Can a 25 year old have sex with a 16 year old?
Posted by ZWE_Punchline@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 40 comments
Just hear me out (worst way to start this post)
Okay, so the age of consent here is 16. I get that. But I could have sworn there was a law where the only people who can have sex with 16 year olds must be between 16-18. Anyone older than that would be charged with statutory rape. Right? I don't want to get Mandela Effect'd here, but I was 100% certain for some reason that this is how the law worked here. No, I'm not 25. No, I'm not gonna have sex with any 16 year olds. But was this never a thing? Did I misunderstand Romeo and Juliet laws, which we don't have? Is my mind regressing to a 16 year old state?? I'm so confused. Thanks for reading... I guess?
Financial_Stress_557@reddit
Dude I'm totally with you. I fully remember the law being exactly as you have described it and it had nothing to do with being in a position of power like people are saying.
The way I know the law to be says 16/17 year olds can consent to each other, but once you are 18+ you are classed as an adult, and a child can't consent to sleeping with an adult. So an 18/19 year old sleeping with a 16 year old would be illegal.
Looking online at the law now tells me this isn't the case and I'm flabbergasted.
ZWE_Punchline@reddit (OP)
Exactly!!! I'm still so confused about this year's later. Not to mention the way you described it just sounds... better than what the reality is lol
It does NOT feel good to have been Mandela Effect'd by age of consent laws. Not how I want to wake up every day.
RedEnergy92@reddit
The age of consent is usually 18 in most countries
New_Illustrator_8415@reddit
So did u do it?
ZWE_Punchline@reddit (OP)
I quite specifically said in my post that I had no intention of sleeping with any 16 year olds and that this was hypothetical.
Main_Park8324@reddit
No that's Inappropriate am pretty sure most 16 year olds want to date people their own age
ZWE_Punchline@reddit (OP)
I know it's inappropriate, I was asking if it's legal - and if so, why the fuck it is.
AccomplishedKoala97@reddit
It’s legal in the UK for any individual 16 years old to have a sexual relationship/encounter with anyone who is also 16 and over (exceptions being anyone in a position of power, like a teacher). As to why, well, that’s a complicated issue because generally in the UK 16-year-olds are seen as adults. For example, you can work and pay taxes at 16; also, you can now vote and join the army. My local zoo charges adult prices at 16, as do many other establishments. You can legally move out of your parents’ home without their permission. Also, if you don’t go to college, your parents won’t be in any legal trouble, as they would have had you been in school, so the implication is you are an adult, but people generally don’t agree and think 18 is an adult, but as I say, the way the UK treats 16-year-olds is definitely from an early adult perspective.
Main_Park8324@reddit
Ok listen even tho it's legal in almost usa state unless it's the one wirh 18 as age of consent it's a 9 year age gap... that's a hard no
Main_Park8324@reddit
If someone finds out that a 25-year-old is dating a 16-year-old, CPS (Child Protective Services) might get involved.
Ill_Chocolate_5152@reddit
???????????
Ill_Chocolate_5152@reddit
Um no
scifisam2020@reddit
There are extra laws regarding people who are in position of care/responsibility over someone, so a teacher having sex with their own student at the age age of 16 is illegal, but them having sex with a 16-year-old they don't have that role with is not illegal.
It has been prosecuted a few times, and there was that infamous case where the teacher and his student went on the run together. You might be thinking about that or some of the discussion that went on around then - it was a fairly big story and I was a bit baffled by how many people thought it was fine.
Lots of other countries have Romeo and Juliet laws and I think they're a good idea, but we don't have them in the UK. And 25 to 16 would be quite a way beyond most Romeo and Juliet laws - they're usually a couple of years, four at most.
In reality the CPS can choose whether to prosecute, and if the older person was under 18 and the younger person was close to 16, and they were both consenting, then they'd usually consider it "not in the public interest" to prosecute purely on the basis of age. Usually, not always.
BrickOk9262@reddit
that teacher was a mineral, to this day I'm confused 😭😂😭
AnselaJonla@reddit
That's a "Romeo & Juliet" or "close in age" law, which the UK doesn't have. It's a thing in some American states, along with age of consent being irrelevant if you marry the child first.
BrickOk9262@reddit
ew 😭
ZWE_Punchline@reddit (OP)
Wait so anyone over 16 can have sex with a 16 year old? I know the laws different for explicit material, but that feels... like an oversight for some reason.
PathAdvanced2415@reddit
I think you’re talking about grooming laws? I’m a teacher, and we have to report any pupil relationships with an age gap larger than 2 years. So 6th form can’t date Yr 10, etc.
hogger85@reddit
Yep there is an odd.thing where you can consentially do whatever you in person but if film it then going to jail
Saturnuria@reddit
Don’t take this as gospel but I thought the age of consent was 16 unless the older person was in a position of trust or authority, such as a teacher, in which case it’s 18 I think what qualifies as a position of authority is purposely left vague.
That said, even if a 25 year old can legally sleep with a 16 year old, it doesn’t make it a good idea.
BrickOk9262@reddit
this is how I understand the law. just if it's q trusted adult they can't sleep with someone 16-18
Specific_Tap7296@reddit
So, you're saying "unwise but not illegal"
SirTimmons@reddit
Alright Phil
ZWE_Punchline@reddit (OP)
This is news to me. Alright, well thanks for letting me know. Maybe porn made me think it was 18...
MissionBee7895@reddit
Most American media pretends it's 18, because it's 18 in California, so as a result people get this idea into their heads that it's 18 worldwide. But most of the world (including most US states) has the age of consent lower than 16.
ieya404@reddit
You need to be 18 to legally appear in porn, so that's maybe what you're thinking of.
AgentOfASignal@reddit
So here's a fun story for you. I did teacher training a couple of years ago, and they told us about this, and told us that it didn't used to be the case. They told us the story of a teacher who was going out with a 6th Form girl, and they couldn't do anything because at the time he hadn't broken any rules.
LondonCycling@reddit
This is basically the answer.
It effectively defines a position of trust as being regular coaching, training, instructing, supervising, or teaching a 16-17 year old in a statutory setting. Note the use of the word regular there. Statutory setting is also important as it doesn't apply to every situation.
In England and Wales, it is a statutory setting, plus sport or religion (which was an addition made about a year ago).
Some charities like NYA and NSPCC would like it expanded to cover more types of setting.
There's also a bunch of exceptions, e.g. where the two people are married, or where the relationship predates the position of trust.
RumJackson@reddit
Rule of thumb “half your age plus seven”
19.5 yr olds as a minimum if you’re 25.
OkTry4424@reddit
While popularly mentioned, that's a ridiculous rule that borders on incel thinking when you break it down.
RumJackson@reddit
If you say so. I’ve never bothered giving it much thought
OkTry4424@reddit
Fair enough.
Apologies for the weirdos who've downvoted you. Wonder what they're trying to hide? Note they didn't even have the guts to reply...
RumJackson@reddit
Lol it’s only downvotes, I’ll get over it some day don’t worry
OkTry4424@reddit
Oh yeah, no one cares about magic internet points, but it's what it represents - like I say, the "half your age plus 7" thing is a load of borderline-incel crap, but fair play, it is very commonly said, so people just repeat it.
But to hide your point so no one else can see it, and not even explain why, like I say it's very weird and I'd assume actual pedos are the ones doing it.
All_within_my_hands@reddit
This is one of those daft things that was said once and some people held onto it like it actually had any meaning.
rev9of8@reddit
Except where an individual is in position of trust, it is entirely lawful for a twenty-five year old to have sex with a sixteen year old.
What you may be thinking of is the law as it was prior to the Sexual Offences Act 2003 coming into force as it pertained to offences involving an older child - that being a child of thirteen years or older.
Under the legislation as is currently in force, it is a defence to a charge pertaining to sexual activity with an older child that the accused had a reasonable belief that the child was sixteen years of age or older. This defence applies regardless of the age of the accused.
However, if memory serves, under the 1956 Act - which the 2003 Act largely replaced - that defence relating to sexual activity with an older girl (s6 of the Act) was only available where the accused was under twenty-four years of age, if memory serves. If the accused was older than twenty four then the reasonable belief that the child was over sixteen was not a defence.
s6(3) of the 1956 Act states:
SpaTowner@reddit
You might be thinking of the rules below the age of 16. This site has a precis of them for Scotland, I assume they have equivalent rules in rest of uk, but that’s not a certainty.
HopAlongInHongKong@reddit
You might be thinking about sex for money vs. sex at the age of consent. Which is 18 vs. 16 in the UK. Other than teachers, etc.
It may also be illegal to pay for sex with a person between 16-18 in other countries which could be prosecuted in the UK despite it happening elsewhere.
Appletwirls@reddit
Not according to the media
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