Age of consent reform
Encyclopedia
Age of consent reform refers to efforts to change age of consent
laws, whether to raise or lower or abolish the age of consent, or to change the ways in which the laws are applied. Another issue has been homosexual vs. heterosexual relationships for example in the United Kingdom the heterosexual age of consent has been 16 since 1885, but the Sexual Offences Act 1967
set the homosexual age of consent at 21, which was later lowered to 18. The ages of consent were harmonised at 16 in 2003. These efforts vary greatly in intensity and popularity, and have manifested in a variety of forms, such as legislation for close-in-age exemptions to age of consent laws, advocacy to change the way age of consent laws are examined in court, to lower or increase the age limits, and increase or reduce related penalties. Some organized efforts have occurred ranging from academic discussions to political petitions and paedophile advocacy groups.
Romeo and Juliet laws were passed in 2007 in Connecticut and Indiana. In Indiana, a change in the law decriminalizes consensual sex between adolescents if they are found by a court to be in a "dating relationship" with an age difference of four years or less and other states have adopted other reforms. Michigan passed a Romeo and Juliet Law in 2011.
These reforms are not uncontroversial. In Texas, Governor Rick Perry
vetoed Romeo and Juliet laws that had been passed by the legislature, but signed one in 2011 to go into effect in September of that year. A 2011 Romeo and Juliet bill failed to pass in the Illinois legislature. In the State v. Limon case, Kansas's Romeo and Juliet law was found to be unconstitutional because it excluded same-sex sexual conduct.
Some countries other than the United States also have Romeo and Juliet laws. Ireland's 2006 law has been contested because it treats girls differently than boys.
There have been many initiatives to raise the age of consent. However in the Middle Ages a slightly more strict approach began and Gratian, a canon lawyer, stated that consent could not take place before 7 years of age. The English government eventually decided on age of 12 for women as their limitation. Feminists in the nineteenth century began to focus on raising it to at least 16, ultimately wanting to raise it to 18. At that time the age was about 12 in most countries. Today it is usually 16 or 18.
raised it to 13. The Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885
raised it to 17 .
In January 2004, a Division bench
of the Kerala
's High Court
in Southern India
suggested that the age of consent should be raised from 16 to 18 in that state. Justice R. Basant said he considered "illogic(al)" that a legal system in which an age of 18 is used for other purposes – like the Indian Majority Act, the Contract Act, the Juvenile Justice Act
, the Child Marriage Restraint Act and the Representation of People Act – has a different approach in the case of sexual consent .
was increased from 14 to 18 in 2006 as elections approached, but in 2007, Peru's new Congress voted to return the age to 14 regardless of gender and/or sexual orientation. However, after strong public opposition, this law was again repealed on June 27, 2007, by a vote of 74 to zero (22 abstentions).
, lowered to 18 in the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994
, and then finally lowered equally to 16 in the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act of 2000
.
supported an unsuccessful petition to lower the age of consent to 12.. (But see section on Netherlands in 'Changes enacted into law'.)
s below the age of fifteen was sent to Parliament but did not succeed in changing the law. In 1978 the petition was discussed in a broadcast by radio France Culture
in the program "Dialogues", with the transcript later published under the title Sexual Morality and the Law
in a book by Michel Foucault
. The participants, including Foucault, play-writer/actor Jean Danet
and novelist/gay activist Guy Hocquenghem
had all signed the petition.
In May 1974, the Campaign for Homosexual Equality
suggested a basic age of consent of 16, but 12 "in cases where a defendant could prove the existence of meaningful consent". In September 1974, the Sexual Law Reform Society proposed lowering the age of consent to 14, with the requirement that below the age of 18 the burden of proof that consent for sexual activities between the parties existed would be the responsibility of the older participant.
In 1976, the British political pressure group Liberty
published a proposal advocating reducing the age of consent laws to 10 years of age, only when both individuals are younger than 14, with a close-in-age exemption of two years if one of the involved individuals is older than 14 but younger than 16. The report was signed by Harriet Harman
, who later went on to become a prominent figure in government and deputy leader of the Labour Party
.
The modern Communist Party of Great Britain
lists abolition of age-of-consent laws among its immediate demands, with the added provision that there be alternate legal methods to protect children from sexual abuse.
Some activists tried to link their goals with those of the early LGBT social movements
, but in the course of time those movements universally rejected this linkage. In 1994 the International Lesbian and Gay Association expelled three pedophile activist member groups: NAMBLA (the North American Man/Boy Love Association), Vereniging Martijn
, and US-based Project TRUTH. The age of consent reform efforts of paedophile advocacy groups such as the Danish Pedophile Association
and NAMBLA did not gain any public support and today those groups that have not dissolved have only minimal membership and have ceased their activities other than through a few websites.
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...
laws, whether to raise or lower or abolish the age of consent, or to change the ways in which the laws are applied. Another issue has been homosexual vs. heterosexual relationships for example in the United Kingdom the heterosexual age of consent has been 16 since 1885, but the Sexual Offences Act 1967
Sexual Offences Act 1967
The Sexual Offences Act 1967 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom . It decriminalised homosexual acts in private between two men, both of whom had to have attained the age of 21. The Act applied only to England and Wales and did not cover the Merchant Navy or the Armed Forces...
set the homosexual age of consent at 21, which was later lowered to 18. The ages of consent were harmonised at 16 in 2003. These efforts vary greatly in intensity and popularity, and have manifested in a variety of forms, such as legislation for close-in-age exemptions to age of consent laws, advocacy to change the way age of consent laws are examined in court, to lower or increase the age limits, and increase or reduce related penalties. Some organized efforts have occurred ranging from academic discussions to political petitions and paedophile advocacy groups.
Close-in-age exemptions
In the United States, many states have adopted close-in-age exemptions. These laws, known as "Romeo and Juliet laws" provide that a teenager can legally have consensual sex with a 14 or 15 year-old provided that he or she is not more than a given number of years older - generally four years but sometimes some other number of years (such as three years in Connecticut).Romeo and Juliet laws were passed in 2007 in Connecticut and Indiana. In Indiana, a change in the law decriminalizes consensual sex between adolescents if they are found by a court to be in a "dating relationship" with an age difference of four years or less and other states have adopted other reforms. Michigan passed a Romeo and Juliet Law in 2011.
These reforms are not uncontroversial. In Texas, Governor Rick Perry
Rick Perry
James Richard "Rick" Perry is the 47th and current Governor of Texas. A Republican, Perry was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998 and assumed the governorship in December 2000 when then-governor George W. Bush resigned to become President of the United States. Perry was elected to full...
vetoed Romeo and Juliet laws that had been passed by the legislature, but signed one in 2011 to go into effect in September of that year. A 2011 Romeo and Juliet bill failed to pass in the Illinois legislature. In the State v. Limon case, Kansas's Romeo and Juliet law was found to be unconstitutional because it excluded same-sex sexual conduct.
Some countries other than the United States also have Romeo and Juliet laws. Ireland's 2006 law has been contested because it treats girls differently than boys.
Initiatives to raise ages of consent
Changes Enacted into LawThere have been many initiatives to raise the age of consent. However in the Middle Ages a slightly more strict approach began and Gratian, a canon lawyer, stated that consent could not take place before 7 years of age. The English government eventually decided on age of 12 for women as their limitation. Feminists in the nineteenth century began to focus on raising it to at least 16, ultimately wanting to raise it to 18. At that time the age was about 12 in most countries. Today it is usually 16 or 18.
United Kingdom
Originally the age of consent in England was set at 12. However, in 1875 the Offense Against the Persons ActOffences against the Person Act 1875
The Offences against the Person Act 1875 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
raised it to 13. The Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885
Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885
The Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 , or "An Act to make further provision for the Protection of Women and Girls, the suppression of brothels, and other purposes", was the latest in a 25-year series of legislation in the United Kingdom beginning with the Offences against the Person Act 1861 that...
raised it to 17 .
India
In India prior to British rule the age of sexual consent was 10 but in 1891 the British government raised it to 12.In January 2004, a Division bench
Division bench
A division bench is a judicial system in which a case is heard and judged by two judges....
of the Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
's High Court
Kerala High Court
High Court of Kerala is the highest court in the Indian state of Kerala and in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep. The High Court of Kerala is headquartered at Kochi...
in Southern India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
suggested that the age of consent should be raised from 16 to 18 in that state. Justice R. Basant said he considered "illogic(al)" that a legal system in which an age of 18 is used for other purposes – like the Indian Majority Act, the Contract Act, the Juvenile Justice Act
Juvenile Justice Act
The Juvenile Justice Act, 2000 is the primary legal framework for juvenile justice in India. The Act provides for a special approach towards the prevention and treatment of juvenile delinquency and provides a framework for the protection, treatment and rehabilitation of children in the purview of...
, the Child Marriage Restraint Act and the Representation of People Act – has a different approach in the case of sexual consent .
USA
In the USA in the 1890s most states had an age of consent of 10-12 with Delaware setting its age of consent at 7. In 1895 it was still 7 according to a New York Times article . However, feminists and children's rights activists began advocating raising the age of consent to 16 wanting to ultimately raise it to 18 and by 1920 almost all states had raised their age of consent to 16 or 18..Georgia, USA
Originally the age of sexual consent in Georgia was 14. However, in 1995 Senator Steve Langford sponsored a bill to raise it to 16 which passed 52-0 . The bill did not include any close in age exemptions but it made the penalty for a person below 20 having sex with a 14 or 15 year old a misdeamnor rather than a felony. In June 2005, a bill was proposed before the General Assembly of Georgia (USA) to raise the age of consent from 16 to 18. It did not succeed.South Carolina, USA
In South Carolina the age of consent for both sexes is 16, but an unenforced clause in the 1895 state constitution actually set the age of consent for females at 14. In 2008 a referendum to repeal this clause and thus rectify the contradiction between the state constitution and actual law and practice was placed on the ballot.Canada
In June 2006, the Canadian government proposed a bill to raise the age of consent from 14 to 16 (in 1890 it was raised from 12 to 14), while creating a near-age exemption for sex between 14-15 year olds and partners up to 5 years older, and keeping an existing near-age clause for sex between 12-13 year olds and partners up to 2 years older. The initiative also maintains a temporary exception for already existing marriages of 14 and 15 year olds, but forbids new marriages like these in the future. The law took effect 1 May 2008.Netherlands
For a period during the 1990s, the Netherlands operated what was in effect an age of consent of 12, subject to qualifications. The relevant law, passed in November, 1990, permitted sexual intercourse for young people between 12 and 16, but allowed a challenge by parents based on erosion of parental authority or child exploitation, which would be heard by a Council for the Protection of Children .Peru
The age of consent in PeruPeru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
was increased from 14 to 18 in 2006 as elections approached, but in 2007, Peru's new Congress voted to return the age to 14 regardless of gender and/or sexual orientation. However, after strong public opposition, this law was again repealed on June 27, 2007, by a vote of 74 to zero (22 abstentions).
United Kingdom
The male homosexual age of consent in the United Kingdom was set at 21 in the Sexual Offences Act of 1967Sexual Offences Act 1967
The Sexual Offences Act 1967 is an Act of Parliament in the United Kingdom . It decriminalised homosexual acts in private between two men, both of whom had to have attained the age of 21. The Act applied only to England and Wales and did not cover the Merchant Navy or the Armed Forces...
, lowered to 18 in the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994
Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994
The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It introduced a number of changes to the existing law, most notably in the restriction and reduction of existing rights and in greater penalties for certain "anti-social" behaviours...
, and then finally lowered equally to 16 in the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act of 2000
Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000
The Sexual Offences Act 2000 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It changed the age of consent for male homosexual sexual activities from 18 to that for heterosexual and lesbian sexual activities at 16, or 17 in Northern Ireland...
.
The Netherlands
In 1979, the now-defunct Dutch Pacifist Socialist PartyPacifist Socialist Party
The Pacifist Socialist Party was a Dutch left-socialist political party. The PSP played a small role in Dutch politics. It is a predecessor of the GreenLeft.-Before 1957:...
supported an unsuccessful petition to lower the age of consent to 12.. (But see section on Netherlands in 'Changes enacted into law'.)
France
In 1977 while a reform in the French penal code was under discussion in the parliament, a petition to decriminalize of all consented relations between adults and minorMinor (law)
In law, a minor is a person under a certain age — the age of majority — which legally demarcates childhood from adulthood; the age depends upon jurisdiction and application, but is typically 18...
s below the age of fifteen was sent to Parliament but did not succeed in changing the law. In 1978 the petition was discussed in a broadcast by radio France Culture
France Culture
France Culture is a French public radio channel and part of Radio France. Its programming encompasses a wide variety of features on historical, philosophical, sociopolitical, and scientific themes , as well as literary readings, radio plays, and experimental productions...
in the program "Dialogues", with the transcript later published under the title Sexual Morality and the Law
Sexual Morality and the Law
Sexual Morality and the Law is the transcription of a 1978 radio conversation in Paris between philosopher Michel Foucault, playwright/actor/lawyer Jean Danet, and novelist/gay activist Guy Hocquenghem, debating the idea of abolishing age of consent laws in France.In 1977, the issue was brought to...
in a book by Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault
Michel Foucault , born Paul-Michel Foucault , was a French philosopher, social theorist and historian of ideas...
. The participants, including Foucault, play-writer/actor Jean Danet
Jean Danet
Jean Danet , was a French actor, activist, and gay theorist. He appeared in 27 films between 1942 and 1983....
and novelist/gay activist Guy Hocquenghem
Guy Hocquenghem
Guy Hocquenghem was a French writer and queer theorist.-Biography:Guy Hocquenghem was born in the suburbs of Paris and was educated at the Lycée Lakanal in Sceaux and the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris. At the age of fifteen he began an affair with his high school philosophy teacher, René...
had all signed the petition.
United Kingdom
According to sociologist Matthew Waites, in the 1970s, a number of grass-roots political actions took place in Britain in favor of lowering the age of consent, which he described as based on claims of children's rights, gay liberation, or as a way to avoid unwanted pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases.In May 1974, the Campaign for Homosexual Equality
Campaign for Homosexual Equality
The Campaign for Homosexual Equality is one of the oldest gay rights organisations in the United Kingdom. It is a membership organisation which aims to promote legal and social equality for lesbians, gay men and bisexuals in England and Wales...
suggested a basic age of consent of 16, but 12 "in cases where a defendant could prove the existence of meaningful consent". In September 1974, the Sexual Law Reform Society proposed lowering the age of consent to 14, with the requirement that below the age of 18 the burden of proof that consent for sexual activities between the parties existed would be the responsibility of the older participant.
In 1976, the British political pressure group Liberty
Liberty (pressure group)
Liberty is a pressure group based in the United Kingdom. Its formal name is the National Council for Civil Liberties . Founded in 1934 by Ronald Kidd and Sylvia Crowther-Smith , the group campaigns to protect civil liberties and promote human rights...
published a proposal advocating reducing the age of consent laws to 10 years of age, only when both individuals are younger than 14, with a close-in-age exemption of two years if one of the involved individuals is older than 14 but younger than 16. The report was signed by Harriet Harman
Harriet Harman
Harriet Ruth Harman QC is a British Labour Party politician, who is the Member of Parliament for Camberwell and Peckham, and was MP for the predecessorPeckham constituency from 1982 to 1997...
, who later went on to become a prominent figure in government and deputy leader of the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
.
The modern Communist Party of Great Britain
Communist Party of Great Britain
The Communist Party of Great Britain was the largest communist party in Great Britain, although it never became a mass party like those in France and Italy. It existed from 1920 to 1991.-Formation:...
lists abolition of age-of-consent laws among its immediate demands, with the added provision that there be alternate legal methods to protect children from sexual abuse.
Paedophile advocacy groups
During the late 1950s to early 1990s, several paedophile membership organisations advocated lowering or abolishing age of consent laws to legalize sexual activities involving an adult and a child. As one of their arguments to lower or abolish the age of consent, members of paedophile advocacy groups promoted their belief that children are psychologically capable of consenting to sexual interactions with adults, and they often portrayed themselves as fighting for the right of children to engage in what the activists consider to be consensual sex with adults.Some activists tried to link their goals with those of the early LGBT social movements
LGBT social movements
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender social movements share inter-related goals of social acceptance of sexual and gender minorities. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people and their allies have a long history of campaigning for what is generally called LGBT rights, also called gay...
, but in the course of time those movements universally rejected this linkage. In 1994 the International Lesbian and Gay Association expelled three pedophile activist member groups: NAMBLA (the North American Man/Boy Love Association), Vereniging Martijn
Vereniging MARTIJN
Vereniging MARTIJN is a Dutch association that advocates the acceptance of pedophilia and legalization of sexual relationships between adults and children. The group is widely reviled but not outlawed...
, and US-based Project TRUTH. The age of consent reform efforts of paedophile advocacy groups such as the Danish Pedophile Association
Danish Pedophile Association
The Pedophile Group or Pedophile Group association is a Danish organisation which was disbanded on March 21, 2004. A website is still running, operated by a group of active members of the former association. It was originally founded in 1985....
and NAMBLA did not gain any public support and today those groups that have not dissolved have only minimal membership and have ceased their activities other than through a few websites.
See also
- 1891 Age of Consent Act1891 Age of Consent ActThe Age of Consent Act, 1891, also Act X of 1891, was a legislation enacted in British India on 19 March 1891 which raised the age of consent for sexual intercourse for all girls, married or unmarried, from ten to twelve years in all jurisdictions, its violation subject to criminal prosecution as...
- Ages of consent in North AmericaAges of consent in North AmericaThe ages of consent in North America for sexual activity vary by jurisdiction.The age of consent in Canada is 16 and all US states set their limits between 16 and 18.The ages of consent in the countries of Central America range from 15 to 18....
- Ages of consent in AfricaAges of consent in AfricaThe ages of consent for sexual activity vary by jurisdiction across Africa. The specific activity engaged in or the gender of its participants can also be affected by the law. Below is a discussion of the various laws dealing with this subject...
- Ages of consent in AsiaAges of consent in AsiaThe ages of consent for sexual activity vary by jurisdiction across Asia. The specific activity engaged in or the gender of its participants can also be affected by the law. Below is a discussion of the various laws dealing with this subject...
- Ages of consent in EuropeAges of consent in EuropeThe ages of consent for sexual activity vary by jurisdiction across Europe. Spain has the lowest age of consent, while Malta and Turkey are at the highest end . The laws can also stipulate the specific activities that are permitted and/or differentially specify the age at which a given sex can...
- Ages of consent in Oceania
- Ages of consent in North AmericaAges of consent in North AmericaThe ages of consent in North America for sexual activity vary by jurisdiction.The age of consent in Canada is 16 and all US states set their limits between 16 and 18.The ages of consent in the countries of Central America range from 15 to 18....
- Ages of consent in South AmericaAges of consent in South AmericaAges of consent in Latin America may refer to:*Ages of consent in Mexico *Ages of consent in North America*Ages of consent in South America...
- Age of consent in BrazilAge of consent in BrazilThe age of consent in Brazil is 14, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, with a close-in-age exception that allows those aged 12 and 13 to engage in sexual activity with partners who are less than 5 years older. The age at which there are no restrictions for sexual activities is 18...