Adult at 14 season was part of the 2003 autumn season on the UK television station Channel 4

Channel 4

Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...

. The season looked into the lives of British teenagers and centred on issues such as sex and relationships and potential long-term consequences such as teenage pregnancy

Teenage pregnancy

Teenage pregnancy is a pregnancy of a female under the age of 20 when the pregnancy ends. It generally refers to a female who is unmarried and usually refers to an unplanned pregnancy...

 or sexually transmitted infections. It also supported the age of consent

Age of consent

While the phrase age of consent typically does not appear in legal statutes, when used in relation to sexual activity, the age of consent is the minimum age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. The European Union calls it the legal age for sexual...

 remaining at sixteen in order to protect vulnerable young people from abuse, but they campaigned for changes to the Sexual Offences Bill which, as it stands, will criminalise under 16s who engage in any form of consensual non-penetrative sexual activity.

Season

The season included a full-length Drama, documentary and several talk segments debating the issues facing teenagers.

• Pleasureland

A vibrant and provocative feature-length drama focusing on a group of teenagers in Liverpool who can’t wait to grow up. "Pleasureland," tackles the incendiary subject of underage sex from the perspective of a 14-year-old girl who would rather get laid or get drunk than study.

• Sex before 16

An hour long documentary about the age of consent entitled Sex Before 16, How The Law Is Failing.

• 14 Alone

A group of ten 14-year old boys and girls spend five days and nights together in a house divested of the trappings of 'teendom': no TV, video games, mobile phones or CD players are allowed.

• Porn To Be Young

Also known as Kids on porn, a frank look at young people's attitudes to pornography and the role it plays in shaping their adolescent lives. The programme claims it will offer an insight into "this tender age when children are on the cusp of adulthood". Can adolescents distinguish between the fantasy world of pornography and the reality of sexual experience?

External links

• Adult at 14 at Channel4.com
• A Church Opinion On Season