Age of Consent
 

So, I had thought that the Age of Consent in the US is 18 because so many people here refer to under 18s as being jail-bait. Now I learn that it's 16 in Michigan -and in fact in more than half the states (same as Canada and UK and most of Aus). I guess maybe Cali and Florida are more vocal and populous than most so that's why I thought 18?

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So then I looked at the world map. Now that's scary. 12? rly?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...of_Consent.png

I think I'm good with 16. What about you? What age did you grow up with? Did the law have any effect on your decisions? Did you stay legal? Do you think there should be an age law at all? -after all people mature at different rates (physically and mentally)....

When I was in high school, Texas' age was 17 but only with a partner up to age 21. If the partner was older than that, the age was 18. As a 16-year-old who was sleeping with a 20-year-old, this was a very relevant law to me at the time. But they may have changed it since then to be just a straight 17 across the board, I don't know.

Honestly, I think the law should stay out of it unless there's a questionable age gap or power gap (e.g., student/teacher) involved. If two 14-year-olds want to have sex, or even a 14-year-old and her 17-year-old boyfriend, the legality of it ought to be the least of their concerns.

Marriage age on the books in at least one US state is 12 with judge/parent consent. Some other states it is pregnancy which can mean the same thing.

Back in the days when average life expectancy was about 40, and in some parts of the world it still is, 18 is almost 'middle age'.

Here in France it is 15 because the law stated that the marriage age for a girl was 15 and 3 months with parental agreement (18 for guys).

The law was changed a few years back to address a growing concern about forced marriage. Mostly in groups of muslim background.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries Jewish people in Russia and Poland used to get married at about 12 years old (they wouldn't live together until 14, or so). This had something to do with the fact that the army would conscript any unmarried male about 14 years old.

Unfortunately I don't remember the exact years and details.

9 is scary. 12 is merely wrong.

I propose we put this conversation on hold until Drax can weigh in on the ick factor.

har and yuck.

LOLs.

The info on Japan is inaccurate.

The *national* government sets 13 as the minimum age, but the prefectural (US: state) governments then add to this. There is one prefecture where 13 is legal, but all the rest have higher numbers - 15, 16, 17, 18 maybe. I don't know what it was where I lived. By the time I got there, I was 33, and the "Uncle Creepy" equation was at 24 or so by then anyway.

18 is necessary for any kind of pornography and/or prostitution. Duh. However, "subsidised dating" circumvents the prostitution law. Here, sweetie, accept this designer bag which you can sell second hand for $500. Shall we have dinner?

You want ICK factor? One case hit the media where a prosecutor tried to argue that this was in fact prostitution. The girl was 14. The John was 73.

Brain bleach in aisle 4, please.

I think Australia is more varied than the graph shows. We also do a few of the age-gap factors. I don't know the exact age of consent, because I've got to the age where if she's even close, my answer is NO. So, probably, is hers. Along with "disgrossting!"

Isn't the Judeo-christian rite of bar/bat mitzvah basically the point at which girls and boys reach the age of consent? That's 13 for boys and 14 for girls, I think.