Sexual Relationships 
Sexual Health I know there are some states in the US that has their age of consent at age 16. Here's what I do not understand: Why look down on an 18-year-old wanting to have sex with a 16-year-old? They are both around the same age only by 2 years. Why prevent a teen from having consensual sex with another teen? What's the logic in that? You're still a teenager when you're 19 so why should there be a law restricting a certain age for teens to have consensual sex? But who even follows the law anyway? What's stopping them from having consensual sex when it is out of our control?
My 13yo sister's friend, who is a 17yo that has had sex with my 20yo cousin. Heck, I even had sex with him, and I was 17. Though that is different from what I'm trying to state. What's the point of having a law that nobody is going to follow?
Do you agree that a 16-year-old can consent to sex?
Anonymous
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What Girls & Guys Said
14 36It’s 16 here in the uk. I think it the right age
legal age here
Sure
no. I do not agree.
In Brazil is 14
Yes and marriage. Have kids. Join the military. Rent a house. Collect welfare. Quit school. Get a job. Drive a car.
That used to be a thing younger than 16 in the past. Indeed in some cultures they used to consider boys men at 13 and girls women at 12. Lets just say that I think that's a bit extreme...
@Losalt they retard young peoples development as a means of population control.
I don't know about that... There's genuine problems with kids doing all of these things that young...
Yes, occasionally someone finds the love of their life at a young age, but often it takes some experience to learn what to look for in a partner and our judgement improves with experience, and honestly, maturity... So marriage, something that's intended to be rather permanent probably isn't the best of ideas at a young age. Difficult to give a informed noncoerced consent then. Kids... While fertility might be higher at that time there's also more potential for issues both during a pregnancy and with the upbringing... It might *kind* of work out in a multigenerational household where parents can help out too, but honestly it's too much to deal with for most teens I feel. And even if some might be able to handle it it still feels like too much to ask of them. The military... That's its own can of worms... Rent a house... If they're mature enough, maybe... It's kind of a tough one... They should get some aid, but it doesn't necessarily *have* to be someone that's present 24/7 if they're mature, I could see a situation similar to how elderly people might have someone visiting them when living alone at home to help out and make sure that everything is okay. If they're living independently, then yes, welfare makes sense. Quit school? No, education is important and mandatory, at least here. Get a job, absolutely. Working is common in peoples spare time at a young age here. Drive a car? No. Not till they've proven their safety track record with a vehicle that's *not* a potential murder weapon for quite a while first... At least, that's my take on it. Anyway, peoples maturity varies greatly, some adults aren't mature, some teens are. And it's hard to judge just how much to trust any given teen with. We *have* to trust them somewhat. But a balance has ro be struck. I don't really like hard age numbers given the huge variability. I don't know...
13-17 year olds are perfectly capable of knowing what they want to do
You think 13 year old children should be able to have sex with adults? If you had a 13 year old daughter you would be totally fine with her having sexual intercourse with a man your age?
@Subarugirl It would be difficult to feel comfortable with that, but it depends on the childs maturity and critical thinking. There are countries where 13 is the age of consent, prior to 2017 that included the country where I have my citizenship (it's now 15 there). Where I *live* the age of consent is 16, but you can't consent to nude pictures or videos or a lot of nonstandard forms of sex til you're 18. . Honestly most 13 year olds probably shouldn't have sex. But punishing a 13 year old and a 14/15 year old that choose to do anything just... No... Not if not if both are consenting and don't feel violated or manipulated in any way. And while most 13 year olds are just not mature enough to deal with this I've seen a few that's honestly more mature than a lot of adults... Usually it's kids who have been through way, way too much in life already though... :-/
@Losalt during and after puberty kids are going to want to explore their sexuality and their bodies and they should be able to do so in a safe way, how ever making it legal for and adult to have any sort of sexual relationship with a child is predatory and is wrong. I'm not saying that a 13 year old should be punished for engaging in sexual activity, I am talking about predators who would abuse and exploit a child. There is no situation in which and adult approaching 13 year old child with the intention of having a sexual relationship with said child is okay
@Subarugirl In countries where the age of consent is low there's often not a difference between the two in the eyes of the law and raising the age of consent may happen as a result of adding that distinction. But again it's problematic if you're drawing lines in the sand. How much older is *too* old? And if someone is just a few months or days above that line in the sand, and the minor is in love and very much consenting, what then? There's also the difference between continental law and the more British style, between laws that's defined almost exclusively by the legislature and laws that's defined more through use by the judiciary.
I don't know, just thinking about this all is uncomfortable. It's hard to make ethical laws...
@Losalt Female teachers have sex with 13 year old males all the time and society does little to nothing.
I actually feel that's worse. Said teacher is in a position of power over the pupil, making it harder to make a informed noncoerced decision to consent. Society *should* act there.
Actually people lose their shit when that happens and no sane person is okay with that
For sure yes.