Legal Age of Gay Consent in Spain
Neither the European Union nor the Council of Europe has proposed a specific age of consent and no effort has been made to harmonise the age in member States. However, most countries in Europe now have binding legal obligations regarding the sexual abuse of children under the age of 18. The Lanzarote Convention, ratified by all Council of Europe member states from 2021[1] and entered into force in 2011, obliges ratifying countries to criminalise certain acts committed by children under the age of 18, such as the involvement of these children in prostitution and pornography. Other acts that must be criminalized include: The age of consent in the Philippines is 12, one of the youngest in the world. Sexual activity with a person under the age of 12 is considered legal rape and will be punished as such. The age of consent is raised to 18 for acts involving coercion, prostitution, violence, threats or intimidation. The vast majority of sexual offences legislation in England and Wales is contained in the Sexual Offences Act 2003, which contains over 140 sections, about 70 of which relate directly to sexual offences. The main sections relating to sexual offences involving children are sections 5 to 15. Sections 5 to 8 largely replicate the adult offences in sections 1 to 4 – rape, penetration assault, sexual assault and incitement to engage in sexual acts without consent – and replace the refusal element if the victim is under 13 years of age – with higher maximum penalties in the latter two cases.
Sections 9 to 12 define crimes committed against a child under the age of 13 or a child under the age of 16 who the accused does not reasonably believe is 16 years of age or older. These offences are sexual acts with a child, i.e. sexual touching (the same actus reus as sexual assault); induce or induce a child to engage in sexual activity; [142] sexual activity in the presence of a child for sexual gratification; and getting a child to observe a sexual act, i.e. a third person or image, for sexual gratification. According to article 13, a lesser penalty of 5 years` imprisonment is imposed for these offences if they are committed by a person under 18 years of age. The age of consent for heterosexual acts in England was set at 12 in 1275 during the reign of Edward I. The wording read: “It is considered illegal to vandalize a girl who is under the legal age” – at the time, “the legal age” was 12 years old. Therefore, technically speaking, there was no age of consent for the male participant. English law became applicable in Wales by virtue of the laws of Wales (1536 and 1543).
In medieval Welsh law, there was no real equivalent of the age of consent as such, but a girl was marriageable between the ages of 12 and 14 (the onset of puberty) and a fine was due for forcibly taking a girl`s life; The rules varied by status and may not have been rigidly applied to citizens. [147] Until 1961, homosexual acts were illegal. After decriminalization, the age of consent for homosexual acts was 20 and remained so until 1978. Until 1999, the age of consent to such acts was set at 18 years, in accordance with article 199. In 2002, the Hungarian Constitutional Court repealed Article 199 and the age of consent for homosexual acts was lowered to 14 for heterosexual acts. Hate speech based on both sexual orientation and gender identity has been banned since 1995. [66] In addition, under the National Hate Crime Act, crimes motivated by, among other things, the sexual orientation or gender identity of the victim carry additional legal sanctions. If the deception is used to obtain the consent of a minor under sixteen (16) years of age, a person may be charged under section 183 of the Criminal Code upon complaint by the parents. Japan has several overlapping laws that deal with the age of consent. As a result, the age of consent varies considerably across the country. The three main laws that define the age of consent in Japan are the Japanese Penal Code, the Obscene Minors Laws, and the Civil Code. Each sets different guidelines for determining when sexual activity is acceptable.
To add to the confusion, some of these guidelines apply to all of Japan, while others apply only to a subset of Japan`s 47 administrative regions or prefectures. Adoption by same-sex couples has been legal throughout Spain since July 2005. Some Spanish autonomous communities had already legalized such adoptions, including Navarra in 2000, the Basque Country in 2003, Aragon in 2004, Catalonia in 2005 and Cantabria in 2005. [47] [48] In addition, same-sex couples from Asturias, Andalusia and Extremadura could jointly initiate proceedings on behalf of children placed temporarily or permanently. Asia and Oceania: Last year, South Korea raised the age of consent from 13 to 16 “to strengthen the protection of minors after the existing sex crimes law was too weak,” RTE reported. The Philippines was also urged to raise the age of consent to 12, with a bill currently before Parliament to raise it to 16. In Japan, the age of consent is low at 13, although some communities, such as Tokyo, prohibit sexual activity before the age of 18 in most cases. In mainland China, the minimum age is 14, in Hong Kong, it increases to 16. In all Australian territories, the age of consent is 16, except in South Australia and Tasmania, where it is 17. In India, there are 18, while some strict Muslim countries like Malaysia prohibit same-sex relationships at any age. Previously, the age of consent was set at 14 years under Article 153 of the Criminal Code of Lithuania, which prohibits sexual harassment or sexual relations with minors under the age of 14.
However, the age of consent (14 years) has not been directly established in this article of the Criminal Code of Lithuania. It was established by Lithuanian case law. This meant that heterosexual and homosexual acts were allowed once a child reached the age of 14. There was (and remains) an exception to this rule: Article 151 (1) (3) of the Criminal Code of Lithuania prohibits parents, guardians or other persons directly responsible for the upbringing and supervision of a child from having sexual relations with the child if the child has not yet reached the age of 18. [69] The age of consent in Europe, Asia or other continents varies by country and territory. The age of consent is between 12 and 21 years, with most countries between 14 and 16 years. Nearly a dozen countries, including Iran, Qatar, Yemen and Afghanistan, completely ban premarital sex but have no age restrictions on marital sex. Several other countries have an age of consent above 16, including Cyprus (17), Ireland (17), Turkey (18), Iraq (18), Vietnam (18) and Bahrain (21). In addition, some countries provide for age-related exceptions, others do not. Many countries, states or territories also have “close-in-age” exceptions, commonly known as “Romeo and Juliet” clauses. These laws can eliminate legal liability if all participants in a sexual act are minors (for example, two 16-year-olds).