Ages of Consent in North America - Overview

Overview

The age of consent is the age at or above which a person is considered to have the legal capacity to consent to sexual activity. Both partners must be of legal age to give consent, although exceptions to the age of consent law exist in some jurisdictions when the minor and his/her partner are within a certain number of years in age or when a minor is married to his/her partner. Persons below the age of consent may not, by law, give consent, and sexual relations involving such persons may be punished by criminal sanctions similar to those for rape or sexual assault. Non-violent sexual contact with persons under the age of consent may be punished with varying degrees of severity, ranging from a misdemeanor, to a felony just as serious as rape in punishment.

In addition, many places have a higher age of consent if the older partner is in a position of authority over the young person such as being a teacher, working at her, being her manager, or her parent or stepparent. For example in Indiana the age of consent is 16 but it is illegal for a person over to have sex with anyone under 18 if they work at their school, are a parent or a stepparent, or are a person recruiting them to the military. In addition to this, many jurisdictions with an age of consent below the age of majority (i.e. 18) use charges such as corrupting the morals of a minor, child pornography, adultery, or fornication as alternatives in prosecuting people who have sex with minors over the age of consent.

Historically, the age of consent applied to male-female relationships; homosexual relationships were often illegal in themselves regardless of the ages. Modern laws have explicitly recognized different relationships, but the circumstances may affect the legal status, and there may be multiple "ages" that apply in any jurisdiction. For instance, different ages may apply if the relationship is homosexual, or if the sexual contact is other than vaginal intercourse. Also, different ages may apply if one partner is in a position of power or authority over the other (e.g., a teacher-student relationship).