What should the age of consent be ?

[cyberianpan]

Now that the A case has died down I'd like to raise this question in amore rational atmosphere: What should the age of consent (for sexual activity) be ?

Some cultures initiate children & it strikes me that different contexts may cause different feelings. Consider the case of Carleton Gajdusek. Whilst doing research in New Guinea he engaged in pedophilic activity that say here in The West that we clearly state as wrong but in New Guinea was normal. He then blurred lines by bringing some of those children back to the US & years later was prosecuted. His case probably got unduly sympathetic coverage due to his august status & age. Many eminent sources pointed out that what he did in New Guinea had a value judgment of "harmless" whereas his activities in the US were considered "criminal". People were musing as to whether the values of society, rather than any absolute morals were actually creating "victims".

Personally I am in no way for pedophilia but I do wonder just how we set boundaries & can we manage a rational debate on the manner ?

I propose the following as a solution to the age of consent issue:

1) Each child has a switch in them
2) When the parent(being defined as the adult legally responsible for the child) believes them ready they can flick the switch.
3) Also at age of legal majority( 16 ?) the switch flips anyway.

Obviously the above is a make-believe scenario but I think it could be a useful construct in eliciting the best rules in this area. Also I am no way in favour of the solution above as there is an aspect that I wholly disagree with.

cYp

[irishpeoplearewhingers]

I suppose 16/17 is about right. For me the bigger issue is that people are being sexualized at too early an age. There is something deeply sickening about walking down the mainstreet on weekends and seeing girls in their early teens dressed like whores. Makes me wonder where the parents are and what they are thinking.

[smiffy]

Makes me wonder where the parents are and what they are thinking.

Maybe they're just not as au fait with the latest trends in whorewear as you.

[mothball]

21 sounds about right.

[Jack_Flash]

In my opinion 17 or 18 would be the mark although had I been told that when I was 16 I would have completely disagreed with it. However, now I'm a little bit more mature.

While the age of consent is important in legal terms, another equally important issue, in practical terms, is sex education in this country. As I look back to the sex education that I experienced as a secondary school student (which by the way wasn't that long ago) I laugh at how pityful it was. It was more scaremongering than constructive education.

The only way for young adults to make mature decisions about sex and related matters it through good comprehensive sex education.

In cases of sexual offences there should be a very strict age of consent, 17 or 18. People should be aware of this and the consequences of ignoring it.

[stringjack]

In my opinion 17 or 18 would be the mark although had I been told that when I was 16 I would have completely disagreed with it. However, now I'm a little bit more mature.

What makes you think you're more likely to be right now than you were then?

[Jack_Flash]

In my opinion 17 or 18 would be the mark although had I been told that when I was 16 I would have completely disagreed with it. However, now I'm a little bit more mature.

What makes you think you're more likely to be right now than you were then?

I never said that I'd be right. What I'm implying is that I'd be more mature and a little wiser.

[Seánod]

The problem for me is not the age of consent per se, but the vulnerability of our youth to older more mature adults. Young people should have the legal freedom and protection to gradually enter "consent", rather than being underage one day, and legally approachable by a 40-year-old on their next birthday.

Broadly speaking, and I know this would create problems at the margins where the lines are drawn, but my view is:

Those over 18 years old should not be permitted to have intercourse with those below 18.

The age of consent should be 16.

Those over 16 should not be permitted to have sex with those under 16.

If two young people under 16 have intercourse, there should be only an educational response.

[rockofcashel]

In my opinion 17 or 18 would be the mark although had I been told that when I was 16 I would have completely disagreed with it. However, now I'm a little bit more mature.

Isn't that the point.. at 16 you wouldn't have agreed, but now that you're older than 16, you are making the decision for them.

In reality, can you imagine two 16 y olds, full of the joys of love, stripped to the buff, and then stopping, saying, hold on, we'll regret this when we're 21, we'll understand that we're too young, we'll stop, and try again next year when we're 17, or perhaps wait two, until we're 18.

Come on Jack, cop yourself on.

[Jack_Flash]

In my opinion 17 or 18 would be the mark although had I been told that when I was 16 I would have completely disagreed with it. However, now I'm a little bit more mature.

Isn't that the point.. at 16 you wouldn't have agreed, but now that you're older than 16, you are making the decision for them.

In reality, can you imagine two 16 y olds, full of the joys of love, stripped to the buff, and then stopping, saying, hold on, we'll regret this when we're 21, we'll understand that we're too young, we'll stop, and try again next year when we're 17, or perhaps wait two, until we're 18.

Come on Jack, cop yourself on.

Cop yourself on say's he. I'm entitled to my opinion Rock. I still think that young adults are liable to make regrettable decisions at that age. We've all been that age and we know what we were like. We didn't always make the right decisions & we all thought we were mature enough to make decisions about sex. Did you make mature decisions about sex at 16 Rock?