The decision to raise the age of consent to 16 in 1885, with higher penalties for offences against girls under the age of 13, resulted from the combination of a child protection agenda and a perceived need to control juvenile sexualities.
Why do age of consent laws exist? Age of consent laws are designed to protect children and young people from sexual exploitation and abuse from adults and older young people.
In Victoria, the age of consent is 16. If you are 16 years old and above, you can legally have sex (or do another sexual activity) with another person who is 16 years or older as long as you both agree to it.
About legal age in Australia
In Australia, you're considered to be an adult when you turn 18 years old.
AGE OF CONSENT NEW SOUTH WALES
The legal age of consent in New South Wales is 16 years old. Sexual intercourse is defined to include sexual connection occasioned by penetration to any extent of the genitalia or anus of any person, or oral sex.
It is a very serious offence to engage in sexual activity with anyone under 16 years of age, even if you are in a relationship and they agree, as the law says that they cannot consent. It is still illegal if you are both under 16 years of age.
The lowest minimum age is 14 years, set in seven Member States: Austria, Bulgaria, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Italy and Portugal. The highest is set at 18 years – in Malta. About half of the Member States apply different age limits to sexual acts between young persons.
TOKYO (AP) — Japan's parliament on Friday raised the age of sexual consent to 16 from 13, a limit which had remained unchanged for more than a century and was among the world's lowest, amid calls for greater protection of children and women.
In Australia, there is no minimum age which a child can legally refuse to see a parent following divorce or separation. Of course, once children of divorce reach the age of 18 years they can make their own decisions about where they live or which parent they want to spend time with.
Like many states, Victoria has what is often referred to as a Romeo and Juliette law. This is a law that allows consensual sex between two young people of a similar age, while criminalising sex between an adult and a young person.
There aren't any laws around being in a non-sexual relationship where one person is under 18 and the other over. Once you turn 16 it's not illegal for someone to have sex with you no matter how old they are.
Generally speaking, an 18-year-old can date a 16-year-old provided that the relationship is not sexual. If the relationship becomes sexual, then it could be illegal depending on the state.
This is exactly two years. For example, if a person is 17 and has sex with someone who is 15, it is not a crime. But if the person was 18, it is a crime unless the person believed the person was 16 or older. For more information about what is considered a sexual act, see Sexual assault.
The age of consent is also 14 in Bangladesh, China, Myanmar, Mauritius, Malawi, and Chad. The age of consent is slightly higher at 15 in France, Poland, Romania, Sweden, Czech Republic, Greece, Denmark, Iceland, and Slovenia, as well as in Thailand, North Korea, Cambodia, Costa Rica, and Uruguay.
change their name without their parent's consent. buy alcohol, tobacco and cigarettes. get married without their parent's permission. vote in elections and stand for Parliament.
Technically, mothers' rights vs fathers' rights do not exist in Australia. The Family Law Amendment Act 2006 changed the emphasis from the parents to the children; the term 'shared parental responsibility' is now used instead.
There is no set age at which a child can choose who they live with, or choose when (or whether) they see the other parent. A child is legally a minor until he/she turns 18.
When can I move out of home? There is no law about what age you can leave home, but your parents generally have to look after you until you're 18. The most important thing is you have a safe place to live.
It is a crime to have sex with someone under the age of 15. This also applies if the child is reported to be married. Anyone who has sexual intercourse or performs other sexual acts with a child under the age of 15 is guilty of rape of a child.
Age of Consent
The age of sexual consent for both boys and girls is 15 years. The Thai Penal Code also provides for close-in age exemption in case a child below 18 has sexual intercourse with another child aged 13-15 years of age with the consent of the latter.
The current rules for age of consent in Germany were set following a post-reunification penal law reform in 1994. The ages of 14 and 16 had been relevant since the Criminal Code for the German Empire came into force in 1872: Under § 176, sexual acts with children under 14 were illegal and have been always since.
The highest Age of Consent in the world is 21 in Bahrain.
The second-highest age of consent is 20 in South Korea, while the majority of other countries have an Age of Consent between 16 and 18.
The Article 12 of the Spanish Constitution has set the age of majority of the Spaniards in 18 years. In Spain minors/children are considered all those who are under the age of 18 years.