Age of Consent

The age of consent is the minimum age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts.  In the US, the average age of consent is 16, but in other countries such as South Korea and Spain, it is 13.  The question is why is it illegal to have sex with individuals below a certain age.

The most popular answer to this question is that young individuals are not sufficiently intellectually developed to make such decisions.  They are vulnerable to being persuaded without fully realizing the consequences of their actions.  This is certainly true, but don’t you think that this has changed over the years?

We now live in a society where sex is promoted on television shows, in music, and even through clothing lines designed for teens.  Teenagers are having sexual relations at ages as young as 11,; do you believe that these teens are cognizant of their decisions and the consequences by ages 13-15?

Perhaps not, but in some US states it is legal for an individual to have sex with a person below the age of 16 (but not less than 13) if that individual is no more than 3 years older.  So, a 17 year old male can legally have sexual relations with a 14 year old, but if he were 18, he would be charged with a felony sex crime and have to register as a sex offender.  The questions is, how is the 14-year-old female any less damaged by a 17 year-old as apposed to an 18-year-old?  She isn’t.  The only argument here is that the 17 year-old is still considered a minor who is not intellectually mature enough to be responsible for his actions.  Do you believe this?

In the end, the laws are established according to our societal views, which have drastically changed over the years.  They appear to be formed based upon morality, which obviously has no place in our judicial system.  How can we use morality for sex crime laws when today, it is legal for males to have sex with and even marry other males?  Disagree?  Please join this discussion.

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