The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts.

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100
6 votes
Apr 15, 2015

I believe the system should be overhauled somewhat.

Under 14 any sex, consensual or otherwise should be treated as sexual assault for the sake of the children involved. This is not a provision to go after the 13 year olds, but simply to allow their family life and history to be examined carefully as sex at 13 or under is very often an indicator for sexual abuse in the past.

From 14-18 the current Romeo and Juliet laws are excellent, and two consenting people should be allowed sex. The age gap here is up for debate but I believe within 2 years should work well. This serves to protect highschool freshman from upperclassmen while still allowing relationships.

The reason I place the general age of consent at 18 is that it is serving as the age in which someone can engage in sexual acts with someone of any age. The current system allows for relationships between mature adults and highschool sophomores, which is something I view as unhealthy and I think is a common opinion.

This system places a greater weight on the mental well being of those involved than societal values, I happily admit this as I believe that should be the focus of these laws. To protect children while still allowing for exploration and growth in a safer environment. Couple this with healthy sex ed in either the 8th or 9th grade which focuses on respecting sex as a meaningful act and on protection from pregnancy and STDs and the result should be healthier more mature young adults.

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100
1 vote
Apr 15, 2015

If I had to pick an age it would be 16. I have a bigger problem if one party is 18 or older and the other is 16 and younger. I would hate to see a couples lives ruined if a 15 and 14 year old with birthdays within 6 months of each other have sex. Until someone is at least 18 I am not sure you really know what you are doing when it comes to love/lust. Heck some people older then 30 do crazy things good and bad when it comes to sex. The other problem I have is the male always gets the blame if they are under age even if it was the female pushing the idea.

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100
main reply
2 votes,
Apr 15, 2015

As a father and grandfather I think that the age of consent cannot be a public opinion, but is a family concern. No stranger can realize the emotions of growing into an adult as location is never the same.Religion, population, family, income, education, ect. So I'll have to agree with you. If I had to pick an age, it would be 16.

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100
1 vote
Apr 15, 2015

I think it really depends on the circumstances, which makes the concept of an "official age of consent" a weak concept in itself. I think that at 12 or 13, when most kids first experience any serious sexual attraction (that was it for me at least), the idea of sexual consent is more realistic. I think that any age younger than that there is no possibility of consent and that sort of activity is likely exploitative, similar to my view on beastiality since I don't think an animal can ever consent to sex with a human.

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75
4 votes
Apr 15, 2015

Age 16 is fine in many places in the world, but for the US we coddle our children too much for them to be emotionally ready even by 18 or 19 in many cases.

The reality of the situation is that a young persons capacity for making sound judgement in terms of sexual activity varies greatly based largely on external factors relating to schooling and parenting.

For legal purposes 17 is probably a viable age for full consent, with a 2 year sliding window to accommodate 15-16 year-olds having relationships with similar aged people. This age range should be handled by families rather than be treated as matters of the state.

In this setup, you'd have no "crimes" being committed by people with a 2 year gap in age using the assumption that relationships formed between similarly aged teens are likely to be consensual. Also the idea that a horny teenager is even remotely on the same threat level as predatory person aged 20+ makes no sense, logically, scientifically or morally so punishing them for life makes no amount of reasonable sense either.

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-1
1 vote
Apr 15, 2015

Did you go buy condoms and lube (and nothing else but those) for yourself? If no, then you are too young.

Additionally there's the power dynamic. We are calling it out by the age level -- a 24 person with a 14 year old is full of possibility for abuse. But we should also be concerned about a tutor/mentor/coach and student -- any time there is a position of authority, whether that person with authority is older, the same age, or younger.

I would rather allow parents to help decide, but in the US they need to be dragged into the reality that their innocent child is a sexual being and is going to have sex. Until the parent is realistic about this fact, they aren't really ready to be parents, but we don't worry about that. In fact, even a 12 year old that is too young to decide about having an abortion is clearly ready to be a parent, by US logic.

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-1
1 vote
Apr 15, 2015

I think I should point out that in the US there are 2 different ages of consent and both laws are still in the books in many states.
1- the one we all think of the age a person can say I want to have sex with you
2- the forgotten one a parent can be asked for permission to have sex with their child - this one was used more about giving permission to marry (sex imply d) and really how many time do you think someone asked daddy "hey can I have sex with you little girl?"

But as to the question 16 is the lowest I would go and even wonder about that.
Also a with-in 6 months grace rule for and partner over 18.
Also a rule stating that teachers and other authority figures can not have sex with anyone they hold a position over.

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0
0 votes
Apr 15, 2015

I'm going to say 13, but with restrictions.

Not every child reaches/passes through puberty at the same age, meaning not every child becomes an adult at the same age. While there might be an average age where they reach adulthood, there are still people who reach it before or after. When I was younger there were other people who were over six feet at age twelve, while some didn't even begin growing until they were nineteen. In my state, California, this meant that the prior group had to suffer for six years before being able to legally consent, while the former were essentially still children when they could consent.

That being said, after the child reaches 13, they shouldn't be allowed to consent until there's some sort of confirmation that they have reached puberty. Perhaps some sort of form the parents would need to fill out, or they'd have to go to a doctor to have it verified?

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0
0 votes
Apr 15, 2015

How can you regulate Maturity. It would seem that a child should not have the hardships of being a parent. Children do not need children. An 18 year old is not in a position to provide all the needs required of parenthood. When a person is ready to vote they can make decisions like this. When we as a society the legal age of drinking 21 it was for a reason because children can not control rights to drink before then. 21+ is the age of consent and before then it is just another responsibility of the parents.

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0
User voted 18.
main reply
0 votes,
Apr 15, 2015

21 for the legal drinking age is simply strange. I don't think there's a single country in Europe to have similar restriction. Often it's even 16 (for beer and wine).

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0
User voted 16.
0 votes
Jul 20, 2015

There should be no consent laws between minors of similar ages.

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0
0 votes
Sep 28, 2015

I do not believe that there should be a concrete age of consent. I believe that the standard should be a substantial developmental inequality between the partners in question.

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