Sex outside marriage is illegal in Iran. [66] The minimum age of marriage in Iran is 15 for men and 13 for women. [67] [68] Ways of circumventing these rules include temporary marriages (nikah mut`ah). [69] With the court`s permission, girls are allowed to marry at a younger age. In 2010, up to 42,000 children aged 10 to 14 were married,[70] and 716 girls under the age of 10 had married. [71] Articles 372 and 373 make it illegal to buy or sell minors for the purpose of prostitution. In addition, section 78 of the Children Act 2013 requires any person who has effective responsibility or supervision of a child (redefined by law as a person under the age of 18) to seduce or induce the child into prostitution. [33] Any sexual activity outside of marriage is illegal. [16] According to the Family Law, the minimum age of marriage is 18 for boys and 16 for girls. The court may authorize marriage before the minimum age, but requires the consent of the legal guardian as well as the consent of both persons to marry. The minimum age for consensual sex is 12.
U.S. national reports on human rights practices set the age of consent in the Philippines at 12. [95] Sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 12 is defined as rape under Section 266 of Chapter 3 of the Anti-Rape Act 1997. [96] Thirty-one states have set the age of consent at 16, eight at 17, and eleven at 18. Twenty-six states have “Romeo and Juliet” laws, or age limit laws, that legalize sexual activity between underage participants if they are close enough to each other in age. The maximum age differences in these laws vary from state to state. For example, in Colorado, the age of consent is 17, but people under 15 can consent to a partner under four years older, and those under 15 or 16 can consent to a partner up to 10 years older. By comparison, Arizona law sets the age of consent at 18, allowing teens between the ages of 15 and 17 to consent to sex with partners under 24 months of age. While most European countries set the age of consent at 16-17, several others, including Malta and Vatican City, require young people to be at least 18 before legally having sex.
The lowest age of consent in Europe is 14, which applies in Austria, Italy, Serbia, Germany and Portugal. Finally, note that the age of consent laws, which aim to combat the sexual exploitation of minors, are not the same as the minimum age of marriage, which aim to prevent child marriage. Now let`s take a closer look at the age of consent in some countries. The age of consent in North Korea is 15. Article 153 of the Penal Code states that a man who has sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 15 will be “severely punished”. [90] The law also requires the non-consent of male victims under the age of 14. There is a prison sentence (maximum 10 years) for male victims under the age of 16 (Article 346), while Article 347 provides for an unspecified term of imprisonment for consenting male victims under 21 years of age. Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code prohibits “carnal intercourse against the order of nature”.
It has been used to prosecute people for or oral sex, although prosecutions have been rare. The bill was constitutionally challenged and read by the Delhi Supreme Court in 2009 for violating the human rights of sexual minorities. [61] In 2013, the Supreme Court overturned the Delhi High Court`s decision and again criminalized homosexuality. However, in 2018, after hearing a new round of petitions, the Supreme Court declared parts of the law on the issue unconstitutional and set the age of consent for consensual same-sex relations at 18. Prior to 2012, there was a presumption that a male under the age of 14 could not consent to sexual intercourse under any circumstances. The law was changed after a 13-year-old boy attacked a 5-year-old girl in a ward of Chai Wan Hospital. The prosecution was unable to convict him of rape, but only of immoral assault. In 2015, an 11-year-old boy and a 13-year-old boy were arrested after they were found having sex with an 11-year-old girl. Under the new laws, they have the option of being sentenced to the maximum sentence of life imprisonment. [56] In Japan, there are several overlapping laws regarding the age of consent. As a result, the age of consent varies considerably across the country. The three main laws that define the age of consent in Japan are the Japanese Penal Code, the Obscene Minors Laws, and the Civil Code.
Each sets different guidelines for determining when sexual activity is acceptable. To add to the confusion, some of these guidelines apply to all of Japan, while others apply only to a subset of Japan`s 47 administrative regions or prefectures. “Anyone who, with her consent, has sexual intercourse with a third-generation woman under the age of 15 and the offence results in her death, pregnancy or loss of virginity [shall be punished by imprisonment].” [72] Any sexual activity outside of marriage is illegal in Saudi Arabia. In 2019, Saudi Arabia officially banned all marriages under the age of 18 for both men and women. [107] The push to ban child marriage was initially challenged by high-ranking clerics, who argued that a woman reaches adulthood during puberty. However, the Saudi Shura Council has banned marriages before the age of 15 and requires court approval for those under 18. [108] Under the Child Protection Act, the Act contains a provision stating: “Before entering into a marriage contract, it must be ensured that a person who marries before the age of 18 is not prejudiced either male or female.” [109] According to Chapter 6 of the Swedish Criminal Code, the age of consent in Sweden is 15 years and is 18 years old if the potential perpetrator is a parent or holds another position of power or trust over the minor (teacher, clergyman, foster parents, coaches, etc.). Sweden has an age limit law that can exempt those who have sexual contact with a partner under the age of 15, but who are not themselves more than three years older than that partner. Unusually, the Age of Consent Act applies in Sweden even if the sexual act in question took place outside Sweden, but the perpetrator subsequently travelled to Sweden. Age of consent laws vary considerably from country to country.
Most countries require young people to be at least 14 years old before having sex. But there are exceptions. Angola and the Philippines have both set the age of consent at 12, the lowest in the world. Several other countries, including Niger and Japan, have set the age of consent at 13 – although Japan has notoriously inconsistent consent laws that give different ages of consent ranging from 13 to 20 depending on where you are in the country. In addition, several countries in Asia and Africa require individuals to be married before they can legally have sex. These include Libya, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia, all of which are very conservative on issues of gender and sexuality. The age of consent in Singapore is 16 for all male and female sexual activities: “Section 140: (1) Any person who (…) (i) has carnal ties with a girl under 16 years of age, except by marriage … – is guilty of a criminal offence. [110] The age of consent in Germany is 14. Prosecution for legal rape (or local equivalent) can result in a prison sentence of 6 months to 10 years. The age of consent in Germany is 14 if both partners are under 18.
Sexual acts with a person under the age of 18 are punishable if the adult is an authority figure over the minor in education, education, care or employment. Africa: In most parts of southern Africa, including Botswana, Namibia and South Africa, people can consent to sex from the age of 16. In Libya and Sudan, the age of consent is not fixed, but marriage is required by law before sexual relations are allowed. However, parts of the Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act of the Code of Thailand, which prohibit sexual contact with prostitutes under the age of 18, are widely interpreted by some local authorities as covering sexual acts considered “obscenity for personal gratification”. The Criminal Code (Amendment) Act 1997 (section 283 bis) also criminalizes the commission of an “indecent act” involving a person under the age of 18, even with his or her consent. [113] This is a compensable crime, meaning that the parent or minor can lay charges against the other party if they later regret their own act. A striking example of this law enforcement is a rape trial against the lead singer of Thai band Big Ass for allegedly having sex with a girl (then 16 years old). The accusation was filed by the girl after the singer refused to take responsibility for her baby. The singer has since been acquitted by the baby`s father based on the results of a paternity test and has received 2 years of probation. [114] [115] This would make Thais who have reached the full age of consent at 18.