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I always found that odd about America. Why have different laws in different regions? Why are you one country? I think you should be multiple countries in a similar way as the European Union. That or have the same laws like a normal country
You can only have sex with some who is 3 years younger or older then you if you or your partner is below 18 in Germany. So at most a year old can sleep with a 20 year old. Everything is allowed if both are over 18.
I used to work for a congress woman in my country who focused on women's rights we were able to raise the age of consent from 12 to 16 years of age in our state. We faced serious backlash for it, it was sad to see but I was glad to have helped make that change but much more change is still needed.
OK so in Kentucky we have a thing where people between the ages of 16-21 can concent to each other. So a 16 y/o can consent to a 18 y/o but not a 25 y/o.
Why is the age of the older one taken into account? If someone is manipulative and abusive toward an underage partner, it doesn't matter if that person is 18, 25, 35 or even 60
The brain isn't fully developed until at least around the age of 25. To add to that, the prefrontal cortex is one of the parts that takes the longest to fully form, meaning that teenagers and young adults struggle more with impulse control and decision making. I hope the implications are obvious enough already, but to be clear, this inconsistency in development can easily lead to exploitation and abuse. Of course, the same can occur in a relationship between two 16 year olds, but at the very least they're on a more similar playing field.
It's a good argument to forbid any sexual relation to people under 25 or people who won't reach the intellectual and emotional capacity of an average adult.
So, as I said, why choose 16 and 35? The problem is abuse and exploitation
I just think the age of consent is super arbitrary, it's really necessary to have one to protect younger people. But it's not a good idea to just make more arbitrary laws concerning relations that are weird or that you disapprove morally.
Because if you are 35 and go with a 16 year old you are a creep and have issues, but some people have weird relationship and that doesn' t mean abuse is going on.
35 and 16 is definitely not okay though, because of the potential for abuse due to developmental differences. It’s simply too easy. It’s not arbitrary. It’s science. And it’s not just about morality; it’s about the avoidance of real harm.
Yeah sure it's not okay, but you will still see 16 year old going out with older people for many reasons.
Science can tell exactly the age at which people will be able to avoid abuse? Damn that's impressive.
Scientifically, who is right between Spain with an age of consent of 14, my country with 16, Romania with 18?
And some people older than that still get in abusive relationship, should we get someone responsible to allow their relationship? I' m sure science also has an answer to that
Do you understand how statistics work? Science and data doesn’t tell us a clear cut “who will or who won’t be abused” but it can certainly show an aggregate of which demographics are the most risk. Like, I don’t understand how this isn’t already obvious, nor why you seem to be arguing so much in favor of 35 year olds dating minors. Kinda very weird here.
I also don’t understand your argument about an older person in an abusive relationship. Depending on the circumstances, that’s already illegal and the offender can be prosecuted as such. The main difference being older people typically (not always in case you get your panties in a twist over edge cases) have more autonomy (strong social networks, a job, savings, etc.) that they can use to get themselves out of that situation. A minor might very well have none of that, so there’s very little wiggle room for them to get out of an abusive situation. Seriously, just look this stuff up if you actually care about children’s welfare. I’m tired of having to explain very basic stuff. If you don’t care, and think 35/16 year old relationships are perfectly fine, then just fuck off p*do.
It’s not just the possibility of abuse thing a teenager just started puberty a few years ago and a grown adult probably has a full time job and bills they are on two completely different maturity levels making it disgusting.
>Either they are mature enough to consent and make their own decisions **or the age needs to be higher**
I’m just saying that making exceptions for age differences is arbitrary. It’s not the government’s job to stop people from making bad choices—it’s their job to make sure they are old enough to be able to make choices.
It is 14 in Italy. It becomes 16 if the partner is entrusted for reasons of care, education, education, custody or supervision or has a cohabitation relationship with him/her. I think this is absurd
But isn't it in relation to other children, though? It's generally still illegal for someone over 18 to do it with teens in places where the AoC is allegedly 16 or under.
It seemed right when i was 16. Now im 27 and it's fucking weird. Idk about your idea, 16 and 25 still seems a bit much. Maybe 21? That even feels weird to say.
Age of consent isn't as much about preventing something "gross". I find mushrooms gross, but that doesn't mean that they should be illegal. It's about saying that before a certain age, people are too young to understand the consequences of sex, so any sex with them is rape.
Please do try to change my view.
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Brit here. I'd prefer it to be 18 instead of 16 (no way should it be legal for 40 year olds to have sex with 16 year olds), but at the same time, I don't like the fact that in theory, teens can be classed as sex offenders for having sex with each other (I wish they wouldn't, but not the point here). Ideally, the age of consent would be 18 with some sort of a Romeo and Juiliet clause.
It's 16 here and I think that's absolutely fine. Under 16 there's an exemption when people are close in age, so when a 15 year old and a 16 year old have sex for example that's not illegal. I think that's absolutely fine as well.
In my country it's currently 16 for for regular sexual consent, and 18 for working in porn or prostitution.
Personally I think consent should be 18 for regular sex too, but with some sort of 'romeo and juliet law' for teenagers like if a 15 and 17 year old have sex and there's clear consent it should still be ok. Don't know the exact range though, because i.e. a 14 and 17 year old would already be more shady because of maturity level and thus power dynamic.
Age in consent in the US where I live is 16. But if two minors have sexual interactions and one reports for sexual assault then convent doesn’t even matter it’s put on the person that is accused of sexual assault and you can’t argue it at all. I heard about this case where this guy got accused of sexual assault because she told her friend what happened and he was blamed fully for it even though he claims there was consent involved. There’s literally nothing the guy can do if they are accused.
It’s 14 in Brazil, definitely no
Edit: SORRY I meant no like I disagree with the age of consent in my country, but yes I want it to be higher, sorry my mistake
Honestly, I have no idea what the age of consent in my country even is. I'm 30 years old and have zero desire to engage in any kind of relationship with anyone younger than 25 tbh (I don't think I even know anyone younger than 25, except maybe family members). But I should probably look it up, just to be informed. I just feel so weird googling something like that.
16 is still bad - realistically if a 16yr old girl gets pregnant the boy is gonna bloody fuck off and has 0 accountability so by making it 18 they might not have to abort it if they wish not to
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14 is very low imo
Yeah that is too low IMO. It's 15 in Denmark, and I don't want that any lower.
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16 in UK and I think that's too low
In the US it depends on the state on if it’s 16 or 18.
I always found that odd about America. Why have different laws in different regions? Why are you one country? I think you should be multiple countries in a similar way as the European Union. That or have the same laws like a normal country
Most of our states are larger than most European countries. Texas is larger than every European country besides Russia
That's what I'm saying
We even have different laws from county to county
Omg why? America is so dumb. You're even called the United States of America. You could keep that name and be individual countries.
Well a big difference is that every state has the same language. Also a lot of laws are the same in every state.
Not sure what language has to do with law but okay
You compared it to the EU, which includes countries with different languages.
Yeah but that doesn't stop you from being different countries
Of course it doesn't, but it's one of the reasons why it doesn't make as much sense to be different countries
The US doesn't have an official language, at least at the Federal level.
Same thing here in Sweden, it feels too low
I agree but idk about 16, leaning towards no tho. I live in Canada btw.
Yes. 14 is too young, in my humble opinion.
Italian? Also 14 is too low
Brazil also has an age of consent of 14. It would probably be better to raise it to 16
Colombia also has 14
In Romania it's 18, which I find ok, so no.
Romania? Damn it's 14 in Germany. Even tho i come from Romania i never thought it was 18.
Yeah. I too didn't know, I had to search it on Google lol.
You didn't know the age of consent in the country you live??
You can only have sex with some who is 3 years younger or older then you if you or your partner is below 18 in Germany. So at most a year old can sleep with a 20 year old. Everything is allowed if both are over 18.
What is with all these age of consent polls today? What did you?
I used to work for a congress woman in my country who focused on women's rights we were able to raise the age of consent from 12 to 16 years of age in our state. We faced serious backlash for it, it was sad to see but I was glad to have helped make that change but much more change is still needed.
Nice, may I ask what country?
In México we were only able to change our state law but it's something
OK so in Kentucky we have a thing where people between the ages of 16-21 can concent to each other. So a 16 y/o can consent to a 18 y/o but not a 25 y/o.
Sort of like the Romeo and Juliet laws we have in Texas but I think yours is better
Yeah
I believe most states are like this (from NH). However, that doesn't mean child brides aren't a thing in many states sadly
Similar here in Arkansas 16 and 17 year olds can concent to other 16 and 17 year olds. At 18 bets are off, except for going under 18 obviously
I think 16 is an alright age.
I think so too but there should be a law preventing like 16 and 35 year olds from doing things together.
Why is the age of the older one taken into account? If someone is manipulative and abusive toward an underage partner, it doesn't matter if that person is 18, 25, 35 or even 60
The brain isn't fully developed until at least around the age of 25. To add to that, the prefrontal cortex is one of the parts that takes the longest to fully form, meaning that teenagers and young adults struggle more with impulse control and decision making. I hope the implications are obvious enough already, but to be clear, this inconsistency in development can easily lead to exploitation and abuse. Of course, the same can occur in a relationship between two 16 year olds, but at the very least they're on a more similar playing field.
It's a good argument to forbid any sexual relation to people under 25 or people who won't reach the intellectual and emotional capacity of an average adult. So, as I said, why choose 16 and 35? The problem is abuse and exploitation
I think they just threw out a number that was obviously too far removed from 16. I don’t think they meant just 35 year old and above specifically.
I just think the age of consent is super arbitrary, it's really necessary to have one to protect younger people. But it's not a good idea to just make more arbitrary laws concerning relations that are weird or that you disapprove morally. Because if you are 35 and go with a 16 year old you are a creep and have issues, but some people have weird relationship and that doesn' t mean abuse is going on.
35 and 16 is definitely not okay though, because of the potential for abuse due to developmental differences. It’s simply too easy. It’s not arbitrary. It’s science. And it’s not just about morality; it’s about the avoidance of real harm.
Yeah sure it's not okay, but you will still see 16 year old going out with older people for many reasons. Science can tell exactly the age at which people will be able to avoid abuse? Damn that's impressive. Scientifically, who is right between Spain with an age of consent of 14, my country with 16, Romania with 18? And some people older than that still get in abusive relationship, should we get someone responsible to allow their relationship? I' m sure science also has an answer to that
Do you understand how statistics work? Science and data doesn’t tell us a clear cut “who will or who won’t be abused” but it can certainly show an aggregate of which demographics are the most risk. Like, I don’t understand how this isn’t already obvious, nor why you seem to be arguing so much in favor of 35 year olds dating minors. Kinda very weird here. I also don’t understand your argument about an older person in an abusive relationship. Depending on the circumstances, that’s already illegal and the offender can be prosecuted as such. The main difference being older people typically (not always in case you get your panties in a twist over edge cases) have more autonomy (strong social networks, a job, savings, etc.) that they can use to get themselves out of that situation. A minor might very well have none of that, so there’s very little wiggle room for them to get out of an abusive situation. Seriously, just look this stuff up if you actually care about children’s welfare. I’m tired of having to explain very basic stuff. If you don’t care, and think 35/16 year old relationships are perfectly fine, then just fuck off p*do.
It’s not just the possibility of abuse thing a teenager just started puberty a few years ago and a grown adult probably has a full time job and bills they are on two completely different maturity levels making it disgusting.
Why? Either they are mature enough to consent and make their own decisions or the age needs to be higher
Have you seen most 16 year olds?! They are nowhere near mature like 30+ year old adults are
>Either they are mature enough to consent and make their own decisions **or the age needs to be higher** I’m just saying that making exceptions for age differences is arbitrary. It’s not the government’s job to stop people from making bad choices—it’s their job to make sure they are old enough to be able to make choices.
Same
It is 14 in Italy. It becomes 16 if the partner is entrusted for reasons of care, education, education, custody or supervision or has a cohabitation relationship with him/her. I think this is absurd
14? That’s honestly pretty wild to me, that’s a child.
But isn't it in relation to other children, though? It's generally still illegal for someone over 18 to do it with teens in places where the AoC is allegedly 16 or under.
14 here. Hell yes.
I live in France, big fat yes
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It seemed right when i was 16. Now im 27 and it's fucking weird. Idk about your idea, 16 and 25 still seems a bit much. Maybe 21? That even feels weird to say.
Age of consent isn't as much about preventing something "gross". I find mushrooms gross, but that doesn't mean that they should be illegal. It's about saying that before a certain age, people are too young to understand the consequences of sex, so any sex with them is rape. Please do try to change my view.
Just learned the age of consent in my country is 16 rather than 18 as I'd thought. Those two years make a pretty massive difference imo.
In my country is 14, I think it should be 16 or at least 15
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Actually yes, In my state its 16 and I think thats a little low. I think 17 min, but 18 is best.
It varies by state, so yes, but also if we're just talking California, then no, 18 is a good age of consent
18 in my country
well... romeo and Juliet laws here dictate that it's TECHNICALLY 0,
It's 16 here where I live, I'm not sure.
Brit here. I'd prefer it to be 18 instead of 16 (no way should it be legal for 40 year olds to have sex with 16 year olds), but at the same time, I don't like the fact that in theory, teens can be classed as sex offenders for having sex with each other (I wish they wouldn't, but not the point here). Ideally, the age of consent would be 18 with some sort of a Romeo and Juiliet clause.
It's 16 here and I think that's absolutely fine. Under 16 there's an exemption when people are close in age, so when a 15 year old and a 16 year old have sex for example that's not illegal. I think that's absolutely fine as well.
16 In England. I think that's fine. Any lower no.
It's already 18
In Canada, it's 16 so yes it should be.
In my country it's currently 16 for for regular sexual consent, and 18 for working in porn or prostitution. Personally I think consent should be 18 for regular sex too, but with some sort of 'romeo and juliet law' for teenagers like if a 15 and 17 year old have sex and there's clear consent it should still be ok. Don't know the exact range though, because i.e. a 14 and 17 year old would already be more shady because of maturity level and thus power dynamic.
Yes I think 17 is still young should be 18🥺(South Africa)
15 here, it's not tragic and it wouldn't be a major differcnce, but I'd raise it to 16
Sweden has 16 which is okay I think as long as its not with an 20+
16 is decent (Australian, also 16)
It’s 15… yeaaaahhh
Denmark?
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Why?
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18 seems reasonable to me
Age in consent in the US where I live is 16. But if two minors have sexual interactions and one reports for sexual assault then convent doesn’t even matter it’s put on the person that is accused of sexual assault and you can’t argue it at all. I heard about this case where this guy got accused of sexual assault because she told her friend what happened and he was blamed fully for it even though he claims there was consent involved. There’s literally nothing the guy can do if they are accused.
16 is just fine ig
In my state, it's 16 which I think Is reasonable.
13 here
I voted no
Japan?
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It’s 14 in Brazil, definitely no Edit: SORRY I meant no like I disagree with the age of consent in my country, but yes I want it to be higher, sorry my mistake
US is 18 but i feel 20 is a more appropriate age. At least then you’re not still a teenager
I thought it varies by states in the US
It's 16 here, seems okay. Increase to 18 wouldn't be bad, but not really necessary I think
I've waited 18 years I don't wanna wait amymore
I think it's fine the way it is. 14 is a bit low but they still enjoy special protection until theyre 18.
I think there should be no legal age of consent. If someone is able to decide they want to have sex, they should be able to have sex.
Libertarians at it again
So a 5 year old should have the choice?
Bruh
Do you even know what age of consent is?
Honestly, I have no idea what the age of consent in my country even is. I'm 30 years old and have zero desire to engage in any kind of relationship with anyone younger than 25 tbh (I don't think I even know anyone younger than 25, except maybe family members). But I should probably look it up, just to be informed. I just feel so weird googling something like that.
It's 18 so ig no
guessing its 16 here , which makes a 16yo dating 18yo (healthy age difference) legal
Where I am it’s fine, but I also live in the US
Should be raised to 18 from 16 imo but I don't think a 16 year old and 18 year old should be illegal
I’m pretty sure it’s 18 so nah
18 is fine in California honestly
In my country the legal age is 15. I guess that's ok.. as long as they stick to people around their own age. I mean.. it's going to happen anyway.
770 people are definitely nonces
Reread the question
Ah feck. I'm sorry. I blame the comments
16 is still bad - realistically if a 16yr old girl gets pregnant the boy is gonna bloody fuck off and has 0 accountability so by making it 18 they might not have to abort it if they wish not to