Age of consent: Encyclopedia II - Age of consent - Ages of consent in various countries

Age of consent - Ages of consent in various countries

This table is for relative comparison of the "norm" between countries only and should not be considered authoritative. See detailed information for each jurisdiction below.

Mexico
Philippines

Swaziland
Guyana
Japan
South Korea
Spain

Canada
Chile
Colombia
Ecuador
Paraguay
Peru
China
Albania
Austria
Bulgaria
Estonia
Germany
Hungary
Iceland
Italy
Portugal
Serbia
Montenegro

Morocco
Argentina
Uruguay
Thailand
Czech Republic
Denmark
France
Greece
Poland
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Sweden

Algeria
South Africa
Antigua
Puerto Rico
United States
Venezuela
Hong Kong
Taiwan
India
Israel
Malaysia
Singapore
Andorra
Belgium
Finland
Jersey
Latvia
Netherlands
Norway
Russia
Switzerland
Ukraine
England
Wales
Scotland
Australia
New Zealand

Indonesia
Ireland
Northern Ireland

Egypt
Tanzania
Brazil
Kazakhstan
Pakistan
Turkey
Vietnam

Tunisia

Madagascar

The following is a list of ages of consent in various countries and states by region.

Age of consent - Africa

• Algeria: 16; same sex relationships are illegal
• Egypt: 18, homosexual sex is not mentioned in the law but homosexuals are prosecuted under various moral statutes
• Madagascar: quite possibly 21 (heterosexual and homosexual)
• Morocco: 15, homosexual sex is illegal
• South Africa: homosexual 19, heterosexual 16
• Swaziland: heterosexual 13, unknown for homosexual
• Tanzania: 18, homosexual sex is illegal
• Tunisia: 20, anal intercourse between men is illegal

Age of consent - North America

• Antigua: 16; 18 for homosexual males
• Canada: 14 (18 for anal sex between persons not married to each other in all provinces except Ontario and Quebec; 18 for anyone in a position of "trust or authority")
  • Courts in Ontario (1995) and Quebec (1998) independently declared Section 159 of the Criminal Code of Canada (Anal Intercourse) unconstitutional. Although not binding in other provinces, these rulings have set a precedent that would make successful prosecution elsewhere in Canada unlikely.
  • Persons under 18 are still deemed unable to consent to sexual activity in certain contexts, such as prostitution or pornography; or with certain persons in a position of authority.
  • Sex between partners that are within two years of age of each other is always legal unless the age of consent is 18 due to one of the conditions specified above. (14 and 15 year olds are granted an exemption if their partner is less than two years younger than them, 12 and 13 year olds specifically cannot be charged with a violation of the age of consent law, and 11 year olds and under cannot be charged with a crime in Canada.)
• Mexico: 12, but 18 under some circumstances
• Panamá:
  • 12 if female.
  • 14 if male.
• Puerto Rico: 16
• United States: Varies from state to state, usually 16; some states formerly forbade homosexual acts entirely, however such laws have been declared unconstitutional in 2003 (Lawrence v. Texas). Lawrence also had the effect of invalidating the differences between heterosexual and homosexual age of consent laws; the general, albeit untested, consensus is that the youngest age of consent law on the books in any given state now applies regardless of sexuality.
• Federal law forbids crossing state lines or international borders with a person who is under 18 (in an attempt to escape the state's AOC or without permission from the minor's legal guardian), or any sex with a person who is under 16 and at least 4 years younger than the perpetrator in Federal territories (18 U.S.C. 2243, 18 U.S.C. 2423). Federal and various state laws makes it is illegal to produce pornography featuring those under 18 and prosecutions have been commenced for cases where both partners are over the age of consent and under 18 years old, where they were making material solely for their own consumption or that of their lawful partner. The constitutionality of these cases is uncertain.
  • Alaska, Arkansas, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts [1], Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia, Alabama: 16
  • Illinois, Louisiana, New York: 17
  • Arizona, California, North Dakota, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Wisconsin: 18
  • Virginia: 18, 15-17 falls under 18.2-371 contributing to the delinquency of a minor if partner is over 18, 13-14 falls under 18.2-63
  • Colorado: 15 (17 if partner 10 years older and not spouse)
  • Florida: 16 (If partner under 24), 18 (all other adult partners)
  • Idaho: 16 or 17 (if partner less than 5 years older), 18 (all other adult partners)
  • Iowa: 14 or 15 (if partner less than 5 years older), 16 (all other adult partners) State law imposes a mandatory lifetime banishment from most Iowa cities for a person who violates any state's age of consent law. Iowa's ban applies to conduct that occurs in other states regardless if it was legal in those states. Said persons would not be allowed to legally live in most Iowa cities, and would generally be restricted to rural areas. Federal courts have upheld this law, and the US Supreme Court has refused to review it.
  • Kentucky: 16 (if under 21, a person's partner can legally be no more than 5 years of age younger; i.e. 20 and 15 or 18 and 13)
  • Missouri: 14 (if partner under 21), 17 (all other adults)
  • New Hampshire: 16 RSA 632-A:4, 18 (person in position of authority RSA 632-A:6)
  • New Mexico: 13 if partner is four or less years older, 18 otherwise (NM Statute 30-9-11 Criminal sexual penetration)
  • South Carolina: 14 (Under state constitution)/16 (Under state law - appears to conflict with state constitution).
  • Texas: 14 if the other partner is within 3 years in age, otherwise 17.
  • Washington: 16 (18 if partner is at least 59 months older, OR in a significant supervisory relationship and uses that relationship to engage in sex with the minor).
  • Wyoming: 16/18 (conflicting laws appear to set two different ages of consent)
  • Military: equal to the state the base is located in; homosexuality grounds for dismissal regardless where the base is located.

Age of consent - South America

• Argentina:
  • 15;
  • 16 if abusing sexual immaturity or in some other cases.
  • No "corruption" of minors (below 18).
• Brazil:
  • 18;
  • 13 or younger consists in 'presumed violence' categorizing rape;
  • 14-17 is labeled "corruption of minors" and there is jurisprudence that consent may be considered, upon analysis of the minor;
• Chile: 14
• Colombia: 14
• Ecuador:
  • 14;
  • 18 if woman is "honest" and "seduction" or deceit is used.
• Guyana: 13 (legislation to raise the age to 16 is under discussion)
• Paraguay:
  • 14;
  • 16 if one of them is married to another person;
  • 16 if homosexual
• Peru: 14
• Uruguay:
  • 15, though can be 12 in certain special cases.
  • No "corruption" of minors (below 18).
• Venezuela: 16

Age of consent - Asia

• People's Republic of China: 14
  • Hong Kong S.A.R.: male homosexual 21 (and both the older AND younger partners can be prosecuted and liable to imprisonment for life) [gay sex laws recently overturned by court], lesbian 16, heterosexual 16.
• Repubic of China (Taiwan): 16, including heterosexual and homosexual relationships
• India: heterosexual 16 (below that is regarded as rape), homosexual illegal (deemed sodomy)
• Indonesia: 17 (homosexual legal status unsure)
• Iran: extramarital sex is illegal (see: Marriageable age), note that homosexual sex may be punishable by death
• Israel: 16, but if the female is under 16 and above 14, the age difference should not be greater than 3 years between her and her partner. 18 if dependency relationships (teacher/student etc.)
• Japan: 13 nationwide (18 if "insincere" relation or prostitution). Most prefectures have additional legislation concerning sex with children between 13 and 16 or 18 years, making the actual age of consent between 16 and 18. Age of marriage for a female with parental approval is 16.
• Kazakhstan: 18
• Malaysia:
  • 16, but Muslims must also be married
  • homosexual sex is illegal (maximum 20 years' jail)
• Pakistan: 18
• South Korea: 13 (19 if prostitution)
• Philippines: 12 (restrictions on partners under 18 such as prostitution)
• Saudi Arabia: heterosexual must be married, homosexual illegal
  • heterosexual sex outside marriage is punishable by flogging
  • male and female homosexual sex is illegal by virtue of being outside marriage and punishable by death
  • See: Human rights in Saudi Arabia
• Singapore: 16
  • engaging sexual intercourse with a female aged under 14 is considered Statutory Rape
  • engaging sexual intercourse with a female aged under 16 is considered an offense of "carnal intercourse with an underage female" (less severe than rape but still a punishable offense)
  • homosexual sex is illegal and punishable by imprisonment, possibly for 10 years or even life
• Thailand: 15
• Turkey: 18; including heterosexual and homosexual relationship
• Vietnam: 18 according to most sources

Age of consent - Europe

• Albania: 14
• Andorra: 16
• Austria: 14 (as of August 13, 2002)
• Belgium: 16 (possible restrictions apply under 18)
• Bulgaria: 14
• Croatia: 14 or 18
• Czech Republic: 15
• Denmark: 15 for full consent (in regard to age differences) to sexual relationships; no limits when ages are less than 1 year apart (Meaning, no criminal charges are brought) ; 18 for dependency relationships (teacher/student etc.) and professional sexual (Prostitution is decriminalized in Denmark, but one can consent only when 18 or older).
• Estonia: 14
• Finland: 16; 18 in dependency relationships (teacher/student etc.)and prostitution.
• France: 15; however sex with a minor under 18 in a dependency relationship may be criminalized.
• Germany:
  • 18 years in dependency relationships (teacher/student etc.)
  • 16 years if the older partner is over 18 and coerces the younger partner into sex other than by physical means, or if the older partner pays the younger partner to have sex (prostitution)
  • 16 years if the older partner is over 21 and exploits "lack of sexual self-determination" of the younger partner (only prosecuted after complaints or “public interest", in practice rarely prosecuted with little or no punishment)
  • 14 years for all other sexual relationships
• Greece: 15 (since 1987)
• Hungary:
  • Since the 2002 decision of the Constitutional Court 14 for both heterosexual and homosexual relationships
• Iceland: 14
• Ireland, Republic of: 17, 15 for non-penetrative sexual contact.
  • Different sections of law, and indeed different government departments disagree on whether the age of consent is 17 or 16 or even 15, or whether or not a disparity still exists between male and female ages. The majority of sex education literature in schools, as well as the most recent act referencing the age of consent state 16, however more recent Dáil debates have put this into doubt.
• Italy: 14
• Jersey: 16 (18 homosexual)
• Latvia: 16
• Lithuania: 14, for homosexual males, as of 2004, source LifeSiteNews.com
• Netherlands: 16 (18 if dependent relationship or prostitution)
• Norway: 16
• Poland: 15
• Portugal: heterosexual 14, homosexual 16
• Romania: 15; 18 in dependency relationships (teacher/student etc.)
• Russia: 16
• Serbia-Montenegro:
  • Serbia: heterosexual and female homosexual 14, male homosexual 18
  • Montenegro: 14 (for all three types)
• Slovakia: 15
• Slovenia: 15
• Spain: 13 (possible restrictions apply under 16)
• Sweden: 15; 18 in dependency relationships (teacher/student etc.)
• Switzerland: 16, under 16 legal if age difference is no more than 3 years
• Turkey: 18; including heterosexual and homosexual relationship
• Ukraine: 16
• United Kingdom: The Sexual Offences Act 2003 is the relevant law. Ages of consent are the same for heterosexuals and homosexuals, but legal treatment varies slightly between different areas of the UK.
  • England and Wales: heterosexual and homosexual 16 for women and for men
  • Scotland: heterosexual and male homosexual 16
  • Northern Ireland: heterosexual and male homosexual 17
  • 18 years for any sexual act if there is a relationship of trust (e.g. teacher/pupil), unless they are a married couple.
  • Until 2003, there was no specific law regarding the female homosexual, though in England and Wales this has now been set at 16 years old. Although no such legislation exists for Scotland and Northern Ireland, a female under 16 is deemed incapable of consenting to any type of sexual behaviour which could be classed as sexual assault and the courts have taken this to mean that the age of consent is the same as for male homosexual acts.
  • Before 2001 the homosexual age of consent in England and Wales was 18, and before the early 1990s it was 21, the age it was set at when consensual buggery was decriminalised in the 1960s. The heterosexual age of consent was raised from 12 to 16 in the late 19th Century.

Age of consent - Australia

Australia is a Federation of States and Territories. Australia's Constitution protects and retains certain residual powers for the States and so the Australian Federal Government (the Commonwealth) has constitutional limitations on what issues it can legislate. This means that each State has its own laws regarding AOC. However, it is worth mentioning that a 1997 Federal Government and the United Nations Human Rights Committee ruling caused each State to repeal any differences in homo/heterosexual AOC. This is due to International Affairs being a power of the Commonwealth.

• Federal Laws (Laws that apply to all Australians)

Child Sex Tourism: It is an offence for an Australian Citizen, Resident or Body Corporate {s50AD} while outside of Australia to have sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 16 {s50BA} or to induce a child under 16 to have sexual intercourse {s50BB}, or be somehow involved in a similar sexual act {s50BC}&{s50BD}

• Australian Capital Territory (ACT)

It is an offence to engage in sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 16 {s55(2)}. However the law in the ACT does permit as a defence if brought to court, an age difference of 2 years for those older than 10 years {s55(3b)}.

• New South Wales

It is an offence to engage in sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 16 {s66C} or attempt such an offence {s66d}. Further it is an offence to engage in sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 18 if that person is under the care of the offender {s73} (Guardian, teacher and etcetera).

• Northern Territory

It is an offence to engage in sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 16 {s127} or attempt such an offence {s131}. Further it is an offence to engage in sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 18 if that person is under the care of the offender {s128} (Guardian, teacher and etcetera).

• Queensland (Qld.)

It is an offence to have carnal knowledge with a person under the age of 16 {s215}. Note that in Qld. “carnal knowledge” does not include “sodomy”. Sodomy (anal sex) is not permitted with any person under the age of 18, regardless of gender or what position is taken by which individual {s208}.

• South Australia

It is an offence to have sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 17 {s49(3)}. However it is a defence if both parties were 16 at the time of the offence {s49(4)} or if both parties are married to one another {s49(8)}. Further it is an offence to engage in sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 18 if that person is under the care of the offender {s49(5)} (Guardian, teacher and etcetera).

• Tasmania

It is an offence to have sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 17 {s13-124}. However it is a defence if no anal sex occurred and the younger person was of or above 12 years and the older was not more than 3 years their senior or, if no anal sex occured and the younger person was of or above 15 years and the older was not more than 5 years their senior {s13-124(3)}.

• Victoria

It is an offence to take part in sexual penetration with a person under the age of 16 {s45(1)}. However it is a defence if the younger party was aged 10 or more years and the older party was not more than 2 years older {s45(4)(b)}. Further it is an offence to take part in sexual penetration with a 16 or 17 year old person if that person is under the care of the offender {s48} (Guardian, teacher and etcetera).

• Western Australia

It is an offence to sexually penetrate a person under the age of 16 {s321}. Further it is an offence to sexually penetrate a person under the age of 18 if that person is under the care of the offender {s322} (Guardian, teacher and etcetera).

Age of consent - New Zealand

16 (18 if prostitution or some types of dependent relationships)

Although anti-pedophile laws in New Zealand (as with all other western countries) are currently severe, consensual relationship between adults and young teens are usually not prosecuted unless the parent or child complain about it.

Before 2005, there was never a law in New Zealand prohibiting any form of sexual relationship between women and boys. Until the Crimes Amendment Act (No.2) came into force in May 2005, the age of consent was 16 for older men and young girls, as well as for homosexual males (since legalization in 1986), but there was no age of consent where a woman was the older partner with a boy, and for Lesbian sex the age of consent was 12 if both partners were under 21 (16 if otherwise). This law was only amended recently after being in force for over 100 years.

The legal loophole was identified in 2003 when a 21-year-old man faced imprisonment for sex with a 14-year-old girl, while a 21-year-old woman at the same time made her relationship with a 13-year-old boy public with the media because she knew she couldn't be charged.

New Zealand decriminalised prostitution in 2003 with a legal age of 18.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Ages of consent in various countries", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki