Name(s):
Relaxation of legal restrictions on under-age sex
Legalization of adolescent sex
Active prejudice towards juvenile sexual relations
Nature
In Western society there is enormous peer pressure, reinforced by films, TV, magazines and advertising, on 13- or 14-year-olds or younger to become sexually active. Children, in the vulnerable age between physical maturity and emotional immaturity, are increasingly confused and disoriented. The concern is that if the law also endorses a downward trend in sexual activity, a culture will be produced where children have no innocence.
Incidence
In 1990, the Dutch Parliament approved legislation which reduced to 12 the age of consenting adolescents to legally have sex with one another. This is the lowest of all European countries. Twelve European countries have an age of consent which is 14 or lower for both heterosexual and homosexual relationships.
Claim
There is inevitable potential for abuse in reducing the age of consent. An unscrupulous mother could allow her 12 year-old daughter to become a prostitute, for example.