Editing Age of consent (section)

==Other issues==

===Gender of participants===
There is debate as to whether the gender of those involved should lead to different treatment of the sexual encounter, in law or in practice. Traditionally, age of consent laws regarding vaginal intercourse were often meant to protect the chastity of unmarried girls.<ref name="chnm.gmu.edu"/> Many feminists and social campaigners in the 1970s have objected to the social importance of virginity, and have also attempted to change the stereotypes of female passivity and male aggression; demanding that the law protect children from exploitation regardless of their gender, rather than dealing with concerns of chastity. This has led to gender-neutral laws in many jurisdictions.<ref name="chnm.gmu.edu"/> On the other hand, there is an opposing view which argues that the act of vaginal intercourse is an "unequal act" for males and females, due to issues such as pregnancy, increased risk of STDs,<ref>UNFPA writes that "Biologically, women's risk of acquiring sexually transmitted infections during unprotected sexual relations is two to four times that of men."[http://www.unfpa.org/resources/giving-special-attention-girls-and-adolescents] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150707005611/http://www.unfpa.org/resources/giving-special-attention-girls-and-adolescents|date=7 July 2015}}</ref> and risk of physical injury if the girl is too young and not physically ready. In the US, in ''[[Michael M. v. Superior Court of Sonoma County|Michael M. v. Superior Ct.450 U.S. 464 (1981)]]'' it was ruled that the double standard of offering more legal protection to girls is valid because "the Equal Protection Clause does not mean that the physiological differences between men and women must be disregarded".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/450/464/case.html|title=Michael M. v. Superior Ct. :: 450 U.S. 464 (1981) :: Justia U.S. Supreme Court Center|work=Justia Law|access-date=29 June 2015}}</ref>

Traditionally, many age of consent laws dealt primarily with men engaging in sexual acts with underage girls and boys (the latter acts often falling under [[sodomy]] and [[buggery]] laws). This means that in some legal systems, issues of women having sexual contact with underage partners were rarely acknowledged. For example, until 2000, in the UK, before the [[Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000]], there was no statutory age of consent for [[lesbian]] sex.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/1045383.stm|title=BBC News—UK—Q and A: The age of consent|publisher=BBC News|date=29 November 2000|access-date=29 June 2015}}</ref> In [[New Zealand]], before 2005, there were no age of consent laws dealing with women having sex with underage boys.<ref>"In respect of sexual conduct with a young person aged under 16, the bill [Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2) which became law in 2005 [http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/legislation/bills/00DBHOH_BILL5923_1/crimes-amendment-bill-no-2] significantly toughens the law. The loophole protecting women against being charged with sexual offending against children is removed".{{cite web |date=12 April 2005 |title=Crimes Amendment Bill (No 2) – Second Reading, Instruction to Committee, In Committee |url=http://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/debates/debates/47HansD_20050414_00000206/crimes-amendment-bill-no-2-%E2%80%94-second-reading-instruction |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150609123151/https://www.parliament.nz/en-nz/pb/debates/debates/47HansD_20050414_00000206/crimes-amendment-bill-no-2-%E2%80%94-second-reading-instruction |archive-date=9 June 2015 |access-date=8 June 2015 |website=parliament.nz}}</ref> Previously, in Fiji, male offenders of child sexual abuse could receive up to life imprisonment, whilst female offenders would receive up to seven years.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304495447|last1=Whitehead|first1=John|last2=Roffee|first2=James|title=Child Sexual Abuse in Fiji: Authority, Risk Factors and Responses}}</ref> Situations like these have been attributed to societal views on traditional [[gender roles]], and to constructs of [[male sexuality]] and [[female sexuality]]; according to E Martellozzo, "[V]iewing females as perpetrators of sexual abuse goes against every stereotype that society has of women: women as mothers and caregivers and not as people who abuse and harm".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cybercrimejournal.com/elenaetal2010ijcc.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.cybercrimejournal.com/elenaetal2010ijcc.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|title=Online child sexual abuse by female offenders: An Exploratory study|publisher=International Journal of Cyber Criminology|last1=Martellozzo|first1=Elena|last2=Nehring|first2=Daniel|last3=Taylor|first3=Helen|date=2010|access-date=25 August 2015}}</ref> [[Alissa Nutting]] argues that women are not acknowledged as perpetrators of sex crimes because society does not accept that women have an autonomous sexuality of their own.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cultmagazine.com.au/2014/08/festival-dangerous-ideas-top-10/ |title=CULT Magazine FESTIVAL OF DANGEROUS IDEAS TOP 10|work=CULT Magazine |access-date=29 June 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150609123104/http://cultmagazine.com.au/2014/08/festival-dangerous-ideas-top-10/ |archive-date=9 June 2015}}</ref>

===Marriage and the age of consent===
{{Main|Marriageable age|Child marriage}}<!-- Please note that this section is a summary of another article and should reflect that article's current state. Do not add any extra information here, rather edit the alternate article and then summarize that article here. -->
The age at which a person can be legally married can differ from the age of consent. In jurisdictions where the marriageable age is lower than the age of consent, those laws usually override the age of consent laws in the case of a married couple where one or both partners are below the age of consent. Some jurisdictions prohibit all sex outside of marriage irrespective of age, as in the case of [[Yemen]].<ref>{{Citation|last=Power |first=Carla |author-link=Carla Power |title=Nujood Ali & Shada Nasser win "Women of the Year Fund 2008 Glamour Award" |work=Yemen Times|date=12 August 2009 |url=http://www.yementimes.com/DefaultDET.aspx?i=1207&p=report&a=1 |access-date=6 February 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110405190616/http://www.yementimes.com/DefaultDET.aspx?i=1207&p=report&a=1 |archive-date=5 April 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{Citation|author =Human Rights Watch| title= World Report 2001|chapter= Yemen: Human Rights Developments | publisher= Human Rights Watch | year=2001 | chapter-url= https://www.hrw.org/wr2k1/mideast/yemen.html | access-date=8 April 2010| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100615214816/http://www.hrw.org/wr2k1/mideast/yemen.html| archive-date=15 June 2010| url-status= live}}</ref>

===Prostitution===
{{Main|Prostitution of children}}<!-- Please note that this section is a summary of another article and should reflect that article's current state. Do not add any extra information here, rather edit the alternate article and then summarize that article here. -->
In many countries, there are specific laws dealing with child prostitution.{{citation needed|date=August 2015}}

===Pornography and "jailbait" images<span id="Pornography and 'jailbait' images"></span>===
{{Main|Child pornography|Jailbait images}}<!-- Please note that this section is a summary of another article and should reflect that article's current state. Do not add any extra information here, rather edit the alternate article and then summarize that article here. -->

In some countries, states, or other jurisdictions, the age of consent may be lower than the age at which a person can appear in [[pornography|pornographic]] images and films. In many jurisdictions, the minimum age for participation and even viewing such material is 18. As such, in some jurisdictions, films and images showing individuals under the age of 18, but above the age of consent, that meet the legal definition of [[child pornography]] are prohibited despite the fact that the sexual acts depicted are legal to engage in otherwise under that jurisdiction's age of consent laws. In those cases, it is only the filming of the sex act that is the crime as the act itself would not be considered a sex crime. For example, in the United States under federal law it is a crime to film minors below 18 in sexual acts, even in states where the age of consent is below 18.<ref name="SOLR" /> In those states, charges such as child pornography can be used to prosecute someone having sex with a minor, who could not otherwise be prosecuted for statutory rape, provided they filmed or photographed the act.<ref>{{cite news|last=Brilliant |first=Jeremy |title=New Castle detective resigns over child porn charges |url=http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=10854092&nav=9Tai |access-date=25 May 2012 |newspaper=wthr.com Eyewitness News |date=5 August 2009 |location=Henry County |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130524173904/http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=10854092&nav=9Tai |archive-date=24 May 2013 }}</ref>

[[Jailbait images]] can be differentiated from child pornography, as they do not feature minors before the onset of puberty, nor do they contain nudity.<ref name=boost>{{cite news|last=Morris |first=Kevin |title=Anderson Cooper boosts visibility of teen-girl pics |url=http://www.dailydot.com/society/anderson-cooper-reddit-jailbait-traffic/ |access-date=12 June 2014 |newspaper=[[The Daily Dot]] |date=3 October 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304195251/http://www.dailydot.com/society/anderson-cooper-reddit-jailbait-traffic/ |archive-date=4 March 2016 }}</ref><ref name=AlfonsoIII>{{cite news|last=Alfonso III|first=Fernando|title=A free-speech haven wrestles with violent images|url=http://www.dailydot.com/society/reddit-beatingwomen-misogyny-images/|access-date=12 June 2014|newspaper=[[The Daily Dot]]|date=11 August 2011}}</ref> The images are, however, usually sexualized,<ref name=boost /> often featuring [[Tween (demographic)|tween]] or young teenagers in bikinis, skirts,<ref name=gawk>{{cite news|last=Chen |first=Adrian |title=Unmasking Reddit's Violentacrez, The Biggest Troll on the Web |url=http://gawker.com/5950981/unmasking-reddits-violentacrez-the-biggest-troll-on-the-web |access-date=12 June 2014 |newspaper=[[Gawker]] |date=12 October 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121012213707/http://gawker.com/5950981/unmasking-reddits-violentacrez-the-biggest-troll-on-the-web |archive-date=12 October 2012 }}</ref> underwear or lingerie.<ref name=pcmag>{{cite web |url=https://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2391317,00.asp |title=Reddit Closes 'Jailbait' Pic Site, Allows Others to Remain |last1=Hachman |first1=Mark |date=10 August 2011 |work=[[PC Magazine]] |access-date=12 June 2014}}</ref> Whether or not these images are legal is debated. When questioned regarding their legality legal analyst [[Jeffrey Toobin]] stated he thought it was not illegal, though legal expert [[Sunny Hostin]] was more skeptical, describing jailbait images as "borderline" child pornography which may be illegal.<ref name=mediaite>{{cite web |url=http://www.mediaite.com/tv/anderson-cooper-excoriates-reddit-for-creepy-jailbait-section/ |title=Anderson Cooper Excoriates Reddit For 'Creepy' Jailbait Section |last1=Crugnale |first1=James |date=30 September 2011 |work=[[Mediaite]] |access-date=12 June 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2012/10/18/us/internet-troll-apology/ |title=Man behind 'Jailbait' posts exposed, loses job |last1=Fitzpatrick |first1=David |last2=Griffin |first2=Drew |date=19 October 2012 |publisher=[[CNN]] |access-date=12 June 2014}}</ref>

===Health===
{{See also|Sexual intercourse#Health effects}}
The human [[immune system]] continues to develop after puberty.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/524225_4|title=Medscape: Medscape Access|access-date=29 June 2015}}</ref> The age of exposure has an influence upon if the immune system can fend off infections in general, and this is also true in the case of some [[Sexually transmitted infection|sexually transmitted diseases]]. For example, a risk factor for [[HPV]] strains causing [[genital wart]]s is sexual debut at a young age;<ref name="ncbi.nlm.nih.gov">{{cite journal|pmc=4018629 |title=Men's beliefs about HPV-related disease|journal=Journal of Behavioral Medicine|volume=33|issue=4|pages=274–281|year=2010|last1=Brewer|first1=N. T.|last2=Ng|first2=T. W.|last3=McRee|first3=A. L.|last4=Reiter|first4=P. L.|doi=10.1007/s10865-010-9251-2|pmid=20162346}}</ref> if this extends to the cancer causing strains, then sexual debut at a young age would potentially also increase risk of persistence of HPV infections that cause the very [[Human papillomavirus#Cancer|HPV induced cancers]] that are being diagnosed in spiking numbers of relatively young people.<ref name="ncbi.nlm.nih.gov"/>