the phrase '''age of consent''' typically does not appear in legal ]s,<ref name="waites">{{cite book| last=Waites| first=Matthew| title=The Age of Consent: Young People, Sexuality and Citizenship| publisher=Palgrave Macmillan| year=2005| isbn=1-4039-2173-3| oclc=238887395 58604878}}</ref> when used in relation to ], the age of consent is the minimum age at which a person is considered to be legally competent of consenting to sexual acts. The ] calls it the '''legal age for sexual activities'''. It should not be confused with the ], ], the ], the age at which one can purchase and consume alcoholic beverages, or drive a car, or other purposes. | |||
The '''age of consent''' is the age at which a person is considered to be ] to ] to ]. Consequently, an adult who engages in sexual activity with a person younger than the age of consent is unable to legally claim that the sexual activity was consensual, and such sexual activity may be considered ] or ].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cocca |first1=Carolyn |title=Age of consent |journal=The International Encyclopedia of Human Sexuality |date=2015 |pages=1–111 |doi=10.1002/9781118896877.wbiehs017}}</ref> The person below the minimum age is considered the victim, and their sex partner the offender, although some jurisdictions provide exceptions through "]" if one or both participants are underage and are close in age. | |||
The term ''age of consent'' typically does not appear in legal ]s.<ref name="waites">{{cite book| last=Waites |first=Matthew |title=The Age of Consent: Young People, Sexuality and Citizenship |url=https://archive.org/details/waites-aoc |publisher=] |year=2005 |isbn=1-4039-2173-3 |oclc=238887395}}</ref>{{rp|1–2}} Generally, a law will establish the age below which it is illegal to engage in sexual activity with that person. It has sometimes been used with other meanings, such as the age at which a person becomes competent to consent to ],<ref>''Oxford English Dictionary'', entry for "age of consent"</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=State-by-State Marriage "Age of Consent" Laws |url=https://www.findlaw.com/family/marriage/state-by-state-marriage-age-of-consent-laws.html |website=FindLaw}}</ref> but consent to sexual activity is the meaning now generally understood. It should not be confused with other laws regarding age minimums including, but not limited to, the ], ], ], ], and ]. | |||
The age of consent varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.<ref name="waites" /> The relevant age may also vary by the type of sexual act, the gender of the actors, or other restrictions such as abuse of a ]. Some jurisdictions may also make allowances for minors engaged in sexual acts with each other, rather than a single age. Charges resulting from a breach of these laws may range from a relatively low-level ] such as ''corruption of a minor'', to '']'' (which is considered equivalent to rape, both in severity and sentencing). | |||
] vary widely from jurisdiction to jurisdiction,<ref name="waites" /> though most jurisdictions set the age of consent within the range of 14 to 18 (with the exceptions of ] which sets the age of consent at 12, ], ] and ] which set the age of consent at 13, ] which sets the age of consent between 12 and 18, and 14 Muslim states which set the consent by marriage only). The laws may also vary by the type of sexual act, the gender of the participants or other considerations, such as involving a ]; some jurisdictions may also make allowances for minors engaged in sexual acts with each other, rather than a single age. Charges and penalties resulting from a breach of these laws may range from a ], such as 'corruption of a minor', to what is popularly called ]. | |||
There are many ] in this area of law, some regarding unspecific and untried legislation, others brought about by debates regarding changing societal attitudes, and others due to conflicts between federal and state laws. These factors all make age of consent an often confusing subject, and a topic of highly charged debates.<ref name="waites" /> | |||
There are many "grey areas" in this area of law, some regarding unspecific and untried legislation, others brought about by debates regarding changing societal attitudes, and others due to conflicts between ] and ] laws. These factors all make age of consent an often confusing subject and a topic of highly charged debates.<ref name="waites" /> | |||
==Social attitudes== | |||
Social (and the resulting legal) attitudes toward the appropriate age of consent have drifted upwards in modern times. For example, while ages from 10 to 13 were typically acceptable in ] during the mid-19th century,<ref name="waites" /> 14 to 18 had become the norm in many countries by the end of the 20th century. {{citation needed|date=January 2009}} | |||
== |
== By continent == | ||
===Africa=== | |||
] | |||
* ] | |||
Sexual relations with a person under the age of consent is in general a ], with punishments ranging from ] up to the ].{{Citation needed|date=January 2009}} Many different terms exist for the charges laid and include '']'', '']'', ''illegal ]'', and ''corruption of a minor''.<ref name="waites" /> | |||
===Americas=== | |||
The enforcement practices of age-of-consent laws vary depending on the social sensibilities of the particular culture (see above). Often, enforcement is not exercised to the letter of the law, with legal action being taken only when a sufficiently socially-unacceptable age gap exists between the two individuals, or if the perpetrator is in a position of authority over the minor (e.g., a teacher, minister, or doctor). The ] of each actor can also influence perceptions of an individual's guilt and therefore enforcement.<ref name="waites" /> | |||
* ] | |||
** ] | |||
* ] | |||
=== |
===Asia=== | ||
* ] | |||
===Europe=== | |||
The age of consent is a legal barrier to the minor ability to consent and therefore obtaining consent is not in general a defence to having sexual relations with a person under the prescribed age. Common examples: | |||
* ] | |||
* '''Reasonably believe that the victim is over the age of consent'''—in some jurisdictions, (such as ]<ref name=SOA2003>{{cite web |url=http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2003/pdf/ukpga_20030042_en.pdf |format=PDF|title=Sexual Offences Act 2003 (See Sections 9 to 12) |publisher=Published by the Government of the United Kingdom, (Office of Public Sector Information)}}</ref>), it is a defence if the accused can show that he or she reasonably believed the victim was over the age of consent. However, where such a defence is provided, it normally applies only when the victim is close to the age of consent or the accused can show ] in determining the age of the victim (e.g., a 15-year-old who used a fake identification document to enter a bar for persons 18 and older).<ref>{{cite journal|author=Larry W. Myers | title=Reasonable Mistake of Age: A Needed Defence to Statutory Rape| journal= Michigan Law Review| volume= 64| issue=1|year=1965|pages=105–136. | |||
- | doi=10.2307/1287118}}</ref> | |||
* '''Marriage'''—in those jurisdictions where the ] is less than the age of consent.{{Citation needed|date=October 2007}} | |||
* '''Rape'''—where someone under the age of consent detains and rapes someone over the age of consent.{{Citation needed|date=October 2007}} | |||
* '''Close-in-age'''—while most legislation dealing with age of consent sets a single age under which sexual relations are illegal, some jurisdictions (such as ]<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/05/01/crime-bill.html|title=Canada's age of consent raised by 2 years|publisher=CBC News|date=2008-05-01|accessdate=2009-03-22}}</ref>), have adopted close-in-age exemptions. In Canada the age of consent is 16, but there are two close-in-age exemptions: teenagers who are 14 or 15 may have sex with a partner who is less than five years older, and children aged 12 and 13 may have sex with a partner who is less than two years older. In the United States, these exceptions are colloquially known as ]. | |||
===Oceania=== | |||
These different defences can change dramatically from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, even between neighbouring states of the same union with the same age of consent. | |||
* ] | |||
== |
==History and social attitudes== | ||
The age of consent is not always constant even within the same jurisdiction, in many countries there are a number of discrepancies. Common examples include: | |||
* '''Homosexual and heterosexual age discrepancies''' – some jurisdictions, such as ], ], ], ], ], ] and ], have a higher age of consent for ] intercourse. However, such disparities are increasingly being challenged. In ], and the ]n state of ], the age of consent for ] is officially higher at 18, compared with 16 for vaginal and oral sex.<ref name="can">{{cite web|url=http://www.efc.ca/pages/law/cc/cc.159.html |title=159. ANAL INTERCOURSE |publisher=Efc.ca |date= |accessdate=2010-03-22}}</ref><ref name="aust">{{cite web|url=http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/qld/consol_act/cc189994/s208.html |title=CRIMINAL CODE 1899 - SECT 208 208 Unlawful sodomy |publisher=Austlii.edu.au |date= |accessdate=2010-03-22}}</ref> In ] and ] provinces in Canada, this difference is declared unconstitutional by courts.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060622/age_consent_060622/20060623/ |title=Mixed reviews to Tories' sexual consent bill - CTV News |publisher=Ctv.ca |date= |accessdate=2010-03-22}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.egale.ca/index.asp?item=468 |title=Egale Canada > The State of the Play |publisher=Egale.ca |date= |accessdate=2010-03-22}}</ref> | |||
* '''Gender age discrepancies''' – in some jurisdictions, (such as ]<ref name="Indonesia">{{cite web |url=http://www.interpol.int/Public/Children/SexualAbuse/NationalLaws/csaIndonesia.asp |title=Sexual Offences Laws - Indonesia |publisher=Interpol |accessdate=2009-09-05 }}</ref>), there are different ages of consent for heterosexual sexual activity based on the gender of each person. In countries where there is a gender different for heterosexual activity usually females are lower than male for example in Indonesia males have to be of 19 years old and females 16 years old.<ref name="Indonesia" /> There are also a number of jurisdictions which have this gender different generated due to the laws governing marriage, (such as ]<ref name="Kuwait">{{cite web |url=http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/0/2f5665ae20b956cb8025675a0033cafb?Opendocument |title=Summary record of the 488th meeting : Kuwait |publisher=Committee on the Rights of the Child |accessdate=2009-09-05 }}</ref> and ]<ref name="Palestine">{{cite web |url=http://www.law.emory.edu/ifl/legal/palestine.htm |title=Palestinian Territories of West Bank and Gaza Strip - Marriage Age |publisher=Emory Law |accessdate=2009-09-05 }}</ref>), in these jurisdictions it is illegal to have ] outside of marriage so the de facto age of consent is the marriageable age. In Kuwait this therefore means that girls have to be at least 15 years old and boys 17 years old. | |||
* '''Position of authority/trust''' – in some parts of the world, (such as England and Wales<ref name=SOA2003_a>{{cite web |url=http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2003/pdf/ukpga_20030042_en.pdf |format=PDF|title=Sexual Offences Act 2003 (See Sections 16 to 24) |publisher=Published by the Government of the United Kingdom, (Office of Public Sector Information)}}</ref>), in cases where a person is in a position of trust over a child or young person the age of consent is set higher. Examples include a teacher and student. | |||
===Traditional attitudes=== | |||
=== Onset of puberty as the age of consent === | |||
In traditional societies, the age of consent for a sexual union was a matter for the family to decide, or a tribal custom. In most cases, this coincided with signs of ], ] for a woman, and ] for a man.<ref name="Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and Society, A-Ar, Age of Consent">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Bullough |first=Vern L. |author-link=Vern Bullough |entry=Age of Consent |pages=45–47 |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofch0001unse/page/45 |title=Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and Society |volume=1: A-E |date=2004 |publisher=Macmillan Reference USA |isbn=0-02-865715-2}}</ref> | |||
In some countries there is no fixed age of consent. Instead, sex is allowed with people who are sexually mature (see: ]). In females it means passing ], the first ]. | |||
Reliable data for ages at marriage is scarce. In England, for example, the only reliable data in the early modern period comes from property records made after death. Not only were the records relatively rare, but not all bothered to record the participants' ages, and it seems that the more complete the records are, the more likely they are to reveal young marriages. Modern historians have sometimes shown reluctance to accept evidence of young ages of marriage, dismissing it as a 'misreading' by a later copier of the records.<ref name="Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and Society, A-Ar, Age of Consent"/> | |||
* ], but only in marriage (]) | |||
* ] and ] in ] (]) | |||
In the 12th century, ], the influential compiler of ] in ] Europe, accepted the age of puberty for marriage to be around twelve for girls and around fourteen for boys but acknowledged consent to be meaningful if both children were older than seven years of age.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://faculty.cua.edu/Pennington/Canon%20Law/marriagelaw.htm |first=John |last=Noonan |date=1967 |website=] |title=Marriage Canons from the Decretum of Gratian and the Decretals, Sext, Clementines and Extravagantes |quote=If one over the age of seven takes a prepubescent wife of less than seven and transfers her to his house, such a contract gives rise to the impediment of public propriety. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160117042750/http://faculty.cua.edu/pennington/Canon%20Law/marriagelaw.htm |archive-date=17 January 2016 }}</ref> There were authorities that said that such consent for entering marriage could take place earlier. Marriage would then be valid as long as neither of the two parties annulled the marital agreement before reaching puberty, or if they had already consummated the marriage. Judges sometimes honored marriages based on mutual consent at ages younger than seven: in contrast to established canon, there are recorded marriages of two- and three-year-olds.<ref name="Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and Society, A-Ar, Age of Consent"/> | |||
* ] (]) | |||
In China, Law Code of the {{interlanguage link|Qingyuan (reign)|lt=Qingyuan|ja|慶元|ko|경원 (남송)|zh|慶元 (年號)}} Reign ({{lang|zh|慶元條法事類}}), published in 1202 which catalogued laws that came into effect from 1127 to 1195, introduced statutory rape in the following decree: 'Successful intercourse with girls younger than 10 is considered rape in all circumstances, punishable by exile 3000 ] (miles) away into the uncivilized provinces; if the rape was unsuccessful, exile by 500 li; If injury occurs in process, death by hanging'.<ref>{{Cite web |title=庆元条法事类二十五 第52页 (图书馆) – 中国哲学书电子化计划 |url=https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=gb&res=2592&remap=gb |access-date=2023-08-31 |website=ctext.org |language=zh-CN}}</ref> | |||
The first ''recorded'' age-of-consent law in Europe dates from 1275 in England; as part of its provisions on rape, the ] made it a misdemeanor to "ravish" a "maiden within age," whether with or without her consent. The phrase "within age" was later interpreted by jurist Sir ] (England, 17th century) as meaning the age of marriage, which at the time was twelve years of age.<ref name="chnm.gmu.edu">{{cite web |title=Age of Consent Laws (Teaching Module) |last1=Robertson |first1=Stephen |url=https://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/teaching-modules/230.html |website=Children & Youth in History |publisher=] |access-date=26 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180715110242/https://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/items/show/230 |archive-date=15 July 2018 |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref> | |||
The Great Ming Code, 25th section, Criminal Code on Rape came into effect from 1373, raised the age of consent to 12 by stating 'girls younger than 12 lack rational sexual desires, therefore any intercourse with them is considered the same as rape and therefore punishable by death with hanging'.<ref>{{Cite web |title=大明律/25 – 维基文库,自由的图书馆 |url=https://zh.wikisource.org/%E5%A4%A7%E6%98%8E%E5%BE%8B/25 |access-date=2023-08-31 |website=zh.wikisource.org |language=zh}}</ref> | |||
The American colonies followed the English tradition, and the law was more of a guide. For example, Mary Hathaway (Virginia, 1689) was only nine when she was married to William Williams.<ref>{{Cite book|title=By birth or consent: children, law, and the Anglo-American revolution in authority.|last=Brewer|first=Holly|publisher=University of North Carolina Press|year=2012|isbn=978-0807829509|location=Chapel Hill, NC|pages=288|oclc = 958061287}}</ref> Sir Edward Coke "made it clear that the marriage of girls under 12 was normal, and the age at which a girl who was a wife was eligible for a ] from her husband's estate was 9 even though her husband be only four years old."<ref name="Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and Society, A-Ar, Age of Consent"/> | |||
In the 16th century, a small number of Italian and German states set the minimum age for sexual intercourse for girls, setting it at twelve years. Towards the end of the 18th century, other European countries also began to enact similar laws. The first French Constitution of 1791 established the minimum age at eleven years. Portugal, Spain, Denmark and the Swiss cantons initially set the minimum age at ten to twelve years.<ref name="chnm.gmu.edu"/> | |||
Age of consent laws were historically difficult to follow and enforce. Legal norms based on ''age'' were not, in general, common until the 19th century, because clear proof of exact age and precise date of birth were often unavailable.<ref name="chnm.gmu.edu"/> | |||
In 18th-century Australia it was thought that children were inherently sinful and vulnerable to sexual temptations. Punishment for "giving in" to these temptations was generally left to parents and was not seen as a government matter, except in the case of rape.<ref name="aic">{{cite web|url=http://aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/special/007/Historical-review-sexual-offence-child-sexual-abuse.pdf|title=Historical review of sexual offence and child sexual abuse legislation in Australia: 1788–2013|publisher=Australian Institute of Criminology|last1=Boxall|first1=Hayley|last2=Tomison|first2=Adam M.|last3=Hulme|first3=Shann|date=2014|access-date=25 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150412095850/http://aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/special/007/Historical-review-sexual-offence-child-sexual-abuse.pdf|archive-date=12 April 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> Australian children had few rights and were legally considered the ] of their parents.<ref name="aic"/> From the late 18th century, and especially in the 19th century, attitudes started to change. By the mid-19th century there was increased concern over child sexual abuse.<ref name="aic"/> | |||
===Reforms in the 19th and 20th century=== | |||
A general shift in social and legal attitudes toward issues of sex occurred during the modern era. Attitudes on the appropriate age of permission for females to engage in sexual activity drifted toward adulthood. While ages from ten to thirteen years were typically regarded as acceptable ages for sexual consent in ] during the mid-19th century,<ref name="waites" /> by the end of the 19th century changing attitudes towards sexuality and childhood resulted in the raising of the age of consent.<ref name="chnm.gmu.edu"/> | |||
] in the late 19th century on the issue of ] in London led to public outrage and ultimately to the raising of the age of consent to 16.]] | |||
English ] had traditionally set the age of consent within the range of ten to twelve years old, but the ] raised this to thirteen in Great Britain and Ireland. Early feminists of the ], such as ] and others, instrumental in securing the repeal of the ], began to turn towards the problem of ] by the end of the 1870s. Sensational media revelations about the scourge of child prostitution in London in the 1880s then caused outrage among the respectable middle-classes, leading to pressure for the age of consent to be raised again. | |||
The investigative journalist ] of the '']'' was pivotal in exposing the problem of child prostitution in the London underworld through a publicity stunt. In 1885 he "purchased" one victim, ], the thirteen-year-old daughter of a ], for five pounds and took her to a brothel where she was drugged. He then published a series of four exposés entitled '']'', which shocked its readers with tales of child prostitution and the abduction, procurement, and sale of young English virgins to Continental "pleasure palaces". The "Maiden Tribute" was an instant sensation with the reading public, and Victorian society was thrown into an uproar about prostitution. Fearing riots on a national scale, the ], ], pleaded in vain with Stead to cease publication of the articles. A wide variety of reform groups held protest meetings and marched together to ] demanding that the age of consent be raised. The government was forced to propose the ], which raised the age of consent from thirteen to sixteen and clamped down on prostitution.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/0/20097046|title = Child prostitutes: How the age of consent was raised to 16|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140727184445/http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/0/20097046|archive-date = 27 July 2014|last = Hogenbloom|first = Melissa|date = 1 November 2012|publisher = BBC History}}</ref> | |||
In the United States, as late as the 1880s most states set the minimum age at ten to twelve (in Delaware, it was seven in 1895).<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The New York Times|date=15 October 1895|title=PURITY CONGRESS MEETS; A Great Gathering for Moral Work in the City of Baltimore. AIMS AND OBJECTS OF THE MOVEMENT Determined to Prevent State Regulation of Vice and to Rescue Fallen Men and Fallen Women.|location=Baltimore|title-link=:s:The New York Times/1895/10/15/Purity Congress Meets}}</ref> Inspired by the "Maiden Tribute" articles, female reformers in the U.S. initiated their own campaign,<ref>''Delinquent Daughters: Policing and Protecting Adolescent Female Sexuality in the United States, 1885–1920.'' by Mary Odem. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1995. {{ISBN|978-0807863671}}.</ref> which petitioned legislators to raise the legal minimum age to at least sixteen, with the ultimate goal to raise the age to eighteen. The campaign was successful, with almost all states raising the minimum age to sixteen to eighteen years by 1920.<ref name="chnm.gmu.edu"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://womhist.alexanderstreet.com/teacher/aoc.htm |title=Campaign to Raise the Legal Age of Consent, 1885–1914, Lesson Plan |publisher=Womhist.alexanderstreet.com |access-date=30 June 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100617063339/http://womhist.alexanderstreet.com/teacher/aoc.htm| archive-date= 17 June 2010 | url-status= live}}</ref> | |||
In ], Portugal, Denmark, the ]s and other countries, the minimum age was raised to between thirteen and sixteen years in the following decades.<ref name="chnm.gmu.edu"/> Though the original arguments for raising the age of consent were based on morality, since then the ''raison d'être'' of the laws has changed to ] and a so-called right to childhood or innocence.<ref>''The Emergence of a New Taboo: The Desexualization of Youth in Western Societies Since 1800.'' by Martin Killias. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research Vol.8 (2000). {{ISSN|0928-1371}}.</ref> | |||
In France, under the ], the age of consent was set in 1832 at eleven,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000000515393|title=Loi du 28 avril 1832 CONTENANT DES MODIFICATIONS AU CODE PENAL ET AU CODE D'INSTRUCTION CRIMINELLE—Legifrance|access-date=29 June 2015}}</ref> and was raised to thirteen in 1863.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000000882642|title=Loi du 13 mai 1863 PORTANT MODIFICATION DE PLUSIEURS ARTICLES DU CODE PENAL—Legifrance|access-date=29 June 2015}}</ref> It was increased to fifteen in 1945.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000000516232|title=Ordonnance n°45-1456 du 2 juillet 1945 ABROGE ET REMPLACE L'ART. 331 (AL. 1 ET 2) DU CODE PENAL, MODIFIE PAR LA LOI DU 13-05-1863 (ATTENTAT A LA PUDEUR CONTRE UN ENFANT DE MOINS DE 15 ANS OU NON EMANCIPE PAR LE MARIAGE POUR LES PLUS DE 15 ANS, PUNI DE RECLUSION)—Legifrance|access-date=29 June 2015}}</ref> In the 1970s, ], but did not succeed. | |||
In ], it was set in 1822 at "puberty age", and changed to twelve in 1870,<ref>{{cite web|url = http://sirio.ua.es/libros/BDerecho/codigo_penal/ima0119.htm|title = Código penal reformado|access-date = 29 June 2015|date = 17 June 1870|website = sirio.ua.es}}</ref> which was kept until 1999, when it became 13;<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.boe.es/buscar/doc.php?id=BOE-A-1973-1715|title=BOE.es—Documento BOE-A-1973-1715|work=boe.es|access-date=23 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://noticias.juridicas.com/base_datos/Penal/lo11-1999.html#a2|title=Ley Orgánica 11/1999, de 30 de abril, de modificación del Título VIII del Libro II del Código Penal, aprobado por Ley Orgánica 10/1995, de 23 de noviembre.|work=Noticias Jurídicas|access-date=29 June 2015}}</ref> and in 2015 it was raised to 16.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2015/03/31/pdfs/BOE-A-2015-3439.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2015/03/31/pdfs/BOE-A-2015-3439.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=Disposición 3439 del BOE núm|date=31 March 2015|access-date=25 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radiointereconomia.com/2015/07/01/las-20-claves-del-nuevo-codigo-penal/|title=Las 20 claves del nuevo Código Penal|work=radiointereconomia.com|access-date=23 August 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924084242/http://www.radiointereconomia.com/2015/07/01/las-20-claves-del-nuevo-codigo-penal/|archive-date=24 September 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.es/videos-espana/20150630/entra-vigor-llamada-mordaza-4330498762001.html|title=Entra en vigor la llamada ley mordaza|work=ABC|date=30 June 2015|access-date=23 August 2015}}</ref> | |||
===21st century=== | |||
In the 21st century, concerns about ] and ] of children gained prominence, resulting in legislative changes in multiple jurisdictions, as well as the adoption of international laws. | |||
The ] ] (], 25 October 2007), and the ]'s ''Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council'' of 13 December 2011 on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography<ref>{{cite web|url=http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2011:335:0001:0014:EN:PDF|title=DIRECTIVE 2011/92/EU OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 13 December 2011 on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography, and replacing Council Framework Decision 2004/68/JHA|publisher=Official Journal of the European Union|date=13 December 2011|access-date=25 August 2015}}</ref> were adopted. | |||
The ] came into force in 2002. | |||
The ], which came into force in 2003, prohibits commercial sexual exploitation of children.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/ProtocolTraffickingInPersons.aspx|title=Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime|publisher=]|date=15 November 2000|access-date=25 August 2015}}</ref> | |||
The ] (which came into force in 2008) also deals with commercial sexual exploitation of children. | |||
Several Western countries have raised their ages of consent in recent decades. These include ] (in 2008—from 14 to 16); and in Europe, ] (in 2007—from 14 to 15), ] (in 2010—from 14 to 16), ] (in 2013—from 14 to 15), ] (in 2015—from 13 to 16), ] (in 2020 from 15 to 16) and ] (in 2022—from 14 to 16). | |||
The ] Statute does not provide a specific age of consent in its rape/sexual violence statute, but makes reference to sexual acts committed against persons "''incapable of giving genuine consent''"; and the explicative footnote states, "It is understood that a person may be incapable of giving genuine consent if affected by natural, induced or ''age-related incapacity''." (see note 51)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.icc-cpi.int/NR/rdonlyres/336923D8-A6AD-40EC-AD7B-45BF9DE73D56/0/ElementsOfCrimesEng.pdf|title=Elements of Crimes|publisher=]|date=2011|access-date=25 August 2015|archive-date=23 September 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140923132736/http://www.icc-cpi.int/nr/rdonlyres/336923d8-a6ad-40ec-ad7b-45bf9de73d56/0/elementsofcrimeseng.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> | |||
===Law=== | |||
{{See also|Sexual consent in law}} | |||
Sexual relations with a person under the age of consent is a crime in most countries; Jurisdictions use a variety of terms for the offense, including '']'', '']'', ''illegal ]'', ''corruption of a minor'',<ref name="waites" /> besides others. | |||
The enforcement practices of age-of-consent laws vary depending on the social sensibilities of the particular culture (see above). Often, enforcement is not exercised to the letter of the law, with legal action being taken only when a sufficiently socially-unacceptable age gap exists between the two individuals, or if the perpetrator is in a position of power over the minor (e.g. a teacher, minister, or doctor). The ] of each participant can also influence perceptions of an individual's guilt and therefore enforcement.<ref name="waites" /> | |||
===Age=== | |||
The threshold age for engaging in sexual activity varies between jurisdictions. Most jurisdictions have set a fixed age of consent.<ref name="SOA2003">{{cite web|url=http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2003/pdf/ukpga_20030042_en.pdf|title=Sexual Offences Act 2003 (See Sections 9 to 12)|publisher=Published by the Government of the United Kingdom, (Office of Public Sector Information)|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080726161022/http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2003/pdf/ukpga_20030042_en.pdf|archive-date=26 July 2008|url-status=live}}</ref> However, some jurisdictions permit sex with a person after the onset of their ], such as ], but only in marriage. Ages can also vary based on the type of calendar used, such as the ],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ukm.my/ijwas/images/koleksi_jurnal_pdf/vol4_n1_2012a/3_Pesalah_KanakKanak_Article.pdf|title=Child offenders in Iran: Legal Analysis on the Age of Criminal Responsibility|publisher=Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia|last1=Mousavi|first1=Shohreh|last2=Shapiee|first2=Rohimi|last3=Nordin|first3=Rohaida|date=30 June 2012|access-date=25 August 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304193702/http://www.ukm.my/ijwas/images/koleksi_jurnal_pdf/vol4_n1_2012a/3_Pesalah_KanakKanak_Article.pdf|archive-date=4 March 2016}}</ref> ] are handled, or even the method by which birth date is calculated.<ref>{{cite web | |||
|url = http://www.ilpa.org.uk/data/resources/13266/ILPA-Age-Dispute-Report.pdf | |||
|title = When is a child not a child? Asylum, age disputes and the process of age assessment | |||
|last = Crawley | |||
|first = Heaven | |||
|date = May 2007 | |||
|website = ILPA | |||
|publisher = Immigration Law Practitioners' Association | |||
|access-date = 8 June 2014 | |||
|page = 45 | |||
|isbn = 978-1901833133 | |||
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140708180722/http://www.ilpa.org.uk/data/resources/13266/ILPA-Age-Dispute-Report.pdf | |||
|archive-date = 8 July 2014 | |||
|url-status = dead | |||
}}</ref> | |||
===Defenses and exceptions=== | |||
The age of consent is a legal barrier to the minor's ability to consent and therefore obtaining consent is not in general a defense to having sexual relations with a person under the prescribed age, for example: | |||
====Reasonable belief that the victim is over the age of consent==== | |||
In some jurisdictions it is a defense if the accused can show their reasonable belief that the victim was over the age of consent. However, where such a defense is provided, it normally applies only when the victim is close to the age of consent or the accused can show ] in determining the age of the victim (e.g. an underage person who used a fake identification document claiming to be of legal age).<ref>{{cite journal|author =Larry W. Myers | title=Reasonable Mistake of Age: A Needed defense to Statutory Rape| journal= Michigan Law Review| volume= 64| issue=1|year=1965|pages=105–136 | doi=10.2307/1287118|publisher=The Michigan Law Review Association|jstor=1287118| url=https://repository.law.umich.edu/mlr/vol64/iss1/6}}</ref> | |||
====Marriage==== | |||
In various jurisdictions, age of consent laws do not apply if the parties are legally married to each other. ], first ], wrote in ] that ] requires the girl to be at least 9 years old, but that other sexual acts are unobjectionable regardless their age, even if they are a "] infant".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independentpersian.com/node/18486|title=قوانین جمهوری اسلامی کودکهمسری را تشویق میکند|date=4 September 2019|website=] to Persian|trans-title=The laws of the Islamic Republic exhortation child marriage|access-date=13 October 2022|archive-date=13 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221013073745/https://www.independentpersian.com/node/18486|quote=آیتالله خمینی در کتاب تحریر الوسیله مینویسد که «نزدیکی با زوجه قبل از تمام شدن نُه سال جایز نیست ـ نکاحش دائمی باشد یا منقطع ـ و اما سایر لذتها مانند لمس نمودن با شهوت و بغل گرفتن و تفخیذ او (مالیدن آلت تناسلی به ران) حتی در شیرخوار مجاز است».}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Khomeini |first=Ruhollah |url=http://staticsml.imam-khomeini.ir/en/File/NewsAttachment/2014/0000-tahrir%20j3-nA4.pdf |title=Tahrir al-Wasilah |volume=3 |pages=442 and 443 |translator-last1=Naqavi |translator-first1=Ali Reza |quote=لا يجوز وطء الزوجة قبل إكمال تسع سنين، دوامة كان النكاح أو منقطعة، و أما سائر الاستمتاعات كاللمس بشهوة و الضم و التفخيذ فلا بأس بها حتى في الرضيع |author-link=Ruhollah Khomeini |access-date=13 October 2022 |trans-quote=Intercourse with a woman is not allowed unless she attains the age of nine years, regardless whether the marriage is permanent or temporary. There is, however, no objection in other enjoyments like touching lasciviously, hugging and rubbing the thighs, even with a suckling infant.|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230817075634/http://staticsml.imam-khomeini.ir/en/File/NewsAttachment/2014/0000-tahrir%20j3-nA4.pdf|archive-date=17 August 2023}}</ref> | |||
=====Similar age===== | |||
Some jurisdictions have laws explicitly allowing sexual acts with minors under the age of consent if their partner is close in age. In ], the age of consent is 16, but there are three close-in-age exemptions: sex with minors aged 14–15 is permitted if the partner is less than five years older, sex with minors aged 12–13 is permitted if the partner is less than two years older, and sex with minors aged 0–11 is permitted if the partner is 12 or 13 years of age, as long as the partner is not in a position of trust over the other minor.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/canada-s-age-of-consent-raised-by-2-years-1.754941|title=Canada's age of consent raised by 2 years|publisher=CBC News|date=1 May 2008|access-date=22 March 2009| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090320002644/http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/05/01/crime-bill.html| archive-date= 20 March 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=RSC 1985, c C-46 {{!}} Criminal Code {{!}} CanLII |url=https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/laws/stat/rsc-1985-c-c-46/latest/rsc-1985-c-c-46.html#sec150.1 |access-date=11 October 2022 |website=CanLII}}</ref> | |||
=====Age under threshold===== | |||
Another approach takes the form of a stipulation that sexual intercourse between a minor and an older partner is legal under the condition that the latter does not exceed a certain age. For example, the age of consent in the US state of ] is 18, but it is allowed for teenagers aged 16 and 17 to engage in sexual intercourse as long as the older partner is younger than 30.<ref>{{cite web |title=TITLE 11, Crimes and Criminal Procedure, Delaware Criminal Code, CHAPTER 5. SPECIFIC OFFENSES, Subchapter II. Offenses Against the Person, Subpart A. Assaults and Related Offenses (see § 768 and § 770) |url=http://delcode.delaware.gov/title11/c005/sc02/index.shtml#768 |work=Delaware Code}}</ref> The law in Canada for sex between minors aged 0–11 with a partner younger than 14 also takes this form. | |||
=====Similar maturity===== | |||
Other countries state that the sexual conduct with the minor is not to be punished if the partners are of a similar age and development: for instance, the age of consent in ] is 16, but the law states that the act will not be punished if "there is no great difference in the ages or the mental and physical maturity of the persons involved".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.finlex.fi/en/laki/kaannokset/1889/en18890039 |title=FINLEX ®—Translations of Finnish acts and decrees: 39/1889 English |publisher=Finlex.fi |date=29 May 2009 |access-date=14 January 2013}}</ref> In ], the age of consent is 15, but the activity is only deemed criminal if there is "a marked discrepancy between the maturity of the perpetrator and that of the victim".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dtxtq4w60xqpw.cloudfront.net/sites/all/files/docpdf/slovenia.pdf |title=Republic of Slovenia—Legislation against child sex tourism |publisher=] |access-date=25 August 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304043215/http://dtxtq4w60xqpw.cloudfront.net/sites/all/files/docpdf/slovenia.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2016 }}</ref> | |||
====Homosexual and heterosexual age discrepancies==== | |||
Some jurisdictions, such as ], UK overseas territory of the ], ] and ] have a higher age of consent for ]. However, such discrepancies are increasingly being challenged. Within ] for example (since 1 November 2019 under section 177 of the Criminal Code Act 1907) the age of consent for vaginal and oral sex is 16, but for anal sex it is 18. In Canada, the United Kingdom and Western Australia, for example, the age of consent was formerly 21 for same-sex sexual activity between males (with no laws regarding ] sexual activities), while it was 16 for ] sexual activity; this is no longer the case and the age of consent for all sexual activity is 16.<ref>''The Causes and Cures of Criminality'' Eysenck, Hans 1989 Plenum Press New York page 229</ref> In June 2019, the Canadian government repealed the section of the criminal code that set a higher age of consent for anal intercourse.<ref>{{cite act |type=bill |date=21 June 2019 |legislature=Parliament of Canada |title=Bill C-75 |url=https://www.parl.ca/DocumentViewer/en/42-1/bill/C-75/royal-assent}}</ref> | |||
====Gender-age differentials==== | |||
In some jurisdictions (such as ]<ref name="Indonesia">{{cite web |url=http://www.interpol.int/Public/Children/SexualAbuse/NationalLaws/csaIndonesia.asp |archive-url=http://arquivo.pt/wayback/20080229151529/http://www.interpol.int/Public/Children/SexualAbuse/NationalLaws/csaIndonesia.asp |url-status=dead |archive-date=29 February 2008 |title=Sexual Offences Laws – Indonesia |publisher=Interpol |access-date=5 September 2009 }}</ref>), there are different ages of consent for heterosexual sexual activity that are based on the gender of each person. In countries where there are gender-age differentials, the age of consent may be higher for girls—for example in ], where the age of consent for heterosexual sex is 16 for girls and 14 for boys,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.paclii.org/pg/LRC/WP_1.htm |title=Law, Ethics and HIV/AIDS: Existing Law of Papua New Guinea |publisher=Paclii.org |access-date=14 January 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120419132305/http://www.paclii.org/pg/LRC/WP_1.htm |archive-date=19 April 2012 }}</ref> or they may be higher for males, such as in Indonesia, where males must be 19 years old and females must be 16 years old.<ref name="Indonesia" /> There are also numerous jurisdictions—such as Kuwait<ref name="Kuwait">{{cite web |url=http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/0/2f5665ae20b956cb8025675a0033cafb?Opendocument |title=Summary record of the 488th meeting : Kuwait |publisher=Committee on the Rights of the Child |access-date=5 September 2009 }}</ref> and ]<ref name="Palestine">{{cite web |url=https://scholarblogs.emory.edu/islamic-family-law/home/research/legal-profiles/palestinepalestinian-territories-of-west-bank-and-gaza-strip/ |title=Islamic Family Law: Palestine / Palestinian Territories of West Bank and Gaza Strip |publisher=Emory University School of Law |year=2002 |access-date=5 December 2022 }}</ref>—in which ] govern the gender-age differential. In these jurisdictions, it is illegal to have sexual intercourse outside of marriage, so the ''de facto'' age of consent is the marriageable age. In Kuwait, this means that boys must be at least 17 and girls at least 15 years old. | |||
====Position of authority/trust==== | |||
In most jurisdictions where the age of consent is below 18 (such as England and Wales),<ref name=SOA2003_a>{{cite web |url=http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2003/pdf/ukpga_20030042_en.pdf |title=Sexual Offences Act 2003 (See Sections 16 to 24) |publisher=Published by the Government of the United Kingdom, (Office of Public Sector Information)}}</ref> in cases where a person aged 18 or older is in a position of trust over a person under 18, the age of consent usually rises to 18 or higher. Examples of such positions of trust include relationships between teachers and students. For example, in England and Wales the age of consent is 16, but if the person is a student of the older person it becomes 18. | |||
====Circumstances of the relationship==== | |||
In several jurisdictions, it is illegal to engage in sexual activity with a person under a certain age under certain circumstances regarding the relationship in question, such as if it involves taking advantage of or corrupting the morals of the young person. For example, while the age of consent is 14 in Germany and 16 in Canada, it is illegal in both countries to engage in sexual activity with a person under 18 if the activity exploits the younger person. Another example is in Mexico, where there is a crime called "estupro" defined as sexual activity with a person over the age of consent but under a certain age limit (generally 18) in which consent of the younger person was obtained through seduction and/or deceit. In Pennsylvania, the age of consent is officially 16, but if the older partner is 18 or older, they may still be prosecuted for corruption of minors for their corruption or tending to corrupt the morals of the younger person. | |||
===Extraterritoriality=== | ===Extraterritoriality=== | ||
{{see also|Child sex tourism#Extraterritorial jurisdiction}} | |||
Increasingly the age of consent laws of a state are applied not only to acts committed on its own territory, but also acts committed by its nationals or inhabitants on foreign territory.<ref name="waites" /> Such provisions have been frequently adopted to help reduce the incidence of ]. | |||
A growing number of countries have specific ] that prosecutes their citizens in their homeland should they engage in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign country with children. In 2008, ] reported that 44 countries had extraterritorial child sex legislation.<ref>{{cite web|title=What is Child Sex Tourism? – ECPAT International|url=http://www.ecpat.org/wp-content/uploads/legacy/cst_faq_eng.pdf|page=35|publisher=]|access-date=12 January 2017|archive-date=13 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170113120720/http://www.ecpat.org/wp-content/uploads/legacy/cst_faq_eng.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> For example, ], a federal United States law bans sexual activity by its citizens with foreigners or with U.S. citizens from another state, if the partner is under 18 and the activity is illegal under the federal, state, or local law. This applies in cases where any of the partners travels into or out of the United States, or from one state into another, for the purpose of an illegal sexual encounter.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2423|title=18 U.S. Code § 2423—Transportation of minors|publisher=Legal Information Institute|access-date=29 June 2015}}</ref><ref name="SOLR">{{cite web|url=http://www.solresearch.org/~SOLR/rprt/USnatlAoC.asp |title=Research on sex offender laws and their effects on people and society |year=2009 |publisher=SOL Research.org |access-date=23 October 2011}}</ref> | |||
== |
==Other issues== | ||
{{Main|Statutory rape}}<!-- Please note that this section is a summary of another article and should reflect that article's current state. Do not add any extra information here, rather edit the alternate article and then summarize that article here. --> | |||
Where a jurisdiction's age of consent laws for sexual activity treat those convicted of those laws with the same severity as other forms of ] the law is often referred to as '''statutory rape'''. The different titles of age of consent laws include ''statutory rape, rape of a child, corruption of a minor, carnal knowledge of a minor'' and others. However, in the ] many of these terms are interchangeable and little differentiation is made. | |||
===Gender of participants=== | |||
==Other concerns== | |||
There is debate as to whether the gender of those involved should lead to different treatment of the sexual encounter, in law or in practice. Traditionally, age of consent laws regarding vaginal intercourse were often meant to protect the chastity of unmarried girls.<ref name="chnm.gmu.edu"/> Many feminists and social campaigners in the 1970s have objected to the social importance of virginity, and have also attempted to change the stereotypes of female passivity and male aggression; demanding that the law protect children from exploitation regardless of their gender, rather than dealing with concerns of chastity. This has led to gender-neutral laws in many jurisdictions.<ref name="chnm.gmu.edu"/> On the other hand, there is an opposing view which argues that the act of vaginal intercourse is an "unequal act" for males and females, due to issues such as pregnancy, increased risk of STDs,<ref>UNFPA writes that "Biologically, women's risk of acquiring sexually transmitted infections during unprotected sexual relations is two to four times that of men." {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150707005611/http://www.unfpa.org/resources/giving-special-attention-girls-and-adolescents|date=7 July 2015}}</ref> and risk of physical injury if the girl is too young and not physically ready. In the US, in '']'' it was ruled that the double standard of offering more legal protection to girls is valid because "the Equal Protection Clause does not mean that the physiological differences between men and women must be disregarded".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/450/464/case.html|title=Michael M. v. Superior Ct. :: 450 U.S. 464 (1981) :: Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center|work=Justia Law|access-date=29 June 2015}}</ref> | |||
===Marriage=== | |||
{{Main|Marriageable age}}<!-- Please note that this section is a summary of another article and should reflect that article's current state. Do not add any extra information here, rather edit the alternate article and then summarize that article here. --> | |||
The age at which a person can be legally married can also differ from the age of consent. In jurisdictions where the marriageable age is lower than the age of consent, those laws override the age of consent laws, at least as they apply to the spouse. Further still, some jurisdictions prohibit any sex outside of marriage, which can take place at any age, as in the case of ]. | |||
Traditionally, many age of consent laws dealt primarily with men engaging in sexual acts with underage girls and boys (the latter acts often falling under ] and ] laws). This means that in some legal systems, issues of women having sexual contact with underage partners were rarely acknowledged. For example, until 2000, in the UK, before the ], there was no statutory age of consent for ] sex.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1045383.stm|title=BBC News—UK—Q and A: The age of consent|publisher=BBC News|date=29 November 2000|access-date=29 June 2015}}</ref> In ], before 2005, there were no age of consent laws dealing with women having sex with underage boys.<ref>"In respect of sexual conduct with a young person aged under 16, the bill significantly toughens the law. The loophole protecting women against being charged with sexual offending against children is removed".{{cite web |date=12 April 2005 |title=Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2) – Second Reading, Instruction to Committee, In Committee |url=http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/debates/debates/47HansD_20050414_00000206/crimes-amendment-bill-no-2-%E2%80%94-second-reading-instruction |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150609123151/https://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/debates/debates/47HansD_20050414_00000206/crimes-amendment-bill-no-2-%E2%80%94-second-reading-instruction |archive-date=9 June 2015 |access-date=8 June 2015 |website=parliament.nz}}</ref> Previously, in Fiji, male offenders of child sexual abuse could receive up to life imprisonment, whilst female offenders would receive up to seven years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304495447|last1=Whitehead|first1=John|last2=Roffee|first2=James|title=Child Sexual Abuse in Fiji: Authority, Risk Factors and Responses}}</ref> Situations like these have been attributed to societal views on traditional ], and to constructs of ] and ]; according to E Martellozzo, "iewing females as perpetrators of sexual abuse goes against every stereotype that society has of women: women as mothers and caregivers and not as people who abuse and harm".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cybercrimejournal.com/elenaetal2010ijcc.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.cybercrimejournal.com/elenaetal2010ijcc.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=Online child sexual abuse by female offenders: An Exploratory study|publisher=International Journal of Cyber Criminology|last1=Martellozzo|first1=Elena|last2=Nehring|first2=Daniel|last3=Taylor|first3=Helen|date=2010|access-date=25 August 2015}}</ref> ] argues that women are not acknowledged as perpetrators of sex crimes because society does not accept that women have an autonomous sexuality of their own.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cultmagazine.com.au/2014/08/festival-dangerous-ideas-top-10/ |title=CULT Magazine FESTIVAL OF DANGEROUS IDEAS TOP 10|work=CULT Magazine |access-date=29 June 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150609123104/http://cultmagazine.com.au/2014/08/festival-dangerous-ideas-top-10/ |archive-date=9 June 2015}}</ref> | |||
===Pornography=== | |||
{{Main|Child pornography}}<!-- Please note that this section is a summary of another article and should reflect that article's current state. Do not add any extra information here, rather edit the alternate article and then summarize that article here. --> | |||
===Marriage and the age of consent=== | |||
Variations also exist in some countries between the age of consent and the age at which an individual can appear in ] images and films. In many jurisdictions, the minimum age for legal participation and even viewing of such productions is 18. Films and images showing individuals under the age of 18 (or who appear to be under in some jurisdictions{{Citation needed|Date:August 2009|date=August 2009}}) in applicable jurisdictions can be classified as child pornography, even though the legal age of consent in those same jurisdictions is lower than 17. | |||
{{Main|Marriageable age|Child marriage}}<!-- Please note that this section is a summary of another article and should reflect that article's current state. Do not add any extra information here, rather edit the alternate article and then summarize that article here. --> | |||
The age at which a person can be legally married can differ from the age of consent. In jurisdictions where the marriageable age is lower than the age of consent, those laws usually override the age of consent laws in the case of a married couple where one or both partners are below the age of consent. Some jurisdictions prohibit all sex outside of marriage irrespective of age, as in the case of ].<ref>{{Citation|last=Power |first=Carla |author-link=Carla Power |title=Nujood Ali & Shada Nasser win "Women of the Year Fund 2008 Glamour Award" |work=Yemen Times|date=12 August 2009 |url=http://www.yementimes.com/DefaultDET.aspx?i=1207&p=report&a=1 |access-date=6 February 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110405190616/http://www.yementimes.com/DefaultDET.aspx?i=1207&p=report&a=1 |archive-date=5 April 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{Citation|author =Human Rights Watch| title= World Report 2001|chapter= Yemen: Human Rights Developments | publisher= Human Rights Watch | year=2001 | chapter-url= https://www.hrw.org/wr2k1/mideast/yemen.html | access-date=8 April 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100615214816/http://www.hrw.org/wr2k1/mideast/yemen.html| archive-date=15 June 2010| url-status= live}}</ref> | |||
===Prostitution=== | ===Prostitution=== | ||
{{Main|Prostitution of children}}<!-- Please note that this section is a summary of another article and should reflect that article's current state. Do not add any extra information here, rather edit the alternate article and then summarize that article here. --> | {{Main|Prostitution of children}}<!-- Please note that this section is a summary of another article and should reflect that article's current state. Do not add any extra information here, rather edit the alternate article and then summarize that article here. --> | ||
In many countries, there are specific laws dealing with child prostitution.{{citation needed|date=August 2015}} | |||
While the legality of adult ] varies among different parts of the world, the prostitution of ] is illegal in most countries. Furthermore, some countries enforce worldwide jurisdiction over any involvement in child prostitution by their nationals. | |||
===Pornography and "jailbait" images<span id="Pornography and 'jailbait' images"></span>=== | |||
==Initiatives to change the age of consent== | |||
{{Main|Child pornography|Jailbait images}}<!-- Please note that this section is a summary of another article and should reflect that article's current state. Do not add any extra information here, rather edit the alternate article and then summarize that article here. --> | |||
{{Main|Age of consent reform}} | |||
In some countries, states, or other jurisdictions, the age of consent may be lower than the age at which a person can appear in ] images and films. In many jurisdictions, the minimum age for participation and even viewing such material is 18. As such, in some jurisdictions, films and images showing individuals under the age of 18, but above the age of consent, that meet the legal definition of ] are prohibited despite the fact that the sexual acts depicted are legal to engage in otherwise under that jurisdiction's age of consent laws. In those cases, it is only the filming of the sex act that is the crime as the act itself would not be considered a sex crime. For example, in the United States under federal law it is a crime to film minors below 18 in sexual acts, even in states where the age of consent is below 18.<ref name="SOLR" /> In those states, charges such as child pornography can be used to prosecute someone having sex with a minor, who could not otherwise be prosecuted for statutory rape, provided they filmed or photographed the act.<ref>{{cite news|last=Brilliant |first=Jeremy |title=New Castle detective resigns over child porn charges |url=http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=10854092&nav=9Tai |access-date=25 May 2012 |newspaper=wthr.com Eyewitness News |date=5 August 2009 |location=Henry County |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524173904/http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=10854092&nav=9Tai |archive-date=24 May 2013 }}</ref> | |||
{{Law unref section|date=January 2009}} | |||
Age of consent reform refers to the efforts of some individuals or groups, for different reasons and with varying arguments, to raise, lower, abolish or otherwise alter age of consent laws. These efforts advocate five main positions: | |||
* An introduction of close-in-age exceptions. | |||
* A change in the way age of consent laws are examined in court. | |||
* An increase in the ages of consent, more severe penalties for violation of these laws or both. | |||
* A decrease in the ages of consent, less severe penalties for violation of these laws or both. | |||
* To abolish the age of consent laws altogether or as a temporary practical expedient. | |||
] can be differentiated from child pornography, as they do not feature minors before the onset of puberty, nor do they contain nudity.<ref name=boost>{{cite news|last=Morris |first=Kevin |title=Anderson Cooper boosts visibility of teen-girl pics |url=http://www.dailydot.com/society/anderson-cooper-reddit-jailbait-traffic/ |access-date=12 June 2014 |newspaper=] |date=3 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304195251/http://www.dailydot.com/society/anderson-cooper-reddit-jailbait-traffic/ |archive-date=4 March 2016 }}</ref><ref name=AlfonsoIII>{{cite news|last=Alfonso III|first=Fernando|title=A free-speech haven wrestles with violent images|url=http://www.dailydot.com/society/reddit-beatingwomen-misogyny-images/|access-date=12 June 2014|newspaper=]|date=11 August 2011}}</ref> The images are, however, usually sexualized,<ref name=boost /> often featuring ] or young teenagers in bikinis, skirts,<ref name=gawk>{{cite news|last=Chen |first=Adrian |title=Unmasking Reddit's Violentacrez, The Biggest Troll on the Web |url=http://gawker.com/5950981/unmasking-reddits-violentacrez-the-biggest-troll-on-the-web |access-date=12 June 2014 |newspaper=] |date=12 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121012213707/http://gawker.com/5950981/unmasking-reddits-violentacrez-the-biggest-troll-on-the-web |archive-date=12 October 2012 }}</ref> underwear or lingerie.<ref name=pcmag>{{cite web |url=https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2391317,00.asp |title=Reddit Closes 'Jailbait' Pic Site, Allows Others to Remain |last1=Hachman |first1=Mark |date=10 August 2011 |work=] |access-date=12 June 2014}}</ref> Whether or not these images are legal is debated. When questioned regarding their legality legal analyst ] stated he thought it was not illegal, though legal expert ] was more skeptical, describing jailbait images as "borderline" child pornography which may be illegal.<ref name=mediaite>{{cite web |url=http://www.mediaite.com/tv/anderson-cooper-excoriates-reddit-for-creepy-jailbait-section/ |title=Anderson Cooper Excoriates Reddit For 'Creepy' Jailbait Section |last1=Crugnale |first1=James |date=30 September 2011 |work=] |access-date=12 June 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://edition.cnn.com/2012/10/18/us/internet-troll-apology/ |title=Man behind 'Jailbait' posts exposed, loses job |last1=Fitzpatrick |first1=David |last2=Griffin |first2=Drew |date=19 October 2012 |publisher=] |access-date=12 June 2014}}</ref> | |||
==Ages of consent in various countries== | |||
Specific jurisdictions' laws relating to age of consent can be found, organized by continent, on the following pages: | |||
===Health=== | |||
*] | |||
{{See also|Sexual intercourse#Health effects}} | |||
*] | |||
The human ] continues to develop after puberty.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/524225_4|title=Medscape: Medscape Access|access-date=29 June 2015}}</ref> The age of exposure has an influence upon if the immune system can fend off infections in general, and this is also true in the case of some ]. For example, a risk factor for ] strains causing ]s is sexual debut at a young age;<ref name="ncbi.nlm.nih.gov">{{cite journal|pmc=4018629 |title=Men's beliefs about HPV-related disease|journal=Journal of Behavioral Medicine|volume=33|issue=4|pages=274–281|year=2010|last1=Brewer|first1=N. T.|last2=Ng|first2=T. W.|last3=McRee|first3=A. L.|last4=Reiter|first4=P. L.|doi=10.1007/s10865-010-9251-2|pmid=20162346}}</ref> if this extends to the cancer causing strains, then sexual debut at a young age would potentially also increase risk of persistence of HPV infections that cause the very ] that are being diagnosed in spiking numbers of relatively young people.<ref name="ncbi.nlm.nih.gov"/> | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
*] | |||
==Initiatives to change the age of consent== | |||
There are no specific age of consent laws in the ]. In the unlikely event of a minor engaging in sexual activity, under the ], scientists and support staff stationed there may be subject to the laws of the country of which they are nationals. Other visitors to the continent may need to follow the laws of the country in which their expedition is organized, or the country from which it departs.<ref name="AusAnt">{{cite web|url=http://www.aad.gov.au/default.asp?casid=78 |title=What is the treaty? |accessdate=2006-07-18 |date=2006-03-23 |publisher=Australian Antarctic Division}}</ref> | |||
{{Main|Age of consent reform}} | |||
Age-of-consent reform refers to the efforts of some individuals or groups, for different reasons, to alter or abolish age-of-consent laws. These efforts advocate positions such as: | |||
* Introductions of close-in-age exceptions. | |||
* Reducing the age-of-consent for homosexual activity to match that of heterosexual activity. | |||
* A change in the way that age-of-consent laws are examined in court. | |||
* Either increases in the ages of consent or more severe penalties or both. | |||
* Either decreases in the ages of consent or less severe penalties or both. | |||
* Abolition of the age-of-consent laws either permanently or as a temporary, practical expedient. | |||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
{{Portal|Human sexuality|Law}} | |||
* ] | |||
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* ] (British India) | |||
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* ] | * ], ''law of England and Wales'' | ||
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* ], a Victorian expose of child prostitution | |||
* ] | |||
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* ] | * ] | ||
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* ] | * ] | ||
* '']'' | |||
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==References== | ==References== | ||
{{Reflist}} | |||
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==Further reading== | |||
* Brewer, Holly. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110711010512/http://uncpress.unc.edu/browse/book_detail?title_id=833 |date=11 July 2011 }}; Univ. of North Carolina Press (Chapel Hill, 2005) {{ISBN|978-0-8078-5832-5}} | |||
'''Published books on the subject:''' | |||
* Robertson, Stephen (]). "." In: ''Children & Youth in History'', Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media (CHNM) at ] and the ].—Includes links to primary sources. | |||
* Waites, Matthew (2005) ''The Age of Consent: Young People, Sexuality and Citizenship'', (New York and Houndmills, Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan) ISBN 1-4039-2173-3 | |||
* Waites, Matthew (2005). '''', (New York and Houndmills, Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan) {{ISBN|1-4039-2173-3}} | |||
* {{cite journal|last=Schaffner|first=Laurie|year=2002|title=An Age of Reason: Paradoxes in Legal Constructions of Adulthood|journal=]|volume=10|issue=3|pages=201–232|doi=10.1163/157181802761586699}} | |||
==External links== | ==External links== | ||
* |
* {{Cite web|url=http://www.interpol.int/public/children/sexualabuse/nationallaws/default.asp|title=Legislation of Interpol member states on sexual offenses against children|access-date=3 April 2017|archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20010925002953/http://www.interpol.int/public/children/sexualabuse/nationallaws/default.asp|archive-date=25 September 2001|url-status=dead}} (Some information may be out of date) | ||
* {{Cite web|url=http://moraloutrage.net/state-laws/|title=Links to the relevant state laws for all 50 States and Washington DC|access-date=27 August 2010|archive-url=https://archive.today/20100831060017/http://moraloutrage.net/state-laws/|archive-date=31 August 2010|url-status=dead}} | |||
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Latest revision as of 22:38, 25 December 2024
Minimum age for agreement to sexual activities For other uses, see Age of consent (disambiguation). Not to be confused with Marriageable age.
The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. Consequently, an adult who engages in sexual activity with a person younger than the age of consent is unable to legally claim that the sexual activity was consensual, and such sexual activity may be considered child sexual abuse or statutory rape. The person below the minimum age is considered the victim, and their sex partner the offender, although some jurisdictions provide exceptions through "Romeo and Juliet laws" if one or both participants are underage and are close in age.
The term age of consent typically does not appear in legal statutes. Generally, a law will establish the age below which it is illegal to engage in sexual activity with that person. It has sometimes been used with other meanings, such as the age at which a person becomes competent to consent to marriage, but consent to sexual activity is the meaning now generally understood. It should not be confused with other laws regarding age minimums including, but not limited to, the age of majority, age of criminal responsibility, voting age, drinking age, and driving age.
Age of consent laws vary widely from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, though most jurisdictions set the age of consent within the range of 14 to 18 (with the exceptions of Cuba which sets the age of consent at 12, Argentina, Niger and Western Sahara which set the age of consent at 13, Mexico which sets the age of consent between 12 and 18, and 14 Muslim states which set the consent by marriage only). The laws may also vary by the type of sexual act, the gender of the participants or other considerations, such as involving a position of trust; some jurisdictions may also make allowances for minors engaged in sexual acts with each other, rather than a single age. Charges and penalties resulting from a breach of these laws may range from a misdemeanor, such as 'corruption of a minor', to what is popularly called statutory rape.
There are many "grey areas" in this area of law, some regarding unspecific and untried legislation, others brought about by debates regarding changing societal attitudes, and others due to conflicts between federal and state laws. These factors all make age of consent an often confusing subject and a topic of highly charged debates.
By continent
Africa
Americas
Asia
Europe
Oceania
History and social attitudes
Traditional attitudes
In traditional societies, the age of consent for a sexual union was a matter for the family to decide, or a tribal custom. In most cases, this coincided with signs of puberty, menstruation for a woman, and pubic hair for a man.
Reliable data for ages at marriage is scarce. In England, for example, the only reliable data in the early modern period comes from property records made after death. Not only were the records relatively rare, but not all bothered to record the participants' ages, and it seems that the more complete the records are, the more likely they are to reveal young marriages. Modern historians have sometimes shown reluctance to accept evidence of young ages of marriage, dismissing it as a 'misreading' by a later copier of the records.
In the 12th century, Gratian, the influential compiler of canon law in medieval Europe, accepted the age of puberty for marriage to be around twelve for girls and around fourteen for boys but acknowledged consent to be meaningful if both children were older than seven years of age. There were authorities that said that such consent for entering marriage could take place earlier. Marriage would then be valid as long as neither of the two parties annulled the marital agreement before reaching puberty, or if they had already consummated the marriage. Judges sometimes honored marriages based on mutual consent at ages younger than seven: in contrast to established canon, there are recorded marriages of two- and three-year-olds.
In China, Law Code of the Qingyuan [ja; ko; zh] Reign (慶元條法事類), published in 1202 which catalogued laws that came into effect from 1127 to 1195, introduced statutory rape in the following decree: 'Successful intercourse with girls younger than 10 is considered rape in all circumstances, punishable by exile 3000 li (miles) away into the uncivilized provinces; if the rape was unsuccessful, exile by 500 li; If injury occurs in process, death by hanging'.
The first recorded age-of-consent law in Europe dates from 1275 in England; as part of its provisions on rape, the Statute of Westminster 1275 made it a misdemeanor to "ravish" a "maiden within age," whether with or without her consent. The phrase "within age" was later interpreted by jurist Sir Edward Coke (England, 17th century) as meaning the age of marriage, which at the time was twelve years of age.
The Great Ming Code, 25th section, Criminal Code on Rape came into effect from 1373, raised the age of consent to 12 by stating 'girls younger than 12 lack rational sexual desires, therefore any intercourse with them is considered the same as rape and therefore punishable by death with hanging'.
The American colonies followed the English tradition, and the law was more of a guide. For example, Mary Hathaway (Virginia, 1689) was only nine when she was married to William Williams. Sir Edward Coke "made it clear that the marriage of girls under 12 was normal, and the age at which a girl who was a wife was eligible for a dower from her husband's estate was 9 even though her husband be only four years old."
In the 16th century, a small number of Italian and German states set the minimum age for sexual intercourse for girls, setting it at twelve years. Towards the end of the 18th century, other European countries also began to enact similar laws. The first French Constitution of 1791 established the minimum age at eleven years. Portugal, Spain, Denmark and the Swiss cantons initially set the minimum age at ten to twelve years.
Age of consent laws were historically difficult to follow and enforce. Legal norms based on age were not, in general, common until the 19th century, because clear proof of exact age and precise date of birth were often unavailable.
In 18th-century Australia it was thought that children were inherently sinful and vulnerable to sexual temptations. Punishment for "giving in" to these temptations was generally left to parents and was not seen as a government matter, except in the case of rape. Australian children had few rights and were legally considered the chattel of their parents. From the late 18th century, and especially in the 19th century, attitudes started to change. By the mid-19th century there was increased concern over child sexual abuse.
Reforms in the 19th and 20th century
A general shift in social and legal attitudes toward issues of sex occurred during the modern era. Attitudes on the appropriate age of permission for females to engage in sexual activity drifted toward adulthood. While ages from ten to thirteen years were typically regarded as acceptable ages for sexual consent in Western countries during the mid-19th century, by the end of the 19th century changing attitudes towards sexuality and childhood resulted in the raising of the age of consent.
English common law had traditionally set the age of consent within the range of ten to twelve years old, but the Offences Against the Person Act 1875 raised this to thirteen in Great Britain and Ireland. Early feminists of the Social Purity movement, such as Josephine Butler and others, instrumental in securing the repeal of the Contagious Diseases Acts, began to turn towards the problem of child prostitution by the end of the 1870s. Sensational media revelations about the scourge of child prostitution in London in the 1880s then caused outrage among the respectable middle-classes, leading to pressure for the age of consent to be raised again.
The investigative journalist William Thomas Stead of the Pall Mall Gazette was pivotal in exposing the problem of child prostitution in the London underworld through a publicity stunt. In 1885 he "purchased" one victim, Eliza Armstrong, the thirteen-year-old daughter of a chimney sweep, for five pounds and took her to a brothel where she was drugged. He then published a series of four exposés entitled The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon, which shocked its readers with tales of child prostitution and the abduction, procurement, and sale of young English virgins to Continental "pleasure palaces". The "Maiden Tribute" was an instant sensation with the reading public, and Victorian society was thrown into an uproar about prostitution. Fearing riots on a national scale, the Home Secretary, Sir William Harcourt, pleaded in vain with Stead to cease publication of the articles. A wide variety of reform groups held protest meetings and marched together to Hyde Park demanding that the age of consent be raised. The government was forced to propose the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885, which raised the age of consent from thirteen to sixteen and clamped down on prostitution.
In the United States, as late as the 1880s most states set the minimum age at ten to twelve (in Delaware, it was seven in 1895). Inspired by the "Maiden Tribute" articles, female reformers in the U.S. initiated their own campaign, which petitioned legislators to raise the legal minimum age to at least sixteen, with the ultimate goal to raise the age to eighteen. The campaign was successful, with almost all states raising the minimum age to sixteen to eighteen years by 1920.
In France, Portugal, Denmark, the Swiss cantons and other countries, the minimum age was raised to between thirteen and sixteen years in the following decades. Though the original arguments for raising the age of consent were based on morality, since then the raison d'être of the laws has changed to child welfare and a so-called right to childhood or innocence.
In France, under the Napoleonic Code, the age of consent was set in 1832 at eleven, and was raised to thirteen in 1863. It was increased to fifteen in 1945. In the 1970s, a group of prominent French intellectuals advocated for the repeal of the age of consent laws, but did not succeed.
In Spain, it was set in 1822 at "puberty age", and changed to twelve in 1870, which was kept until 1999, when it became 13; and in 2015 it was raised to 16.
21st century
In the 21st century, concerns about child sex tourism and commercial sexual exploitation of children gained prominence, resulting in legislative changes in multiple jurisdictions, as well as the adoption of international laws.
The Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (Lanzarote, 25 October 2007), and the European Union's Directive 2011/92/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on combating the sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of children and child pornography were adopted.
The Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography came into force in 2002.
The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, which came into force in 2003, prohibits commercial sexual exploitation of children.
The Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (which came into force in 2008) also deals with commercial sexual exploitation of children.
Several Western countries have raised their ages of consent in recent decades. These include Canada (in 2008—from 14 to 16); and in Europe, Iceland (in 2007—from 14 to 15), Lithuania (in 2010—from 14 to 16), Croatia (in 2013—from 14 to 15), Spain (in 2015—from 13 to 16), Romania (in 2020 from 15 to 16) and Estonia (in 2022—from 14 to 16).
The International Criminal Court Statute does not provide a specific age of consent in its rape/sexual violence statute, but makes reference to sexual acts committed against persons "incapable of giving genuine consent"; and the explicative footnote states, "It is understood that a person may be incapable of giving genuine consent if affected by natural, induced or age-related incapacity." (see note 51)
Law
See also: Sexual consent in lawSexual relations with a person under the age of consent is a crime in most countries; Jurisdictions use a variety of terms for the offense, including child sexual abuse, statutory rape, illegal carnal knowledge, corruption of a minor, besides others.
The enforcement practices of age-of-consent laws vary depending on the social sensibilities of the particular culture (see above). Often, enforcement is not exercised to the letter of the law, with legal action being taken only when a sufficiently socially-unacceptable age gap exists between the two individuals, or if the perpetrator is in a position of power over the minor (e.g. a teacher, minister, or doctor). The sex of each participant can also influence perceptions of an individual's guilt and therefore enforcement.
Age
The threshold age for engaging in sexual activity varies between jurisdictions. Most jurisdictions have set a fixed age of consent. However, some jurisdictions permit sex with a person after the onset of their puberty, such as Yemen, but only in marriage. Ages can also vary based on the type of calendar used, such as the lunar calendar, how birth dates in leap years are handled, or even the method by which birth date is calculated.
Defenses and exceptions
The age of consent is a legal barrier to the minor's ability to consent and therefore obtaining consent is not in general a defense to having sexual relations with a person under the prescribed age, for example:
Reasonable belief that the victim is over the age of consent
In some jurisdictions it is a defense if the accused can show their reasonable belief that the victim was over the age of consent. However, where such a defense is provided, it normally applies only when the victim is close to the age of consent or the accused can show due diligence in determining the age of the victim (e.g. an underage person who used a fake identification document claiming to be of legal age).
Marriage
In various jurisdictions, age of consent laws do not apply if the parties are legally married to each other. Ruhollah Khomeini, first Supreme Leader of Iran, wrote in Tahrir al-Wasilah that sexual penetration requires the girl to be at least 9 years old, but that other sexual acts are unobjectionable regardless their age, even if they are a "suckling infant".
Similar age
Some jurisdictions have laws explicitly allowing sexual acts with minors under the age of consent if their partner is close in age. In Canada, the age of consent is 16, but there are three close-in-age exemptions: sex with minors aged 14–15 is permitted if the partner is less than five years older, sex with minors aged 12–13 is permitted if the partner is less than two years older, and sex with minors aged 0–11 is permitted if the partner is 12 or 13 years of age, as long as the partner is not in a position of trust over the other minor.
Age under threshold
Another approach takes the form of a stipulation that sexual intercourse between a minor and an older partner is legal under the condition that the latter does not exceed a certain age. For example, the age of consent in the US state of Delaware is 18, but it is allowed for teenagers aged 16 and 17 to engage in sexual intercourse as long as the older partner is younger than 30. The law in Canada for sex between minors aged 0–11 with a partner younger than 14 also takes this form.
Similar maturity
Other countries state that the sexual conduct with the minor is not to be punished if the partners are of a similar age and development: for instance, the age of consent in Finland is 16, but the law states that the act will not be punished if "there is no great difference in the ages or the mental and physical maturity of the persons involved". In Slovenia, the age of consent is 15, but the activity is only deemed criminal if there is "a marked discrepancy between the maturity of the perpetrator and that of the victim".
Homosexual and heterosexual age discrepancies
Some jurisdictions, such as the Bahamas, UK overseas territory of the Cayman Islands, Paraguay and Suriname have a higher age of consent for same-sex sexual activity. However, such discrepancies are increasingly being challenged. Within Bermuda for example (since 1 November 2019 under section 177 of the Criminal Code Act 1907) the age of consent for vaginal and oral sex is 16, but for anal sex it is 18. In Canada, the United Kingdom and Western Australia, for example, the age of consent was formerly 21 for same-sex sexual activity between males (with no laws regarding lesbian sexual activities), while it was 16 for heterosexual sexual activity; this is no longer the case and the age of consent for all sexual activity is 16. In June 2019, the Canadian government repealed the section of the criminal code that set a higher age of consent for anal intercourse.
Gender-age differentials
In some jurisdictions (such as Indonesia), there are different ages of consent for heterosexual sexual activity that are based on the gender of each person. In countries where there are gender-age differentials, the age of consent may be higher for girls—for example in Papua New Guinea, where the age of consent for heterosexual sex is 16 for girls and 14 for boys, or they may be higher for males, such as in Indonesia, where males must be 19 years old and females must be 16 years old. There are also numerous jurisdictions—such as Kuwait and the Palestinian Territories—in which marriage laws govern the gender-age differential. In these jurisdictions, it is illegal to have sexual intercourse outside of marriage, so the de facto age of consent is the marriageable age. In Kuwait, this means that boys must be at least 17 and girls at least 15 years old.
Position of authority/trust
In most jurisdictions where the age of consent is below 18 (such as England and Wales), in cases where a person aged 18 or older is in a position of trust over a person under 18, the age of consent usually rises to 18 or higher. Examples of such positions of trust include relationships between teachers and students. For example, in England and Wales the age of consent is 16, but if the person is a student of the older person it becomes 18.
Circumstances of the relationship
In several jurisdictions, it is illegal to engage in sexual activity with a person under a certain age under certain circumstances regarding the relationship in question, such as if it involves taking advantage of or corrupting the morals of the young person. For example, while the age of consent is 14 in Germany and 16 in Canada, it is illegal in both countries to engage in sexual activity with a person under 18 if the activity exploits the younger person. Another example is in Mexico, where there is a crime called "estupro" defined as sexual activity with a person over the age of consent but under a certain age limit (generally 18) in which consent of the younger person was obtained through seduction and/or deceit. In Pennsylvania, the age of consent is officially 16, but if the older partner is 18 or older, they may still be prosecuted for corruption of minors for their corruption or tending to corrupt the morals of the younger person.
Extraterritoriality
See also: Child sex tourism § Extraterritorial jurisdictionA growing number of countries have specific extraterritorial legislation that prosecutes their citizens in their homeland should they engage in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign country with children. In 2008, ECPAT reported that 44 countries had extraterritorial child sex legislation. For example, PROTECT Act of 2003, a federal United States law bans sexual activity by its citizens with foreigners or with U.S. citizens from another state, if the partner is under 18 and the activity is illegal under the federal, state, or local law. This applies in cases where any of the partners travels into or out of the United States, or from one state into another, for the purpose of an illegal sexual encounter.
Other issues
Gender of participants
There is debate as to whether the gender of those involved should lead to different treatment of the sexual encounter, in law or in practice. Traditionally, age of consent laws regarding vaginal intercourse were often meant to protect the chastity of unmarried girls. Many feminists and social campaigners in the 1970s have objected to the social importance of virginity, and have also attempted to change the stereotypes of female passivity and male aggression; demanding that the law protect children from exploitation regardless of their gender, rather than dealing with concerns of chastity. This has led to gender-neutral laws in many jurisdictions. On the other hand, there is an opposing view which argues that the act of vaginal intercourse is an "unequal act" for males and females, due to issues such as pregnancy, increased risk of STDs, and risk of physical injury if the girl is too young and not physically ready. In the US, in Michael M. v. Superior Ct.450 U.S. 464 (1981) it was ruled that the double standard of offering more legal protection to girls is valid because "the Equal Protection Clause does not mean that the physiological differences between men and women must be disregarded".
Traditionally, many age of consent laws dealt primarily with men engaging in sexual acts with underage girls and boys (the latter acts often falling under sodomy and buggery laws). This means that in some legal systems, issues of women having sexual contact with underage partners were rarely acknowledged. For example, until 2000, in the UK, before the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000, there was no statutory age of consent for lesbian sex. In New Zealand, before 2005, there were no age of consent laws dealing with women having sex with underage boys. Previously, in Fiji, male offenders of child sexual abuse could receive up to life imprisonment, whilst female offenders would receive up to seven years. Situations like these have been attributed to societal views on traditional gender roles, and to constructs of male sexuality and female sexuality; according to E Martellozzo, "iewing females as perpetrators of sexual abuse goes against every stereotype that society has of women: women as mothers and caregivers and not as people who abuse and harm". Alissa Nutting argues that women are not acknowledged as perpetrators of sex crimes because society does not accept that women have an autonomous sexuality of their own.
Marriage and the age of consent
Main articles: Marriageable age and Child marriageThe age at which a person can be legally married can differ from the age of consent. In jurisdictions where the marriageable age is lower than the age of consent, those laws usually override the age of consent laws in the case of a married couple where one or both partners are below the age of consent. Some jurisdictions prohibit all sex outside of marriage irrespective of age, as in the case of Yemen.
Prostitution
Main article: Prostitution of childrenIn many countries, there are specific laws dealing with child prostitution.
Pornography and "jailbait" images
Main articles: Child pornography and Jailbait imagesIn some countries, states, or other jurisdictions, the age of consent may be lower than the age at which a person can appear in pornographic images and films. In many jurisdictions, the minimum age for participation and even viewing such material is 18. As such, in some jurisdictions, films and images showing individuals under the age of 18, but above the age of consent, that meet the legal definition of child pornography are prohibited despite the fact that the sexual acts depicted are legal to engage in otherwise under that jurisdiction's age of consent laws. In those cases, it is only the filming of the sex act that is the crime as the act itself would not be considered a sex crime. For example, in the United States under federal law it is a crime to film minors below 18 in sexual acts, even in states where the age of consent is below 18. In those states, charges such as child pornography can be used to prosecute someone having sex with a minor, who could not otherwise be prosecuted for statutory rape, provided they filmed or photographed the act.
Jailbait images can be differentiated from child pornography, as they do not feature minors before the onset of puberty, nor do they contain nudity. The images are, however, usually sexualized, often featuring tween or young teenagers in bikinis, skirts, underwear or lingerie. Whether or not these images are legal is debated. When questioned regarding their legality legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin stated he thought it was not illegal, though legal expert Sunny Hostin was more skeptical, describing jailbait images as "borderline" child pornography which may be illegal.
Health
See also: Sexual intercourse § Health effectsThe human immune system continues to develop after puberty. The age of exposure has an influence upon if the immune system can fend off infections in general, and this is also true in the case of some sexually transmitted diseases. For example, a risk factor for HPV strains causing genital warts is sexual debut at a young age; if this extends to the cancer causing strains, then sexual debut at a young age would potentially also increase risk of persistence of HPV infections that cause the very HPV induced cancers that are being diagnosed in spiking numbers of relatively young people.
Initiatives to change the age of consent
Main article: Age of consent reformAge-of-consent reform refers to the efforts of some individuals or groups, for different reasons, to alter or abolish age-of-consent laws. These efforts advocate positions such as:
- Introductions of close-in-age exceptions.
- Reducing the age-of-consent for homosexual activity to match that of heterosexual activity.
- A change in the way that age-of-consent laws are examined in court.
- Either increases in the ages of consent or more severe penalties or both.
- Either decreases in the ages of consent or less severe penalties or both.
- Abolition of the age-of-consent laws either permanently or as a temporary, practical expedient.
See also
- Adult film industry regulations
- Age disparity in sexual relationships
- Age of accountability
- Age of candidacy
- Age of Consent Act, 1891 (British India)
- Age of consent reform (UK)
- Age of consent by country
- Age of criminal responsibility
- Age of majority
- Age of reason (canon law)
- Child sexual abuse
- Comprehensive sex education
- Convention on the Rights of the Child
- Emancipation of minors
- Fitness to plead, law of England and Wales
- French petition against age of consent laws
- Gillick competence
- Legal age
- Mature minor doctrine
- Minors and abortion
- Sex-positive movement
- Sodomy law
- The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon
- Youth
- Youth suffrage
- Youth rights
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Further reading
- Brewer, Holly. By Birth or Consent: Children, Law, & the Anglo-American Revolution in Authority Archived 11 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine; Univ. of North Carolina Press (Chapel Hill, 2005) ISBN 978-0-8078-5832-5
- Robertson, Stephen (University of Sydney). "Age of Consent Laws." In: Children & Youth in History, Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media (CHNM) at George Mason University and the University of Missouri–Kansas City.—Includes links to primary sources.
- Waites, Matthew (2005). The Age of Consent: Young People, Sexuality and Citizenship, (New York and Houndmills, Basingstoke : Palgrave Macmillan) ISBN 1-4039-2173-3
- Schaffner, Laurie (2002). "An Age of Reason: Paradoxes in Legal Constructions of Adulthood". International Journal of Children's Rights. 10 (3): 201–232. doi:10.1163/157181802761586699.
External links
- "Legislation of Interpol member states on sexual offenses against children". Archived from the original on 25 September 2001. Retrieved 3 April 2017. (Some information may be out of date)
- "Links to the relevant state laws for all 50 States and Washington DC". Archived from the original on 31 August 2010. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
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