The
age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be
legally competent
In United States and Canadian law, competence concerns the mental capacity of an individual to participate in legal proceedings or transactions, and the mental condition a person must have to be responsible for his or her decisions or acts. Comp ...
to
consent
Consent occurs when one person voluntarily agrees to the proposal or desires of another. It is a term of common speech, with specific definitions as used in such fields as the law, medicine, research, and sexual relationships. Consent as und ...
to
sexual acts
Human sexual activity, human sexual practice or human sexual behaviour is the manner in which humans experience and express their sexuality. People engage in a variety of sexual acts, ranging from activities done alone (e.g., masturbation) t ...
and is thus the minimum age of a person with whom another person is legally permitted to engage in sexual activity. The distinguishing aspect of the age of consent laws is that the person below the minimum age is regarded as the victim, and his or her sex partner is regarded as the offender, unless both are underage.
Maps
Definitions
*Restricted by age difference: younger partner is deemed able to consent to having sex with an older one as long as their age difference does not exceed a specified amount.
*Restricted by authority: younger partner is deemed able to consent to having sex with an older one as long as the latter is not in a position of trust or authority, or is not recognised to be abusing the inexperience of the younger one.
*Unrestricted: age from which one is deemed able to consent to having sex with anyone else or
marriageable age if they must be married
Different jurisdictions express these definitions differently, like Argentina, may say the age of consent is 18, but an exception is made down to 13 years of age, if the older partner is not in a position of authority over the younger one. The data below reflects what each jurisdiction's legislation actually means, rather than what it states on the surface.
Tables
Australia
Mexico
United States
Rest of the world
See also
*
Age of consent
**
Ages of consent in Africa
The age of consent in Africa for sexual activity varies by jurisdiction across the continent. The specific activity engaged in or the gender of its participants can also affect this age and the legality of sexual activity. The highlighted age re ...
**
Ages of consent in Asia
The legal age of consent for sexual activity varies by jurisdiction across Asia. The specific activity engaged in or the gender of participants can also be relevant factors. Below is a discussion of the various laws dealing with this subject. T ...
**
Ages of consent in Europe
The ages of consent vary by jurisdiction across Europe. The ages of consent are between 14 and 18. The vast majority of countries set their ages in the range of 14 to 16; only four countries, Cyprus (17), Ireland (17), Turkey (18) and Vatican C ...
**
Ages of consent in North America
In North America, the legal age of consent relating to sexual activity varies by jurisdiction.
The age of consent in Canada is 16. As of August 2018, each U.S. state has set its age of consent at age 16, age 17, or age 18.
The age of conse ...
***
Ages of consent in the United States
**
Ages of consent in Oceania
**
Ages of consent in South America
*
Age of consent reform
**
Age of consent reform in Canada
Age of consent law in Canada refers to cultural and legal discussions in Canada regarding the age of consent, which was raised in May 2008 as part of the ''Tackling Violent Crime Act''. This applies to all forms of sexual activity.
In May 2008, t ...
**
Age of consent reform in the United Kingdom
Restrictions on sexual activity involving children in the United Kingdom and its predecessors have existed since medieval times. During the 1970s, there was some political advocacy in favour of significantly reducing the age of consent, support ...
**
Age of Consent Act, 1891
The Age of Consent Act, 1891, also known as 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 ju ...
**
French petition against age of consent laws
*
Youth
Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. Yo ...
**
Youth suffrage
Youth suffrage, or children's suffrage, is the right of youth to vote and forms part of the broader youth rights movement. Until recently Iran had a voting age of 15; Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador and Nicaragua have a voting age of 16 ...
**
Youth rights
The youth rights movement (also known as youth liberation) seeks to grant the rights to young people that are traditionally reserved for adults, due to having reached a specific age or sufficient maturity. This is closely akin to the notion o ...
*
Legal age Legal age or codified age refers to age at which a person may legally engage in a certain activity. Most frequently, this is the age of majority (also known as the "age of maturity"), the threshold of adulthood as recognized in law.
Other ages of l ...
**
Legal drinking age
The legal drinking age is the minimum age at which a person can legally consume alcoholic beverages. The minimum age alcohol can be legally consumed can be different from the age when it can be purchased in some countries. These laws vary between ...
**
Age of majority
The age of majority is the threshold of legal adulthood as recognized or declared in law. It is the moment when minors cease to be considered such and assume legal control over their persons, actions, and decisions, thus terminating the contr ...
**
Age of reason (canon law)
In the canon law of the Catholic Church, a person is a subject of certain legal rights and obligations. Persons may be distinguished between physical and juridic persons. Juridic persons may be distinguished as collegial or non-collegial, and pub ...
**
Age of accountability
Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can be ...
**
Mature minor doctrine
The mature minor doctrine is a rule of law found in the United States and Canada accepting that an unemancipated minor patient may possess the maturity to choose or reject a particular health care treatment, sometimes without the knowledge or ...
**
Emancipation of minors
Emancipation of minors is a legal mechanism by which a minor before attaining the age of majority is freed from control by their parents or guardians, and the parents or guardians are freed from responsibility for their child. Minors are norm ...
**
Fitness to plead, ''law of England and Wales''
**
Minors and abortion
Many jurisdictions have laws applying to minors and abortion. These parental involvement laws require that one or more parents consent or be informed before their minor daughter may legally have an abortion.
Minors and abortion in law Australia ...
**
Convention on the Rights of the Child
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (commonly abbreviated as the CRC or UNCRC) is an international human rights treaty which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children. The Co ...
**
Child sexual abuse
Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in sexual activities with a child (whet ...
**
Sex-positive movement
The sex-positive movement is a social movement, social and philosophical movement that seeks to change cultural attitudes and norms around sexuality, promoting the recognition of sexuality (in the countless forms of expression) as a natural and he ...
**
Age disparity in sexual relationships
**
Comprehensive sex education
Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) is a sex education instruction method based on-curriculum that aims to give students the knowledge, attitudes, skills, and values to make appropriate and healthy choices in their sexual lives. The intention i ...
**
Adult film industry regulations
**
Sodomy law
** ''
The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon
"The Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon" was a series of newspaper articles on child prostitution that appeared in ''The Pall Mall Gazette'' in July 1885. Written by the paper's crusading editor W. T. Stead, the series was a ''tour de force'' of ...
''
References
{{reflist
Sex laws
Sexuality