Male homosexual acts have been decriminalized in Gibraltar since 1993, when the age of consent was higher at 18 for homosexuals and 16 for lesbians and heterosexuals. Anal sex was still illegal for heterosexuals. The equal age of consent at 16 and the legalization of heterosexual intercourse occurred due to a Supreme Court decision in 2011. [158] In 2011, the Non-Gender-Based Crimes Act 2011 introduced an equal and neutral age of consent of 16 and legalized anal sex for heterosexuals – reflecting the Gibraltar Supreme Court decision and repealing and updating Gibraltar`s 140-year-old criminal laws. [157] Under the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 2003, it is a criminal offence to buy liquor or someone for you if you are under 18 years of age. It is also a criminal offence for you to drink alcohol unless you are in a private apartment and have your parents` consent. Prior to the independence of the Irish Free State in 1922, the law in Ireland was that of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (see History of the United Kingdom). Anal sex was illegal under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, while the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 criminalised the “desecration of a girl between the ages of thirteen and sixteen”, with harsher penalties for “desecration of girls under thirteen years of age”. The 1930 Carrigan Report on the Sexual Abuse of Children and Prostitution of Minors recommended raising the age of consent to 18.
[51] The Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1935 raised the age to 17, with harsher penalties for those under 15, and prohibited advocacy of error. [52] The Child Sexual Abuse Act, including the age of consent, was the subject of a consultation paper in 1989[53] and a report[54] by the Law Reform Commission (LRC). He recommended that near-age cases remain criminalized, but with softer sentencing guidelines. He also recommended greater awareness of age limits. [59] [60] Most of the changes were implemented in 2017, although the age of consent remained at 17. There is no legislation regulating the piercing and tattooing of bodies. As a result, there is no legal age at which you can get a piercing or tattoo. The Ottoman Empire, a predecessor state of the Republic of Turkey, decriminalized homosexuality in 1858. The age of consent in Turkey was set at 15 in the 1926 Penal Code for heterosexual and homosexual relations, but this was changed in 1953. The age of consent was still 15, but only in some cases 18. [136] The new 2004 Penal Code sets the age of consent for heterosexual and homosexual relations at 18 and non-penetrative sexual interference at 15, with some differences, such as .dem sexual intercourse with a minor over 15 who is punished if a complaint is filed. The age of consent in Estonia is 14 years, according to Article 145 of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Estonia (sexual intercourse or other sexual acts with a child), which states: “Any adult who has sexual intercourse with a person under 14 years of age shall be punished by up to 5 years` imprisonment.” [24] The concept of age classification used in Canada, for example, does not exist in the Maltese legal system, and sexual activity between a 15-year-old partner and a 16-year-old partner may constitute a stain on minors, depending on the circumstances, without exception permitted solely because of their age.Historically, the age of consent in the Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula was generally twelve years. In 1995, a new penal code was introduced in Spain, setting the age of consent at 12 for all sexual acts, but it was raised to 13 in 1999 and 16 in 2015. [124] [126] Any sexual intercourse outside of marriage is illegal and, therefore, the only legitimate consent that can be given for sexual relations is consent between a husband and a wife. Canon 1083 of the 1983 Code of Canon Law states: “A man before reaching the age of sixteen and a woman before she has reached the age of fourteen may not contract a valid marriage.” [169] The age of consent in Italy is 14 and increases to 16 if one participant holds 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). Before 2013, the legal age of consent in Croatia was 14.
Homosexual acts were illegal until 1977, when Croatia, then the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, amended its penal code. The age of consent was changed in 1998. The general provision regarding the age of consent in Greece is 15 years, in accordance with Articles 339 and 337 and 348B of the Greek Criminal Code. In 2015, along with the legalization of same-sex civil partnerships, Article 347 was repealed, which provided for an additional ban on seducing a man under the age of 17 if the actor is an adult male, bringing the age of consent for homosexual acts into line. [41] 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. A person over the age of 21 may have sexual intercourse with a person who is 14 years of age or older, but not yet 16 years of age, provided that his or her inability to self-determine sexually is not exploited. If this is the case, the youngest person should file a complaint against the person over 21 years of age in order to take legal action. Sexual acts performed without consent or with violence in any situation are illegal. In 1994, Conservative MP Edwina Currie introduced a second reading amendment to the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 to lower the age of consent for homosexual acts to 16, similar to that for heterosexual acts; The amendment was rejected by 308 votes to 280.
A compromise amendment lowering the age of consent to 18 was adopted by 427 votes to 162. During the readings, there were also motions to equalize the age of consent for all at 17, to leave the age of consent for homosexual acts at 21, and another attempt to lower the age of consent to 16, all of which were rejected. [ref. needed] The law also protects people in certain situations where they are more vulnerable or unable to say “no.” For example, a person cannot give appropriate consent if they: While most European countries set the age of consent at 16-17, several others, including Malta and Vatican City, require young people to be at least 18 years old before legally having sex. The lowest age of consent in Europe is 14, which applies in Austria, Italy, Serbia, Germany and Portugal. 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.
