Hi Ian! In my country, age of consent for sexual intercourse between peers is 13. Under that age, law pressumes that consent is not valid. And full consent to have sexual intercourse is from 16. But if two teens of, let's say, 12 years both, engage in sexual intercourse they wouldn't be held criminal responsible, as criminal responsability, in Argentina, is from 16 years old for public offences, and full criminal responsability is at 18. 

Age problem apart, I don't think that consensual sexual intercourse between juvenile peers should be considered a criminal offence, as what sex crimes want to protect is the right that each of us has to decide whether to be involve in sexual intercourse, choosing whom will be your partenaire, what kind of sexual act you want to perform, and be able to pick time and place to do so. Inmaturity is often to be protected to when the difference between ages acts as a presumption that one of the parties isn't acting with full self determination, and the other party is using age difference to coerce in certain way.

Regards. Susie.

Thanks for this Susie.  The problems associated with the imposition of criminal liability when children engage in consensual sexual conduct do seem to have been neatly avoided by raising the age of criminal responsibility in Argentinian law.. Unfortunately I don't have ready access to a copy of your Criminal Code. I would guess that some form of social welfare intervention, in lieu of criminal proceedings, would occur if the conduct was not consensual or if there were other reasons for concern. 

Certainly, Ian! We have a really great social problem with violent relations among teens, specially genre violence. At my hospital, whenever we have these kind of cases we act as if both (victim and perpetrator) are children in need of protection. We don't want them to get criminaly punished but certainly we focus on prevention and reeducation.....most of the time, a violent teen is somebody who has been experienced violence himself, or at least lives in a tough and violent environment. We think that violence (dating violence is only one tiny part of the problem) is a public health issue. In fact, we live in a violent society. I can send you a copy of our criminal code, but it'll be in spanish, don't know if it'll be useful for you.

Cheers. Susie. 

In Colombian ley 599 de 2000: ""Artículo 208. Acceso carnal abusivo con menor de catorce años. El que acceda carnalmente a persona menor de catorce (14) años, incurrirá en prisión de doce (12) a veinte (20) años".

Yecid

Article 208. Abusive carnal Access under fourteen. The access which carnally person under fourteen (14) years, shall be sentenced to twelve (12) to twenty (20) years. "

You are probably aware that this has been important in South Africa. See this interesting blog entry: http://constitutionallyspeaking.co.za/why-the-criminalisation-of-consensual-sexual-exploration-between-teenagers-is-unconstitutional/  and this Constitutional Court decision: http://www.saflii.org/za/cases/ZACC/2013/35.pdf

Jill - thank you for this. I was not aware of the successful constitutional challenge to South African 'statutory rape' legislation in its application to consenting children.  I am still amazed, as an Australian observer, by the  boldly uncompromising approach taken by the constitutional Court on children's rights.  All the more so, because the challenged legislation included protections against liability that are unknown in many if not all Australian jurisdictions.  

Perhaps you would like to comment on this Yecid? Are there exceptions or defences to what appear to be inflexibly cruel laws in the Colombian Code?

In Romania, it's a crime to have sexual intercourse with a minor under 15 (consensual or not). If he/she has under 13, the crime is punish more severe. Criminal responsibility starts at 14, but between 14 and 16 the person can be punish by criminal law only if he/she acts can be held responsible oh their act (this fact is establish by a judicial psychologist). I do not think that's it will be ok to establish some kind of rule about the age of the participants to consensual sexual intercourse, because the partners can have a very different psychological evolution, and one year can be more then enough for the minor being act with criminal responsibility. I have to mention in Romania those who make a crime when they have under 18 years old can be punish only with educative measures.

Thanks Georgeta for this information about Romanian law.  The variety of national responses to what is a quite fundamental community problem is of great interest.  You say that Romanian law only 'punishes with educative measures' when crimes are committed by minors.  That will be true of most jurisdictions.  Much will depend on the severity of those measures.  Perhaps the most significant issue, in jurisdictions where consensual sexual conduct between children is a criminal offence, is the potential for lasting damage to the life prospects of children who are convicted and stigmatised as 'sexual offenders'.  In jurisdictions where registration schemes exist, the effects can be devastating on employment and education.

why and what for?

In Colombia, the relations between consenting under 14 are not punishable for criminal responsibility of individuals, for those under 14 are not criminally rsponden.

If the accessed person is under 14 and who accesses are 14 and under 18 years, responds criminally because the consent of those under age 14 is not taken as a sufficiently informed and sufficient psychological maturity valid decision.

If both people are over 14, are considered to be capable enough to dispose of their sex life, in fact the canon law (Catholic Church) empowers women over 12 years to marry.

While both participants may be technically in violation of the law, I would consider the spirit of the law, which is to prevent the sexual exploitation of young people who lack the maturity to enter into a consensual sexual arrangement.  When both participants are under the age of consent it should be argued there is no good served by criminalizing sexual urges between to consenting juveniles (as long as it can be shown that no overt coercion was used).  Thus, if an angry parent finds that her 14 year old daughter has sex with her 15 year old boyfriend this may, and should, fall within the realm of parental rights and responsibilities to address the issue.  However, if there is evidence (either as an account presented by one the participants to law enforcement as a criminal report or through some other accounting made to a parent, guardian, or other individual) that coercion was utilized, then it should be investigated as a criminal matter.  In most instances, I would think, that determination between innocent sexual activity and coercion could quickly be determined once the activity has been revealed.  While it is easy to consider sexual activity between a couple of young juveniles as a result of raging hormones, you can't close the door on the possibility of coercion especially as young people try to find appropriate values systems in the midst of a lot of mixed messages about sexuality and the value of women distributed through both legacy and new media.

A Kenyan court has just decided a case in which a 16 year old boy challenged the law, relying on the South African Teddy Bear case I cited in another response. I'm afraid the reasoning is not as thorough as in that case.  I attach the Kenyan case.

Dear Frank, I agree with your opinion. Furthermore, should establcer that consent is the result of a deliberative, reasoned, thoughtful and not a hoax or a set of promises or expectations created by another person or by the same media intellectual relationship.

Recall that the psyche of the person is usually encouraged and opinions molded massively stereotypes that come to us through images, advertising, ideas of femininity, masculinity and the body as something that is provided on the market.

But it is also important to note that young people today tienne greater access to sex education, sex education and life itself. Hence, they are better able to make decisions. In the past, sex, the body, the genitalia was anathema, taboo, today looks more reality, more seriously, but with more commercial basis through the media.

In Nigeria, there is no criminal liability for consensual sex between consenting minors, although it is morally reprehensible. It is trite morality does have the force of law

NO

In  India if the girl is minor(below 18 years) and the male is major person,  in that case even though if she has given her consent for sexual intercourse, it will amount to a criminal offence under Indian Penal Code. 

And if both the parties are minor, in that case it will not amount to criminal offence but will be a wrongfull act. And  most of the school in India has started  sex education classes for the childrens above 14 years. So that they should not do any wrong full act.

Yes they do using lack of objective  proffetionall evaluation and  simulated bribe

Frank Heley's emphasis on 'exploitation' and 'coercion' as the appropriate targets for criminal sanctions is clarifying.  Catherine McKinnon argued, almost a quarter of a century ago, that we will think more clearly and better about sexual crimes if we stop talking about 'consent' and, instead, specify the kinds of sexual conduct that should be criminal.  'Absence of consent to sexual conduct' is like a chapter heading for a diverse group of wrongs - convenient shorthand, but not particularly informative.   So, for example, in many and perhaps most jurisdictions, there is a very clear distinction between the very serious crime of rape - sexual intercourse without consent - and the lesser crime of unlawful (but consensual) sexual intercourse with a child who is below the 'age of consent'.  The so-called 'age of consent' of the victim or subject of the offence often varies depending on the status of the offender (teacher or other person in a position of authority), the offender's own age or the nature of the consensual sexual activity in which they engage.  A significant difference in age, when one of the participants in consensual sexual activity is a child (and the other has reached the age of criminal responsibility) is certainly a rational ground for criminal prohibition and punishment.  So, too, when the participants are of equivalent age, but one has coerced the other.  In the absence of a significant age difference, coercion or other specifiable wrongdoing, the imposition of criminal sanctions on one or the other or both partners in consensual sexual activity is likely to do more harm than good and will generally be unjustly discriminatory in the choice of targets for prosecution.

As the preceding string of fascinating responses to my question indicates, there are large national differences in the 'age of consent' and differences too, in what will amount to a 'significant difference in age' between victim or subject and offender.  By coincidence, there is a very useful tabular compendium of the huge variations in US state legislation on these questions in a recent article:  JA Drobac & LA Hulvershorn, 'The Neurobiology of Decisionmaking in High Risk Youth and the Law of Consent to Sex' (2014) 3 New Criminal Law Review 502.

Here in the United States the Statutory Sexual Seduction (aka Stautory Rape) varies between state to state.

In Nevada, the Statutory Sexual Seduction law fits your question the best. Statutory Sexual Seduction only requires the "victim" to be under 16 years old and the "suspect" is required to be over 18 (regardless of gender). Any other consensual sexual encounter cannot be criminally prosecuted.

There are a number of other states that follow this model.  

from 14 years the children are criminal responsable in Spain. Nevertheless neither the list of punishment nor the due process are the same than the projected for the adult people (over 18 years)