The age of consent is 18. Should we raise it?

[Anonymous]

So former schoolmate sister turned 18 and her secret lover is 38, he's been waiting for her to turn 18 and now that she's 18 she introduced to him to her family, I live in a very small town so rumours spread around fast hence how I found out, her brother is not happy so neither is mother, her father died ages ago and she dont care about what her brother and mothers think

The man is 38 and should find women his age or at least women in their 20s

It's very disgusting in my honest opinion and therefore want the age of consent to raise

I dont see any difference between 17 and 18

[mandyfire98]

Depends on where you live. In the United States that comes down to state laws. The states determine the age. The state I'm from the age of consent is actually 16.

Now do I think the states should raise the age? I'd feel like a hypocrite at this point because it was 16 for me so if I were to turn around and then say raise it to 20 then it would be kind of shitty.

If the age of consent is 18 in a state and it's to be raised, what age would ultimately be appropriate? What would determine that age? You can join the military at 18. You can vote at 18. It would be incredibly hard to set a determined age for maturity. Something in concrete, set in stone saying no no no, 18 is too immature. Well technically the human brain doesn't fully reach maturity on average until around 25 years of age. So should the age of consent now be 25? It's definitely tricky when changing the age limit on any of these laws.

[Rania05]

I do agree too much older guys getting together with girls is disturbing but if they're serious about marriage I think it's fine and they both waited, plus it's another person's matter. It's not like he threatened her or something of the sorts.

[HawkPerception]

The concept of a specific age of consent is bs. As long as you've hit puberty and consent to having sexual partner, then it should be allowed. People back in the day we're having kids by extremely young ages. I'm not saying that that's the correct thing to do, as most of those cases were arranged marriages or forced, but obviously if we're biologically able, then it means that our bodies are telling us it's okay around that age.

Everyone matures at different rates and no one should be held accountable based on a general rule.

[CrazyGirl2]

Sooo wait! You believe that an 11yo girl has the mental or emotional maturity to understand all the complications of adult sexual relationships? And before you ask, I got my period at 11, therefore I had definitely “hit puberty”. I know my uncle felt that I was ready for an adult sexual situation, because he raped me on my 13th birthday! But even at 13, when I had breasts, a feminine curvaceous body… you believe that I was ready to deal with the emotional pitfalls of a sexual relationship with a grown man? You don’t see any power imbalance? No tricks of seduction that adults learn, that a 13yo hasn’t even heard of yet? Really?

[In_Trance]

Between 17/18 you're correct, there isn't much of a difference, which is why a Jack and Jill law exists.

Between 17/18 and 38, there is a big difference. It's also why there are laws against grooming. This guy should have his nuts cut off and shoved down his throat

[LazerBean]

I don't really see a point honestly. 18-year-olds are already frequently having pointless sex that leads to nothing with other 18-year-olds, the end result would be exactly the same if they're having pointless sex with a 38-year-old. So why bother? It makes no difference.

[Drumlin2001]

In UK we allow 16 yr olds to have a motor bike license, to be on the road risking thier safety along with other road users/pedestrians. . They can leave school, start working and join the army. Age of consent is 16. If we give them the responsibilities to make life choices, it seems a fair age.
Just because this individual is making what you see as a wrong choice, dosent mean the whole system is wrong

[WeirdoFriendly]

I don't understand why you care so much? Have you met the guy she's dating? Is he a good guy, someone who will take good care of her?

Let her do things her own way. Whether she falls in love or ends up hating him is up to her. You can't force something on someone just bc you don't like the situation. Or the age of that situation. Let her learn what she likes or wants.

[boggboss]

Even if it was raised how would this situation change?

[Fireguy17]

Age difference really nothing, in the eyes of the law it's worth 20 years in jail.

[Anonymous]

It should be lowered. Let's be real teens are going to be having sex regardless of the law, its nature