Changes

'''Age of consent''' is a term referring to the age at which a person becomes competent to consent to sexual acts with an adult. In the vast majority of jurisdictions this is set at 18, but ages as low as 16 and as high as 21 also exist rarely. 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.

'''Age of consent''' is a term referring to the age at which a person becomes competent to consent to sexual acts with an adult. In the vast majority of jurisdictions this is set at 18, but ages as low as 16 and as high as 21 also exist rarely. 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==

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 all states set the age of consent at 18.

England's statutory rape laws, first enacted in 1275, which originally protected females under the age of 12. In 1576, during the reign of Elizabeth I, the protected class was reduced to females under the age of ten. In the United States, many states had ages of consent as low as 10 or 12 until the late 19th century. The statutory rape victim's being unchaste, promiscuous, or not a virgin was codified as a defense in every state, since the goal of the law was to protect premarital chastity. These laws were reformed and made gender-neutral in the 1970s.

 

U.S. Federal law currently defines a "minor" as a person under the age of 18<ref>http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2256</ref> and criminalizes [[exploitation]] of minors and [[pornography involving minors]]. 18 U.S. Code § 2243 criminalizes sexual acts with persons under the age of 16 who are at least four years younger than the defendant.<ref>http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2243</ref> 18 U.S. Code § 2241 criminalizes sexual acts, or crossing a state line with the intent to commit sexual acts, with a person under the age of 12 as "aggravated sexual abuse" without regard to the age of the defendant.<ref>http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2241</ref>

==Age of consent in law==

==Age of consent in law==

==American States/Territories and their Corresponding Age of Consent==

==American States/Territories and their Corresponding Age of Consent==

 

Some 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, usually 18 or 21).

[[Puerto Rico]] sets the age of consent at 18 and all 50 [[US]] states have an age limit of  '''18'''. Some 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, usually 18 or 21).  

 

 

 

 

== See also ==

== See also ==