Difference between revisions of "Age of consent"

Revision as of 00:00, November 10, 2011

Age of consent is a term referring to the age at which a person becomes competent to consent to sexual acts with an adult. Generally this is set at 18, but ages as low as 16 and as high as 21 also exist. There are also sometimes exemptions from this law allowing children below the age of consent to have to sex with other people below a certain age, but not above that age, known informally as "Romeo and Juliet" laws.

Historically

Historically, the age of consent for Jews was the age of Mitzvah. 13 for males, Bar Mitzvah. 12 for girls, Bat Mitzvah. The Bible and Koran say nothing about age of consent. In fact, "From the age at which Hebrew maidens became marriageable, it is possible that Mary gave birth to her Son when she was about thirteen or fourteen years of age. No historical document tells us how old she actually was at the time of the Nativity."^[1]

In the United States prior to 1900 many states had ages of consent as low as 10. However by 1920 most states had raised their age of consent to 18, although ages as low as 14 still existed until the 1990s. Currently the majority of states have an age of consent of 16, with a number setting it at 17 or 18.

Age of consent in law

In law the age of consent is the age at which a person is deemed to be competent to give consent to an activity, such as sexual intercourse or medical treatment, which would be otherwise be unlawful without informed consent.

The age of consent is one of several legal principles that govern the rights and responsibilities of minors in common law systems, such as:

• The age of license is the minimum age that a person must obtain to be permitted to undertake an activity, such as driving a motor vehicle on public roads.
• The age of criminal responsibility is the age at which a person is deemed to be fully responsible for their criminal actions.
• The age of majority is the age at which a person is deemed to have the rights and responsibilities of an adult and the age at which parental rights and responsibilities cease.

American States/Territories and their Corresponding Age of Consent

Puerto Rico sets the age of consent at 18 and all 50 US states have age limits of 16, 17 or 18 with 16 being the most common age. Most states have "close in age exemptions" which allow those under the age of consent to engage in sexual activity with teenagers close to their age (if the age difference between the partners is small, for example 3 or 4 years or if the older partner is younger than a specified age, ussually 18 or 21).

See also

• Age of majority

References