Age of consent

[Silver_Shiney]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22459815

I read with horror that a leading barrister has called for the age of consent to be lowered to 13, to avoid the "persecution of old men".

Is it me, or has the world gone mad?

[Mo2013]

One wonders if some barristers and judges actually live in the real world ?

[Andrea S]

Barristers and Judges seem to live in a different world to the rest of us. No wonder our legal system is a joke.
I may be showing my age but 13 year olds should be able to enjoy growing up as children , not pushing them into the adult world .

[Manoverboard]

When I read such reports I conclude that they have an unhealthy vested interest in young children

[Kendhni]

Is this not going back to similar comments made by Ken Clark a while back? I may not agree but I can see where they are coming from ... let us have the discussion and resolve it once and for all.

We have a responsibility to protect the young in society but we also have a responsibility not to go on witch hunts ... everyone is innocent until proven to guilty, by our courts ... not by popular opinion and a media that proves itself time-and-time again to be sensationalist.

[Onelife]

What a stupid cow!

She seems to have forgotten that men in their thirties forties etc should know better than to engage in sexual activates with what are essentially immature/attention seeking/vulnerable young girls.

[Boris+]

I think it should remain unchanged. However, it would be nice to see children staying as children a bit longer - and not as is the majority case nowadays rushing to be 'grown up'.

It's a bit like opening Pandora's Box - once they leave behind the state of being a child there's no going back.

Em

[Dark Knight]

My sister is a barrister and a Judge as is her partner
they live in a house, on a road, in a town ,not planet Vulcan
as usual the noise has started before the brain is engaged
it is designed to bring the issue into the public domain , so it can be discussed and the issues debated and resolved
but as is the norm people jump up and down without knowing the facts

Secondly, whilst many parents wish to see the world through rose tinted glasses, the truth is that young people aged 13/14/15 are having sex and making babies, so the legal system is playing catch up with the real world, I know lots of people will have a tantrum but the harsh fact is that Britian is the under age pregnancy capital of europe and probably the abortion capital as well.
so bring on a sensible discussion without the usual hysterics and lets see if we can do something about the teen pregnancy problem in a sensible grown up fashion

[david63]

I do believe that there needs be be some review of the rules/procedures surrounding these types of cases.

There is the current "celebrity" witch-hunt going on where a girl/woman can make allegations against someone and the victim can remain anonymous but the accused has their name all over the media - be they guilty or not, which the result that careers and lives are possibly ruined.

[Dark Knight]

A few numbers to ponder from the Government website

41,325 pregnancies in "women " under the age of 18

50% of these resulted in an abortion

40 pregnancies per 1000 "women" between 15 and 17 years old

think about that for a while, the numbers are staggering

[Andrea S]

DK, At my age it harder to be realistic about sex and young children.
I have friends who have teenage Grandchildren and am aware that there are more 13/14/15 having babies than most people realise. This is sex with people their own age and it seems to be the accepted thing nowadays.
I think it is quite sad that instead of enjoying their childhood a young girl will be tied down with a child with the father nowhere is sight.
What is wrong is older people taking advantage of youngsters. This has been seen in the case of teachers etc.
With regard to Barristers and Judges I have always respected their judgement in a court case but it is most unusual for them to express their views in such a public manner.

[Dark Knight]

Andrea, totally agree about older adults taking advantage of youger children and that should be illegal, BUT where do you draw the line?

is it okay for 13-16 year olds to have sex as long as it is within their own age group?
is it wrong for an 18 year old to have sex with anyone under 18?
is it wrong for anyone over 25 to have sex with someone under 18 but over 16?
very slippery slope this one, yes adults have the responsibility to do what is right, but so do the youngsters, we all know Lolita and it does happen

[Onelife]

Hi DN

My brain may take longer to engage than most on this forum but any suggestion that the age of consent should be lowered is absolute bonkers IMO
...............

Quote from the stupid cow... She said that "touching a 17-year-old's breast, kissing a 13-year-old, or putting one's hand up a 16-year-old's skirt" are not crimes comparable to gang rapes and murders and "anyone suggesting otherwise has lost touch with reality".

Well how the hell would she know what is comparable, less of course she’s had a 50 year old man sticking his tongue down her throat when she was 14?

As much as I agree that there should anonymity until proven guilty, the fact remains it is often the press that expose these serial sex offenders in the first place.

[Dark Knight]

Captain Squeaky

I agree the age of consent should NOT be lowered but the whole issue of underage sex needs reviewing and sad to say there is some degree of culpability from the young people themselves.
teen pregnancies are not all from older men having sex with teenage girls and it seems somewhat bizzare, when as a society we condone, sugar daddies and cougars and toy boys etc but turn a blind eye to two 15 year olds having sex and making babies??

[Mo2013]

Most people will engage their brain just long enough to think that this barrister is bonkers. Lowering the age of consent will not solve the problem. There would probably be a massive explosion of teen pregnancies. Teen girls who have sex and end up pregnant are not emotionally ready to bring up a child. Instead of young lads having sex with young girls you will have the addition of older men taking advantage of a lower age of consent. No man should even be looking at a young girl with sex on his mind. The whole idea of lowering the age of consent is abhorrent. Regarding judges, I have personal experience of a trial where the judge had to have explained to him the meaning of the phrase 'tapping my woman up'. Living in the real world ? I think not.

[Dark Knight]

Mo
teen pregnancies are actually falling and have fallen by 4% but you sound like you condone teens having sex and having babies? when under age?

Content edited

[Manoverboard]

The age of consent ' if ' it is to be changed should be raised rather than lowered.

The dirty old man should be banged up, end of story but be made to pay the abortion costs if appropriate else the full maintainence costs.

Under age sex will continue regardless ....

At the moment there is no deterrent whatsoever and THAT is the problem rather than the age of consent as that particular legal detail does not even enter their thoughts at the moment of pending pleasure.

They all need to understand that medical assistance will be freely available but that the father will be DNA traced and be made to pay all the bills with no help from the State, and no housing either.

It's time to toughen up and make them face their responsibilities.

ps ...

I only know one barrister personally and he is certainly not on this Planet but I am sure he is good at his ' speciality ' ... what is the ' speciality ' of the barrister in this discussion I wonder ?

[Dark Knight]

Moby

when was the last time you heard of a teenage lad or girl being prosecuted for under age sex? even though it is a crime.
if a young girl is over 16 then it is all legal, regradless of any age gap, the problem is the 41, 325 teen preganancies and they are not all dirty old men preying on teens, as you say, there is no detterent and no consequences

[Manoverboard]

DN ... I am not looking for a jail sentence for the kids but I am certainly looking for personal accountability for their actions.

[Mervyn and Trish]

Whilst many parents wish to see the world through rose tinted glasses, the truth is that young people aged 13/14/15 are having sex and making babies, so the legal system is playing catch up with the real world

Hi DK. I agree we should not have a knee jerk reaction to this idea. However I do not accept your statement above as a valid reason.

The truth is also that people of all ages are beating each other up, robbing each other and even killing each other. That doesn't mean the legal system has to change to make it okay.

[Dark Knight]

there is no accountability, as there is no detterent.
underage sex is a crime, so it should be treated as such, not as one of those things that happens, that we turn a blind eye toward

[Dark Knight]

Merv
this is more a case of bringing the issue into the public domain for discussion, nothing has changed and nothing will change unless it is made law, which is highly doubtful.
I suspect the general opinion is that the age limit is about right and to change it would be wrong, there is nothing to say anything will change.
but why not discuss it openly instead of just hoping it will all sort it self out as young people suddenly stop having sex??

[gfwgfw]

Boy/Girl sitting in a car in a dark lay by

Mr Plod knocked the car window and asked

"what are you two up to"

Quick as flash the lad retorted

"Waiting for midnight, she will then be sixteen"

[gfwgfw]

. . . . of course this very dated legislation like many of the UK laws are simply being ignored

[Mo2013]

In all areas of life, people do not like being told what to do and will ignore laws and rules and get away with whatever they can.