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Children and the Law | Consensual Sex.

The definition of a child is everyone under the age of 18, unless a specific law dictates that the age of maturity is attained earlier and in the UK, we have several laws that specify other age limits, for instance the age of consensual sex is 16 and the age of criminal responsibility is younger.

Consensual Sex.

To consent is to agree to something, so when you are talking about the age of consent it is the age at which that law states you are old enough to be able to make that decision, in the UK its 16.

It is a criminal offence for someone to have any type of sexual activity with a person under the age of 16, the Sexual offences act was introduced to protect children from abuse, it was not designed to prosecute teenagers, however you can be cautioned, fined and put on the sexual offenders' register.

Sexual activity is a very broad heading, if you are sending sexual images or messages you are breaking two laws, and the age limit changes; a sexually explicit image of anyone under the age of 18 is classed as a paedophilic image, as well as considered sexual activity.

There are lots of urban myths about the age of consent but the law states that you can lawfully have sexual activity over the age of 16, with that in mind, when you consider the different scenarios it's easy to understand the answers.

If you are 16 and your partner is younger, is it ok? - No
When both are under 16, is it ok? - No
Our parents are ok with it, is it ok? - No

The law tends to deal with offences in different ways, if there is a big age gap then the law will be firmer, so if one person is 18 and the other 15, it could be dealt with more severely than if one was 16 and the other 15 the reason being the concern that the younger person could feel pressured.

The Law is designed to prevent exploitation and abuse, so each case will need to be investigated to see if either of these has been evident; the law applies to everyone without exception.

Sex should always be consensual whatever your age; when growing up there are many social pressures that come into play, you should never do anything you do not want to do and if you are considering having any sort of sexual activity do not rush into any decision, understand the consequences of your actions and your responsibilities to yourself and others.

For further reading http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKHL/1985/7.html

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