Article 375 states: “A man commits `rape` who, except as excluded below, has sexual intercourse with a woman in circumstances falling within one of the five descriptions below. Fifthly. With or without her consent if she is under 14 years of age.”[32] The age of consent in Turkey is the age of majority (set at 18 years in accordance with Article 11 of the Turkish Civil Code). Part of the momentum that the women`s rights movement has created is beginning to produce political-legal dividends. Islamabad`s Supreme Court ruled this month that the legal age for girls to marry will be 18, not lower. In a country where even child marriage is not uncommon, this decision has the potential to change the lives of young women for the better. The legal age of consent to sexual activity varies across jurisdictions in Asia, ranging from 9 years (Yemen) to 21 years (Hong Kong in terms of women having sex). The specific activity or gender of the participants may also be relevant factors. Below is a discussion of the various laws that deal with this issue. Highlighted age refers to an age at or above which a person can have full sexual intercourse with another person who is also at that age or above. Other variables, such as same-sex relationships or near-age exceptions, may exist and may be noted, for example in Indonesia. The de facto age of consent for heterosexual relations in Malaysia is 18 for both sexes, as homosexual activity is illegal in Malaysia.
More complicated is the fact that under Pakistani law, legal adulthood is set at the age of 18 when citizens are entitled to a national identity card, register as voters and obtain a driver`s license. Technically, you are considered a child before 18, but you can be married at 16 without getting a national ID card, which is mandatory for marriage! As stipulated in Section 279 of the Thai Penal Code, the age of consent in Thailand is 15 years, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. However, the follow-up law added a number of additional caveats. The Penal Code of Bangladesh provides that the age of consent is set at 14 years, but it is superseded by the above-mentioned Act. [31] The age of consent in Tajikistan is 16, as stipulated in article 141 of the Criminal Code. The penalty is 2 to 5 years` imprisonment. [22] In South Korea, sexual activity with a person under the age of 16 (not the “Korean age” at the international age) is considered legal rape unless the other party is under the age of 19. Sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 16 is considered legal rape in all circumstances. Prior to 2020, the age of consent in South Korea was 13, as set by Japan under colonial rule. [17] The age of consent in Germany is 14. Prosecution for legal rape (or local equivalent) can result in a prison sentence of 6 months to 10 years.
The age of consent in Germany is 14 if both partners are under 18. Sexual acts with a person under the age of 18 are punishable if the adult is an authority figure over the minor in education, education, care or employment. Finally, note that the age of consent laws, which aim to combat the sexual exploitation of minors, are not the same as the minimum age of marriage, which aim to prevent child marriage. Now let`s take a closer look at the age of consent in some countries. Any sexual activity outside of marriage is illegal in Yemen. Until recently, Yemeni law set the age of consent at 15. However, this law has been abolished. Now, “Yemeni law allows girls of any age to marry, but it prohibits sexual relations with them until they are fit to have sex indefinitely.” [122] In 1999, the minimum age of fifteen marriages for women, which was rarely applied, was abolished; The onset of puberty, interpreted by the ulema as the age of nine, was set as a prerequisite for consummation of marriage. [123] The age of consent in Russia is 16. However, as in many countries, the age of consent in Russia has changed several times. The Criminal Code of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) stipulates that consent takes place at the time when “sexual maturity” has been reached. It was set at 16 years in 1996 when the Russian Criminal Code was introduced, lowered to 14 years in 1998 and postponed to 16 years in 2003.
In Russia, there is no law on age limits. However, articles 134 and 135 of the Criminal Code, which set out the conditions for legal rape, stipulate that the perpetrator must be at least 18 years of age to be legally responsible, creating roughly the same protection as an age clause. Pakistan is a party to several international conventions aimed at protecting the right of religious minorities to educate their children in their own faith. A legitimate question is, then, whether the Muslim rule of puberty as the age of consent to marriage should also apply to non-Muslims? There is a growing international consensus that child marriage must be eradicated, but international conventions have not been able to grant a minimum age for marriage and have largely left this to member states. The age of consent in Italy is 14 years and increases to 16 years if one participant occupies a position of authority or influence over the other (teacher, clergyman, etc.). In addition, it is illegal to engage in sexual acts if a person under the age of 14 is present to observe them, even if the minor does not participate. Sexual activity with a prostitute under the age of 18 is illegal in Italy. In addition, Italy has an age limit rule that allows 13-year-olds to legally consent to partners under three years older (or less).
Even if the age of consent is 15, the offender can only be charged and prosecuted if a complaint is filed with law enforcement authorities. An exception to this law is if the age of the victim is less than 12 years old or in certain circumstances such as assault or incest. Pakistan has no legal age for consent, as marriage is required by law before sexual intercourse is allowed. If there is no age limit for marriage, there is indeed no age of consent between married persons. Most importantly, sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 16 is legal rape. In 2006, the offence of rape was redefined by an amendment. Marital rape, although not explicitly included in the definition of rape, is now part of the criminal offence of rape. Previously, rape was defined as a crime committed by a man against a woman who was not his wife. The reservation concerning the wife has been deleted. Subsequent sexual intercourse with a woman under the age of 16 constitutes rape with or without her consent. The law provides an explanation for this: “This corresponds both to the need to protect the weak, which the Qur`an repeatedly emphasizes, and to the norms of international legal obligations.” The Japanese Penal Code (1907) sets the national age of consent at 13 years.
[73] Article 176 (“Violent Indecency”) provides for a prison sentence of 6 months to 10 years for “immoral acts” against men and women under the age of 13, and Article 177 (“Rape”) provides for a minimum penalty of 3 years for sexual intercourse with women under the age of 13. [74] In 2017, section 177[75] was amended to clarify vaginal and oral sex and extended to all persons (men and women) under the age of 13. With this amendment, the minimum prison sentence was also increased from 3 years to 5 years. [76] According to Israel`s 1977 Penal Code, the age of consent in Israel is 16, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, for any form of sexual intercourse involving penetration (unless the person over 16 is the one being penetrated – in which case the age of consent is 14). In all cases where penetration is not involved, the age of consent is 14 years (for heterosexual and homosexual activities). A special case occurs when a person has had sexual intercourse with an elderly partner at the age of 14 or 15; In this case, the older partner would be exempted from criminal responsibility if three conditions are met: the age difference between the partners was less than three years, the younger partner gave consent, and the act is the result of “regular friendly relations” and without abuse of power. [ref. needed] The age of consent in the United States varies from state to state between 16 and 18 years.
Sexual activity with a partner who is under the legal age in that jurisdiction is considered legal rape. In some jurisdictions, sexual activity between underage participants may also be considered legal rape. The age of marriage is 16. Before this age, marriage requires the approval of the Sharia Court of the State of Bahrain. [1]. The minimum age for marrying without the permission of the girl`s father or guardian is 21. [28] But the question remains: if Sharia clearly states that the age of consent is puberty, then any law that sets a different age is, of course, anti-Islamic. Similarly, of course, we have laws in Pakistan that punish underage marriages (which, as mentioned above, do not really invalidate the marriage itself).