The age of consent in Europe, Asia or another continent varies by country and region. The age of consent ranges from 12 to 21, with most countries between the ages of 14 and 16. Nearly a dozen countries like Iran, Qatar, Yemen and Afghanistan completely ban premarital sex, but have no age restrictions for marital sex. Several other countries have an age of consent of more than 16, including Cyprus (17), Ireland (17), Turkey (18), Iraq (18), Vietnam (18) and Bahrain (21). In addition, some countries have exceptions close to age, while others do not. The Criminal Code on the age of consent is divided into three stages. A person over the age of 21 may engage in sexual activity with a person who is 14 years of age or older but not yet 16 years of age, provided that the younger person`s lack of capacity for sexual self-determination is not exploited. If this is the case, the youngest person would have to file a complaint against the person over the age of 21 so that legal action could be taken. Sexual activities carried out without consent or with violence in any situation are illegal. The age of consent in Spain is 16, according to a new law that came into force on 1 July 2015. [123] [124] Prior to 1992, sodomy was illegal, and then under the Sexual Offences (Isle of Man) Act 1992 (after consent), the age of consent was set at 21 (as indicated in the United Kingdom at the time). In 2001, the age of consent for male homosexual acts was lowered to 18 under the Criminal Justice Act 2001. [161] In 2006, under the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act, 2006,[162] the age of consent was lowered to 16 and became gender-neutral for all sexual behaviour, regardless of sexual orientation or sex.
While most European countries set the age of consent between 16 and 17, several others, including Malta and Vatican City, require young people to be at least 18 years old before having sex legally. The lowest age of consent in Europe is 14, which is true in countries like Austria, Italy, Serbia, Germany and Portugal. intercourse, both male and male-female, has been illegal and punishable by death since the Sodomy Act of 1533. In 1861, Parliament passed the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, which abolished the death penalty for intercourse. The Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885 expanded the laws to prohibit any type of sexual activity between men. [149] It is common for an amendment that would have criminalized lesbian acts to be rejected by Queen Victoria because she refused to believe that some women had done such things; but it is more likely that those who tabled the amendment excluded it (as the House of Lords did 40 years later), assuming it would give ideas to women. [150] Age of consent is a term used to describe whenever a person is of legal consent to sexual relations. Whether it`s a Ukrainian girl or an American girl, there`s always a law that regulates when she`s “ready.” The Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act 1996 regulates gratuitous sexual activities with partners under the age of 18 and is often interpreted by local authorities to include sexual situations involving ordinary persons and not prostitutes. In addition, the Criminal Code Amendment Act, 1997 made it illegal to engage in an “indecent act” with persons under the age of 18, even if that person is a consenting participant. It is also a “composable” crime, meaning charges can be laid months later if a partner (or relative) regrets it. As a result of these regulations, Thailand has a legal age of consent of 15 years, but an effective age of consent of 18 years. Thailand has no age limit.
The general provision on the age of consent in Greece is 15 years in accordance with Article 339 and Articles 337 and 348B of the Greek Criminal Code. In 2015, in addition to legalizing civil same-sex partnerships, section 347 was repealed, which included a new ban on seducing a man under the age of 17 if the actor is an adult male, balancing the age of consent for homosexual acts. [41] The age of consent in the Netherlands is 16 years, as provided for in the Dutch Penal Code: finally, it should be noted that the laws on the age of consent, whose purpose is to curb the sexual exploitation of minors, do not coincide with the minimum age of marriage laws aimed at deterring child marriages. Now let`s take a closer look at the age of consent in some countries. The age of consent for all sexual acts in Croatia under the new Criminal Code, which has been in force since 1 January 2013, is 15 years, regardless of sexual orientation or gender, and is regulated in Article 158. [13] The age of consent in Lithuania is 16 years, as provided for in Lithuanian Criminal Code 151.1[68], introduced by the draft law of 2 July 2010. [68] From 1977 to 1994, sexual acts between men of all ages were a criminal offence in Serbia, although the law was never enforced. Then, in 1994, the age of consent was only 18 for sex between men; Any man who engages in sexual behavior with another man will be punished with a maximum of 1 year in prison, 16 years for all other sexual acts.
Since 2006, an equal age of consent has come into force, regardless of sexual orientation or sex – this is regulated by Article 110 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Serbia, which stipulates that “obscene acts” between an adult male and a man under the age of 16 may be punishable by imprisonment from 1 to 8 years. There is no specific reference to “lewd acts” between two women of the same crime. The age of consent in Kazakhstan is 16 years in accordance with article 122 of the Criminal Code. In 1932, after regaining independence, the new Polish Penal Code was introduced, which set the age of consent for sexual acts at 15 years, regardless of the sex of the participants. In 1983, male homosexual acts were decriminalized, with the age of consent set at 21 (in accordance with what was then the United Kingdom). In 1999, the age of consent for male homosexual acts was lowered to 18 years. In 2012, the age of consent for male homosexual acts was raised to 16 years, regardless of gender and/or sexual orientation. [159] The interpretation of the law is situational and at the discretion of the Crown and the courts, based on relevant factors that can be taken into account in deciding whether the minor has indeed been “defiled.” For example, in 2008, two brothers, aged 19 and 20, were found not guilty of defiling a girl, then 16 years old (until 2018, the age of consent was 18). Their sexual encounters were consensual, and it was clear that the girl had had several sexual adventures with several teenagers. [78] [79] In 2007, a 30-year-old man was convicted of defiling a then 14-year-old boy. He had created a situation in which the boy came to his apartment; Due to both the childish curiosity and what the court considered the adult man`s cunning, the boy stayed in the apartment, even though the man first showered and then committed the obscene acts. [80] There are also other cases where the authors were convicted, although the circumstances were unclear, such as the case of a hotel manager at the age of 35 with a 14-year-old girl on vacation,[81] three men aged 18, 19 and 20 with three 14-year-old girls[82] or another 46-year-old hotel manager and a 14-year-old boy, who have had meetings over a longer period of time.
[83] The age of consent in the Philippines is 12, one of the youngest in the world. Sexual activity with a person under the age of 12 is considered legal rape and results in punishment as such. The age of consent is raised to 18 for acts of coercion, prostitution, violence, threats or intimidation. Prior to 1990, sodomy in Jersey was illegal for both men and women until 1990,[164] although the age of consent for homosexual acts other than sodomy was the same as for heterosexual acts. In 1990, the age of consent for sodomy between consenting men was set at 21 (the United Kingdom maintained the age of consent for all homosexual acts between men at that time). [165] In 1995, the age of consent for sodomy reached 18 (under the Sexual Offences Act 1995 (Jersey)). In 2007, the age of consent was lowered to 16, became gender-neutral for all sexual acts (including sodomy); regardless of sexual orientation or gender. [166] Sexual acts with children under the age of 14 are illegal under section 207, which prohibits sexual acts with a “child,” and a “child” is defined in section 2,8 as a person under the age of 14. However, article 209 refers to a “minor” defined in article 2, paragraph 9, as a person under 18 years of age, although it is not clear whether this article refers only to sexual acts performed in respect of a minor under 18 years of age or whether it can also be used to punish sexual acts with minors: [12] After German reunification After the 1990 Unification Treaty, Article 149 remained in force for the territory of the former GDR and, in West Germany, Articles 175 and 182 were no longer promulgated. .