According to the Australian Institute of Family Studies, the age of consent for both heterosexual and same-sex intercourse is 16 in every jurisdiction except Tasmania and South Australia where it is For example, some jurisdictions provide a legal defence when the sexual interaction is between two young people close in age.
What are the ages of sexual consent around the world? | SBS News
This is intended to not criminalise young people for having sexual relationships with their peers. But many jurisdictions have so-called "Romeo and Juliet laws" that lower the age of consent where the individuals are close in age to each other. But the country's Department of Justice website says "in some cases, the age of consent is higher for example, when there is a relationship of trust, authority or dependency " and also details "close in age exceptions". In Latin America and the Carribbean, the minimum age of consent ranges from 12 to According to a study by Euronews, it ranges from 14 in countries like Germany and Italy up to 18 in Malta.
France is set to raise its age of sexual consent to 15 after pressure from the public and child protection groups complained the minimum age was too low. We want to see this raised to at least 16 years, along with greater resources for finding and convicting offenders," UNICEF Philippines has said. Meanwhile Japan is recognised as one of the lowest ages of consent in the developed world with the bar set at just However, many prefectures have additional statutes that efficiently raise the age of consent to 16 to Bahrain's age of consent for heterosexual men and women is 15 years old, but is raised to 21 years old for women who want to marry without their father's consent.
The law is not equal in Bahrain, with the age of consent for same-sex intercourse being 21 years old. In Saudi Arabia, there is no legal age of consent because marriage is legally required before sex under the country's interpretation of sharia law. While there are no laws regarding same-sex acts, the death penalty can be applied for same-sex sexual acts in Saudi Arabia under Islamic law, according to Human Rights Watch. Before , there was no law in New Zealand prohibiting any form of sexual relationship between adult women and male minors.
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The sexual abuse of boys of any age, including rape, by adult women was fully legal in New Zealand until around This is despite New Zealand having been party to international conventions against the exploitation of children since the s. In , swimming instructor Stacey Margaret Friel, 21, was reported to have had sex with a year-old boy, but faced no charges at the time due to the lack of laws against sexual abuse of boys by women. Since the loophole in the laws was closed there have been a number of cases of women being prosecuted for sexual abuse of young boys, including a woman who gave birth to the child of an year-old boy whom she had allegedly raped.
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The age of consent is The Okinotori Islands are administratively under the government of Tokyo. The age of consent in Palau is A The person is not less than five years older than the minor; and B The person is not legally married to the minor". The age of consent in Indonesia Ages of consent in Asia.
In Papua New Guinea it is unlawful to have carnal knowledge of a girl under the age of It is a crime for any person to indecently deal with a boy under the age of 14 section , and boys under the age of 17 are not deemed able to consent to acts by another male that, but for their consent, would be indecent assaults section Also having or allowing carnal knowledge "against the order of nature" is illegal at any age, as are acts of "gross indecency" between males sections and The current age of consent appears to be 16, as a case involved a New Zealand tourist convicted of "unlawful carnal knowledge" of a girl of 15 this will be confirmed once The Pitcairn Constitution Order comes into effect.
However the Pitcairn sexual assault trial of involved mostly charges of rape or sexual assault, not "underage sex" and some "gross indecency with a child under 14" charges , although it was claimed during the trial that presumably consensual "underage sex" with girls from the age of 12 was normal on Pitcairn. The age of consent in Samoa is 16, per Section Sexual conduct with young person under 16 , of the Crime Act Further, section prohibits taking a girl under 18 out of the care of her parents or guardian for the purpose of sexual intercourse, while section prohibits procuring a girl under 18 for sexual intercourse.
The age of consent in Tonga is The age of consent in Hawaii is 16 years old. There is however a close in age exemption, which allows those aged 14 and 15 to consent to sex with those less than five years older. It is an offence in American Samoa to engage in sexual acts with a person under the age of Third Degree Criminal Sexual Conduct. Under the same provisions, it is also illegal for any person aged 16 or older to aid, encourage, induce or causes minors under 13 to engage in any sexual activity, or minors aged 13—15 to engage in sexual activity with persons older than them by three years or more.
The age of consent rises to 18 when the older partner - being age 18 or older - is the parent, stepparent, adopted parent, or legal guardian of the younger person, or when the older partner has or occupies a position of authority over the younger person. This does not apply for minors aged 16 or 17 as long as the older partner is less than three years older and is not the younger person's parent, stepparent, adopted parent or legal guardian.
According to section , a position of authority "means an employer, youth leader, scout leader, coach, teacher, counselor, school administrator, religious leader, doctor, nurse, psychologist, guardian ad litem, babysitter, or a substantially similar position, and a police officer or probation officer other than when the officer is exercising custodial control" over a person under According to Section , affirmative defenses for the crimes outlined in Sections exists for consensual activity between legal spouses and for cases where the defendant reasonably believed that a minor age 13 or older was of legal age.
As such, all US Federal laws regarding age of consent would be applicable. Since 1 January under the Criminal Consolidation Act , the age of consent on Vanuatu is 15 for heterosexual conduct and 18 for homosexual conduct. No person shall commit any homosexual act with a person of the same sex under 18 years of age, whether or not that person consents.
Ages of consent in Oceania
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It is illegal to sexually penetrate anyone without their consent, no matter what age they are. If force, threats, intimidation, deceit, fraud or tricks are used to engage in sexual behaviour with another person, this is not consensual. Consent can be withdrawn at any time. If this happens to you, you must cease the act immediately to avoid committing an offence.
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If a person fails to offer any physical or verbal resistance to your sexual advances, this does not necessarily mean that the person consents. If you engage in sexual behaviour with someone who is so drunk or stoned that they do not know what is going on, this is not consensual. It is an offence to touch a female on the breast or a male or female between the legs, or in some cases on the bottom, or to get them to touch you in any of these places if the other person does not agree to it or is under 16 years of age.
Laws are subject to change. Last updated October So does this mean I can have sex with whomever I want once I turn 16?