Age of consent

The age of consent is a legal and moral principle, and it establishes an age at which a person is capable of giving informed consent for legal contracts with other individuals. The age of consent varies depending on jurisdiction. Although age restrictions exist for many contracts like marriage and military service, "age of consent" usually refers to the age restricting consensual sex.

Not being competent to make moral choices absolves minors from (adult) guilt if they commit certain crimes. Either their parents will be held responsible, as in case of theft or vandalism, or the child will simply be considered "too young to know better".

Children typically cannot enter into binding contracts, are not permitted to drive cars on public roads, join the armed forces or get married. In the United States of America, however, a parent may permit their 17-year-old child to join the armed forces. Various states in the U.S. differ as to what age a minor must be before their parents can permit them to marry.

When an adult has sexual intercourse with a minor, this is considered statutory rape because the child is not old enough to make such a weighty decision as to enter into a sexual relationship. The age of consent for this decision varies.

Historically

Historically, the age of consent 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 No historical document tells us how old she actually was at the time of the Nativity."

200 years ago in The United States, the age of consent was 10 years old and it was common for girls in farming communities to mary at that age. It was only recently that it was raised to 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

Worldwide, the average age of consent is 16.

Puerto Rico sets the age of consent at 14 and all 50 US states have age limits of 16, 17 or 18. 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).

Alabama	16	Illinois	17	Montana	16	Puerto Rico	14
Alaska	16	Indiana	16	Nebraska	17	Rhode Island	16
Arizona	18	Iowa	16	Nevada	16	South Carolina	16
Arkansas	16	Kansas	16	New Hampshire	16	South Dakota	16
California	18	Kentucky	16	New Jersey	16	Tennessee	18
Colorado	17	Louisiana	17	New Mexico	17	Texas	17
Connecticut	16	Maine	16	New York	17	Utah	18
D.C.	16	Maryland	16	North Carolina	16	Vermont	16
Delaware	18	Massachusetts	16	North Dakota	18	Virginia	18
Florida	18	Michigan	16	Ohio	16	Washington	16
Georgia	16	Minnesota	16	Oklahoma	16	West Virginia	16
Hawaii	16	Mississippi	16	Oregon	18	Wisconsin	18
Idaho	18	Missouri	17	Pennsylvania	16	Wyoming	18

Ages of consent for sex

The age of consent for sex is the age at which an unmarried person is legally competent to submit to sexual intercourse. The median age for this in most countries seems to be 16 to 18, however ages ranging from 12 to 21 do exist. Some countries do not have age of consent laws but instead ban sex outside of marriage completely. To have sexual relations with someone below the age of consent is a crime (called statutory rape in some jurisdictions) because someone below the requisite age is considered, by law, incapable of consenting to the sexual act.

Age chart for selected Western countries [1]

France		16
United Kingdom	England	16
	Wales	16
	Scotland	16
	Northern Ireland	17
USA	Indiana	16
	Texas	17
	Wisconsin	18

See also

• Age of majority