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Age of consent to be raised after recent high profile cases of older men preying on 16 year old girls

(8 Posts)
Fallingstar Sun 15-Nov-26 18:01:10

www.bbc.co.uk/

So now it is being suggested that the age of consent could be raised to 18. Tbh 16 and 17 year olds are considered children in most other situations except having sex so I suppose it makes sense. Of course it is in the aftermath of the Brand case where a 16 year old girl was preyed upon by him and now it has been alleged that Walliams may have also had sexual encounters with a younger teen not yet 18.
I don’t suppose it will prevent all older men from preying upon 16/17 year olds, they will just insist they didn’t know the victim’s age, but it will mean they can be held legally accountable for underage sex.
Of course young teens will continue to have sex with each other, but I see this as being aimed at older predators.
What do others think??

Whitewavemark2 Sun 15-Nov-26 18:04:02

Yes the idea is to make it illegal for older adults to have sex with children up to the age of 18 I think.

It seems a good idea to me at the moment, but I’d like to see the arguments.

Galaxy Sun 15-Nov-26 18:19:58

Do they mean graduated age of consent? So two 17 year olds wouldnt be prosecuted but a 30 year old and 16 year old would be. I think I would agree with that. I would be interested in how it works in other countries.

Galaxy Sun 15-Nov-26 18:20:43

Sorry just realised I have said the same as everyone else!

TillyTrotter Sun 15-Nov-26 18:24:00

An argument put forward on TV discussion was that a young person needs to be 18 to legally drink alcohol,
but currently is considered old enough at 16 to consent to sex. For pretty much everything else they are still considered to be a child at 16.

TillyTrotter Sun 15-Nov-26 18:26:17

Of course underage ‘kida’ will experiment with both but it will give young people the knowledge they can say No to sex , and be protected by law, until they are over 18
especially in a situation where they may be being groomed by someone older.

TillyTrotter Sun 15-Nov-26 18:27:27

Sorry, much I’vecwritten is a repeat of other posters’ views.

LemonJam Sun 15-Nov-26 18:32:44

A staggered age of consent seems like a good idea to me. Well done for this female to come forward with this suggestion in all the circumstances.

She said "I don't want to criminalise teenagers having sex with each other. If you're between the ages of 16 and 18, it seems reasonable that you can have relationships with each other, and [teenagers] are always going to. But...if you're in your thirties, forties and fifties and you're trying to have a relationship with someone under the age of 18, it [should be] a criminal offence."

This I agree with. A 16 year old is a child in the eyes of the law. Older adults in their 30s or 40s can have relationships with young adults- ie over 18, no need to prey on 16 to 17 year olds.