What's the age of consent where you are?

[Petra]

Due to the maturity of the majority of today's teens, I think the age of consent should be the same age that they're ungrounded. 40. o-O

 

[kappy]

17 here

 

[pdfuster]

The age of consent in California is 18. However, if the difference in age between the minor and the adult is three years or less, the charge is a misdemeanor instead of a felony. That being said, the law is unforgiving and makes no exceptions for any underage relations. In fact, theoretically, if two 17 year olds had sex with each other, they could both be prosecuted under California law.

 

[lurkingdirk]

I'll let you know when my mom says it's okay for me to mess around. Stop putting all this pressure on me!

 

[DP_LOVER]

16 in the UK

 

[bobjustbob]

I would have to ask my priest.

 

[GodsEmbryo]

click for larger image. I don't know how old or accurate the map is.

In Yemen you can screw around if your 9 and married :eek:

 

[Rey C.]

I was watching a BBC America show last night called Copper. It's set in the mid 1860's Five Points area of New York City. In one scene there's a girl who has married an adult male and she's 10 or 11 (she's also a prostitute). I wondered if that was possible/legal back then. Turns out it was. So how did we get to where we are now? :dunno:

Campaign to Raise the Legal Age of Consent 1885-1914

In the late nineteenth century,"Age of consent" referred to the legal age at which a girl could consent to sexual relations. Men who engaged in sexual relations with girls who had not reached the age of consent could be criminally prosecuted. American reformers were shocked to discover that the laws of most states set the age of consent at the age of ten or twelve, and in one state, Delaware, the age of consent was only seven. Women reformers and advocates of social purity initiated a campaign in 1885 to petition legislators to raise the legal age of consent to at least sixteen, although their ultimate goal was to raise the age to eighteen. The campaign was eventually quite successful; by 1920, almost all states had raised the age of consent to sixteen or eighteen.