To think the age of consent needs to be increased to protect children from predators? (title edited by MNHQ at request of OP)

The number of people on here saying it's fine for fourteen year old to be having sex and the appropriately aged boyfriend sleeping over, it's not OK even if they are the same age.

An 18 year old may still be in 6th form/year 13 at school so dating a 16 or 17 year old in 6th form/year 12 would be a pretty natural thing. Change to 19 and up is more logical.

I agree it isn't ok or what we would want but it does happen. Therefore we can't make the kids criminals for being irresponsible and wanting to grow up to quickly

I agree on the age difference thing. There’s no reason for an adult to be involved with anyone under 18

It's a long time since I was at school so it might not be the same but many girls (and I suspect boys too) lost their virginity a couple of years before they were 16. So I'm not sure that having a higher age of consent will help.
Also it's fine to say only an age gap of two years but how are you going to enforce it? People can lie about their age.
However having said all that I was talking to my DD the other day and she and her friends (age between 16 and 18) all though the age of consent should be higher, with a couple of them saying it should be 20.
Not sure if this is something other teenagers think if it is that problem will solve itself. The issue of older men preying on young women has been around for years and I don't know how we'd change that.

This wouldn't work though. What if a 16 and 17 yo are having sex then after being together a year, he ages up to 18 and can no longer have sex with his 17 yo girlfriend? Doesn't make sense.

If you are going to put controls in place, it needs to be age gap related not just age related. Say a 4 year age gap maximum unless both parties are over 18.

I don't think you can impose limits after that. You can get married, have kids, drive, vote, work and buy a house (at 18) but the state dictates who you can have sex with? It wouldn't be accepted.

Why is there always an assumption that it’s the man doing the chasing? It certainly wasn’t the case in my teenage years.

I actually had a male friend who did just about that they were married when she just turned 17 and he was just short of 30. He was actually very nice and not at all pervy just a bit of a late developer romantically he had a degree and PhD and a very demanding career and I think up to that point his education and career had stopped him getting romantically involved, she was an extremely bubbly character that worked in the same building and did rather pursue him (not that he resisted much) they both seemed very much in love, they later had two children and lived very happily together for many years.

I agree and was just thinking the same.
The world has changed since I was 16 and could leave school and get a job etc etc. now 16 year olds are really not adults in any way
and the only time sex should be allowed is between consenting 16 year olds of a very similar age. How would it be policed? The way sex offences are now. At least it would be a deterrent.
Generally speaking - beyond sex issues the 16 and 17 age is a mess right now - speaking as the mother of a recent one and it wasn’t very clear what he could do when with or without my involvement.

Who is saying its fine?
However there is a world of difference between two 14 year olds having sex and an adult having sex with a 14 year old whilst both illegal the latter is likely to be predatory and the law is there to protect children from adults not too punish two teens.

There are still parts of the UK where 16yos can get married.

Bringing the whole UK (plus the bits like Isle of Man) in line with the international Childrens Rights declaration would bw a great start (terminology probably not quite right there!)

Depends on how you define adult. Is an 18 year old an adult? Would an 18 yr old and 17yr old be ok?

We need to protect children and young people from inappropriate and unhealthy relationships. Defining that is difficult

Fully in support of this, it’s beyond reasonable.

I find it crazy people are trying to say a 30 year old man being with a 17 year old girl is not pervy or creepy.

It is difficult and I don’t know what the answer is. There won’t be one rule fits all but maybe anyone 21 and over should be banned from sleeping with 18
and under.

It doesn't matter. The adult is the adult. Being ' chased' by a 17 year old is no reason to reciprocate. You are the adult so should be aware that a 17 year old is a child. 17 year old girls sometimes do incredibly stupid things because they think they are mature enough to be in a relationship with a 30/40 year old man. The 30/40 year old should know that so they need to back off. If it's ' meant to be 🙄they can wait another year or two.

I wasnt making that assumption. Except at some point I do assume that the man in question being pursued also pursued right back, seeing as romantic relationships in theory arent completely one sided.

I think the better change would be for society as a whole to start holding men to a higher standard.

Just because a grown man is chased by a 15/16/17 year old girl doesn’t mean he’s obliged to fuck her. He could be a grown up and turn her down.

Thats all part of the bigger picture of standards for men being on the floor. Chasing younger women, being “unable” to resist women throwing themselves at them, having zero respect for women, crude jokes at a colleagues expense, “just” a slap/pat on the bum, and the idea that a man aggressively pursuing you is somehow flattering.

If people treated men as the poor incapable beings in the workplace as they do in the way they are around women men would be absolutely outraged.

And if Dads, brothers, mums, sisters and pals were as outraged about Steve next door, Uncle John, or “good old Pete, he’s a nice guy really” as they are about celebs and famous folks it would change a lot!

Why do you think he wasnt instantly repelled by being with someone so young? If he was a good, decent man, he would have thought 'its not right for a young girl to get into a relationship with someone so much older than her, so obviously it cant happen, I wouldnt want her to get hurt' and 'I dont want people to think im a predator so of course not' - why do you think this didnt happen?

Well its certainly true that youngsters had more maturity back then. They werent babied by their parents like nowadays. And these people you talk of who come on and say they were 17 and their husband was 28 and they have been happy for 45 years, why would you have an issue with it?

I wish there was a way of auto sending a poll to everyone coming on to defend relationships like this that asks 'Were you attracted to 16 year olds when you were 26?'

This is true
My Grandad was 29 when he married my 19 year Grandma but this was in ireland in the years between the two world wars
It was a very different time and she would have been working for a good few years at this point.

Probably because people minded their own business instead of trying to dictate who can have a relationship with someone who respects them and treats them well

My question was about him and his thoughts, not what other people thought.

Another point is you left school at 16 then. As the poster says, 16-18 year olds are still in education now, yes I know some people did A-levels in the past but 16 was school leaving age.

The whole thing is a mess. You’re an adult at 18 so just make that the age for everything and that includes holiday companies trying to tell you a 12 year old is an adult so they can rip you off.