That the age of consent should be raised to eighteen

[SEsofty]

Currently the law requires children to be in some form of education until they are eighteen. The law prohibits under eighteens buying alcohol because they are not mature enough to handle it.

And yet at sixteen can legally become a parent. Not developed enough to drink and yet can make the most life changing decision.

The vast majority of sexual encounters don’t result in a pregnancy but it is always a possibility.

In order to be logically internally coherent about when as a society we think that children become adults surely the age of consent should be raised. So Aibu to think that the age of consent should be raised to eighteen

Prohibition never works as a way curb behaviour. We need earlier and more comprehensive sex ed with a focus on consent, healthy relationships and contraception. Let’s empower our kids with the knowledge to keep them safe.

^And yet at sixteen can legally become a parent. Not developed enough to drink and yet can make the most life changing decision.

The vast majority of sexual encounters don’t result in a pregnancy but it is always a possibility.

In order to be logically internally coherent about when as a society we think that children become adults surely the age of consent should be raised. So Aibu to think that the age of consent should be raised to eighteen^

So it's teenage parents you want outlawed? You do realise the pregnancies will still happen? As they already do for under 16s.

And it's not illegal for under 18s to drink, it's illegal to sell it to under 18s.

I think the current age of consent should just be better enforced by prosecuting ‘statutory’ rape routinely where one partner is under 16 and the other is aged over 18. This would help prevent sexual exploitation of minors.

It offers greater legal protection against predatory adults, over time it causes a shift in society’s attitudes. Everyone I know started smoking way before the age of 16. The age for fags wasn’t lowered it was raised to 18. Far fewer young teenagers smoke these days.

When new legislation is passed, they also look at how it would be implemented. Since the police already have no interest in anyone under 16 having sex, they certainly wouldn’t be interested in 17 year olds. It would be pointless legislation.

Yabu.

Enormously disagree with raising AoC. Where I'm from in USA it's 18 & that's a huge source of embarrassment if you get that old before having sex. I can remember feeling horrified that I could be as old as 16 & still not yet had sex. That's in a culture where 18 is the stated norm.

16 is very good, very sane. Don't make the goalposts seem impossible.

"Currently the law requires children to be in some form of education until they are eighteen."

This is not true, btw. Could be training, instead. Moreover, nothing happens if your kid is a NEET, just some phone calls from council; it's a pointless toothless law. PLUS, the extended yr of "required" training/education only applies until end of nominal yr12; some will still only be 16 at this point. Not 18 at all.

@SameTerfDifferentUserName that's because attitude to smoking in general by anyone at any age has changed. There's less people smoking full stop.

Yes.

You can leave home or join the army at 16. At 17 without parental consent but in practice you don't need it at 16. You can drink but not buy it.
If you get pregnant at 16 you will be almost 17 when you have the baby..you can drive at 17..so yabu.

Holland's legal age is 16 so it shows the raising legal age alone with no other changes won't have any bearing. Underage pregnancy and having sex under the age of 16 are two different issues as one doesn't necessarily lead to the other - it's about attitudes towards sex and education about contraception.

As I understand it teenagers in Holland wait longer before having sex anyway and teen pregnancy is not as socially acceptable there as it is here, certainly in the more rural areas.

Actually I think you’re right OP. I was put under intense pressure from my boyfriend to have sex once I was 16. If the law says it’s okay, then there’s no excuse anymore. It would have been nice to have been allowed to emotionally mature a little more.

i don’t know anyone who waited

Actually, the research shows that the average age for first time sex in England is 16 years old, with only 26% having sex before 16. (From a large scale study published in the Lancet. Wellings, 2001).

Yes, there will be certain demographics of young people who are at risk of early sex but it certainly isn’t ‘the norm’ and it is important that we get that message out to our young people.

I don’t agree re the age of consent being upped. Rather, I believe we should arm our young people with good, balanced sex and relationships education and excellent access to sexual health (both of which should be a thousand times better and less stigmatised in England) in order that they can make informed decisions.

YABU

At sixteen you can marry, and in Scotland you don't even need parental permission. It's a funny old marriage that you cannot legally consummate. And I doubt the Scots woulda free to raise their age of marriage.

I believe that the age of consent was reduced from 17 to 16 in NI a few years ago because 17 was unenforceable and brought the law into disrepute. Trying to raise it to 18 would be futile.

Teenage pregnancy is also at an all time low, why the worry now?

while this is good, I was reading some research into teen sexual behaviour and it is extremely concerning. Nearly all teens by age 16 have watched porn on the internet, some on a daily basis. Some kids have watched it by 7 or 8. Anal sex has become normalised among teens (it never was when I was a teen). So has chocking, throttling, fisting, threesomes and other quite extreme sexual practices. STDs have increased and girls are getting quite serious injuries from some practices. Teens are not having the sort of sex that we think they are, and most parents are unaware of these.

The dip in pregnancy could actually potentially be because vaginal sex is no longer as common. Teen sexual behaviour needs to be tackled, but not through raising the age of consent, but rather addressing the huge problem of internet porn and what it has done to the young generation.

Cause teenagers are well known for doing as they are told, the fact that you can't buy alcohol till 18 means you never see drunk 16 year olds......right?
What is needed is better sex and relationship education, more open conversations and less embarrassment surrounding sex. Raising the age will do very little to stop teen pregnancy if we don't educate them more on how to actually stop pregnancy

I think we can take this further. People don't necessarily become responsible adults at 18. Let's outlaw sex that could lead to pregnancy unless all prerequisites for taking care of a child are ticked off. Sex should only be allowed between people who are married to each other, living in their own home, and have sufficient income to give a child a decent life.

I disagree.

It offers greater legal protection against predatory adults,

And if this was actually true in practice I'd be all for it despite it being fairly pointless when it comes to teenagers of similar age having consensual sex.

But given comments in the media,comments made by lawyers ,judges and police and so on in some of the cases involving under 16 victims I sincerely doubt it. The fact that it was against the law was always glossed over in favour of "she knew what she was doing", "she was predatory " "she targeted the man" "she took advantage of his vulnerable position" " she knew what she was doing " repeated ad infinitum.

I think we should have a legal age you’re classed as an adult for everything including holidays, school, alcohol, driving, sex etc

I think 16 is too low for some, but 18 is too high for a lot. The age of consent doesn't mean sex suddenly becomes mandatory at a given age (16), it means young people can consent to sex IF THEY WANT TO at that age. It's more important to empower them to refuse if they choose and these days they generally know all about contraception and sexual heath well before 16.

Since teen pregnancy is at an all time low, I think that shows that education and openness work and prohibition doesn’t.

The law isn’t aimed at choosing to be a parent - the vast majority of the time when people have sex they aren’t aiming to become a parent and with the contraception available you can reduce the chance to extremely low.

I don’t see any link between staying in education and the age of consent. Staying in education isn’t about keeping people as children it’s a recognition that there are far fewer entry level jobs due to digital and other innovations so you need a higher level of education to enter the working world. Theirs no logic to linking the age of consent and time in education.

This just reads as pearl clutching prissiness. It doesn’t agree with the literature on preventing teen pregnancy at all.

The age of consent isn’t about you choosing to be a parent it’s about you being able to understand and consent to sex. In that way it’s much mire akin to gilick competence so using your logic it should be lowered.

Alcohol is bad for you (sex isn’t) and is technically a poison which would be made legal if discovered now. So again, nothing like sex.

If anything the age to join the army should be raised. Now that’s a big decision.