Article 227-27 prohibits sexual relations with minors over 15 years of age (aged 15, 16 or 17) “1° if they are committed by an ascendant or by another person having legal or de facto authority over the victim; (2) if they are committed by a person who abuses the authority conferred by his office. [34] Article 171 of the Portuguese Penal Code sets the age of consent at 14, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, but Article 173 prohibits sexual relations between adults and adolescents aged 14 to 16 if it can be said that the adult has taken advantage of the adolescent`s inexperience, and Article 172 further restricts the adolescent and prohibits sexual relations with adolescents aged 16 to 18 by adults, to whom they are entrusted with their training or support. [99] In early 2018, parliament voted in favor of the “Gender-Based Violence and Domestic Violence Act 2018,” which came into force on May 14, 2018. The main purpose of the law is to implement the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence, and it also includes amendments that lowered the age of consent to 16. [72] While a person may be found guilty of violating the age of consent, if the parties are “approximately the same in age and development,” the court may exercise its own discretion to suspend the imposition of a sentence. The age of consent for heterosexual acts in England was set at 12 in 1275 during the reign of Edward I. The wording was along the lines of “It is considered illegal to vandalize a girl who is under the legal age” – at the time “of age” was 12 years old. Therefore, technically, there was no age of consent for the male participant. English law became applicable in Wales by virtue of the laws of Wales (1536 and 1543). In medieval Welsh law there was no real equivalent of the concept of the age of consent as such, but a girl was marriageable at 12 or 14 (the onset of puberty) and a fine was due for forcibly taking charge of a girl`s girl; The rules varied according to status and may not have been rigidly applied to citizens. [147] The law is designed to protect children from abuse or exploitation, rather than prosecuting children under the age of 16 who engage in consensual sexual activity. The sexual activity of minors should always be considered as a possible indicator of the sexual exploitation of children.
According to this law, children must be at least 13 years old to consent to the processing of their personal data by an Information Society Service (ISS). Parents must give consent if the child is under the age of 13 (Information Commissioner`s Office, 2021b). An ISS is an online service that is generally commercial and provided on demand, such as social media platforms, apps, connected toys and devices, and search engines (Office of the Information Commissioner, 2021c). The Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act 1996 regulates gratuitous sexual activity with partners under the age of 18 and is often interpreted by local authorities to include sexual situations involving ordinary people rather than prostitutes. In addition, the Criminal Code (Amendment) Act 1997 made it illegal to commit an “indecent act” with a person under the age of 18, even if that person is a consenting participant. It is also a “composable” crime, meaning charges can be laid months later if a partner (or parent) regrets it. As a result of these regulations, Thailand has a legal age of consent of 15 years, but an effective age of consent of 18 years. Thailand does not have an age-related exemption. In the Netherlands, the age of consent is 16, as stipulated in the Dutch Penal Code: the concept of age range used in Canada, for example, does not exist in the Maltese legal system, and sexual activity between a 15-year-old partner and a 16-year-old partner may constitute desecration of minors. Depending on the circumstances, no exception is allowed solely because of the proximity of their age. In England, Northern Ireland and Wales, young people are not legally entitled to a lease to rent property in their own name until the age of 18.
In Scotland, this is possible from the age of 16. The age of consent on the Isle of Man, a Crown Dependency, is 16, last changed in 2006. [160] The Civil Code also addresses the age of consent at the prefectural level (and sometimes at the commune within a prefecture). In Japan, a person must reach the age of 20 to be considered an adult, and parental consent plays an important role in legal issues affecting young people. South America: In Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador, the age of consent is 14, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. Paraguay, on the other hand, has set the age for heterosexual relations at 14, but at 16 for homosexual sexual activity and has no age-related exemptions. In Chile, where the age of consent is 18, it is possible that two people aged 17 or younger who voluntarily have sex will be prosecuted for legal rape, although this is rare.