Editing Age of consent (section)

===Traditional attitudes===
In traditional societies, the age of consent for a sexual union was a matter for the family to decide, or a tribal custom. In most cases, this coincided with signs of [[puberty]], [[menstruation]] for a woman, and [[pubic hair]] for a man.<ref name="Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and Society, A-Ar, Age of Consent">{{cite encyclopedia |last=Bullough |first=Vern L. |author-link=Vern Bullough |entry=Age of Consent |pages=45–47 |url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofch0001unse/page/45 |title=Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and Society |volume=1: A-E |date=2004 |publisher=Macmillan Reference USA |isbn=0-02-865715-2}}</ref>

Reliable data for ages at marriage is scarce. In England, for example, the only reliable data in the early modern period comes from property records made after death. Not only were the records relatively rare, but not all bothered to record the participants' ages, and it seems that the more complete the records are, the more likely they are to reveal young marriages. Modern historians have sometimes shown reluctance to accept evidence of young ages of marriage, dismissing it as a 'misreading' by a later copier of the records.<ref name="Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and Society, A-Ar, Age of Consent"/>

In the 12th century, [[Gratian (jurist)|Gratian]], the influential compiler of [[canon law]] in [[medieval]] Europe, accepted the age of puberty for marriage to be around twelve for girls and around fourteen for boys but acknowledged consent to be meaningful if both children were older than seven years of age.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://faculty.cua.edu/Pennington/Canon%20Law/marriagelaw.htm |first=John |last=Noonan |date=1967 |website=[[Catholic University of America]] |title=Marriage Canons from the Decretum of Gratian and the Decretals, Sext, Clementines and Extravagantes |quote=If one over the age of seven takes a prepubescent wife of less than seven and transfers her to his house, such a contract gives rise to the impediment of public propriety. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160117042750/http://faculty.cua.edu/pennington/Canon%20Law/marriagelaw.htm |archive-date=17 January 2016 }}</ref> There were authorities that said that such consent for entering marriage could take place earlier. Marriage would then be valid as long as neither of the two parties annulled the marital agreement before reaching puberty, or if they had already consummated the marriage. Judges sometimes honored marriages based on mutual consent at ages younger than seven: in contrast to established canon, there are recorded marriages of two- and three-year-olds.<ref name="Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and Society, A-Ar, Age of Consent"/>

In China, Law Code of the {{interlanguage link|Qingyuan (reign)|lt=Qingyuan|ja|慶元|ko|경원 (남송)|zh|慶元 (年號)}} Reign ({{lang|zh|慶元條法事類}}), published in 1202 which catalogued laws that came into effect from 1127 to 1195, introduced statutory rape in the following decree: 'Successful intercourse with girls younger than 10 is considered rape in all circumstances, punishable by exile 3000 [[Li (unit)|li]] (miles) away into the uncivilized provinces; if the rape was unsuccessful, exile by 500 li; If injury occurs in process, death by hanging'.<ref>{{Cite web |title=庆元条法事类二十五 第52页 (图书馆) – 中国哲学书电子化计划 |url=https://ctext.org/library.pl?if=gb&res=2592&remap=gb |access-date=2023-08-31 |website=ctext.org |language=zh-CN}}</ref>

The first ''recorded'' age-of-consent law in Europe dates from 1275 in England; as part of its provisions on rape, the [[Statute of Westminster 1275]] made it a misdemeanor to "ravish" a "maiden within age," whether with or without her consent. The phrase "within age" was later interpreted by jurist Sir [[Edward Coke]] (England, 17th century) as meaning the age of marriage, which at the time was twelve years of age.<ref name="chnm.gmu.edu">{{cite web |title=Age of Consent Laws (Teaching Module) |last1=Robertson |first1=Stephen |url=https://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/teaching-modules/230.html |website=Children & Youth in History |publisher=[[Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media]] |access-date=26 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180715110242/https://chnm.gmu.edu/cyh/items/show/230 |archive-date=15 July 2018 |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

The Great Ming Code, 25th section, Criminal Code on Rape came into effect from 1373, raised the age of consent to 12 by stating 'girls younger than 12 lack rational sexual desires, therefore any intercourse with them is considered the same as rape and therefore punishable by death with hanging'.<ref>{{Cite web |title=大明律/25 – 维基文库，自由的图书馆 |url=https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E5%A4%A7%E6%98%8E%E5%BE%8B/25 |access-date=2023-08-31 |website=zh.wikisource.org |language=zh}}</ref>

The American colonies followed the English tradition, and the law was more of a guide. For example, Mary Hathaway (Virginia, 1689) was only nine when she was married to William Williams.<ref>{{Cite book|title=By birth or consent: children, law, and the Anglo-American revolution in authority.|last=Brewer|first=Holly|publisher=University of North Carolina Press|year=2012|isbn=978-0807829509|location=Chapel Hill, NC|pages=288|oclc = 958061287}}</ref> Sir Edward Coke "made it clear that the marriage of girls under 12 was normal, and the age at which a girl who was a wife was eligible for a [[dower]] from her husband's estate was 9 even though her husband be only four years old."<ref name="Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and Society, A-Ar, Age of Consent"/>

In the 16th century, a small number of Italian and German states set the minimum age for sexual intercourse for girls, setting it at twelve years. Towards the end of the 18th century, other European countries also began to enact similar laws. The first French Constitution of 1791 established the minimum age at eleven years. Portugal, Spain, Denmark and the Swiss cantons initially set the minimum age at ten to twelve years.<ref name="chnm.gmu.edu"/>

Age of consent laws were historically difficult to follow and enforce. Legal norms based on ''age'' were not, in general, common until the 19th century, because clear proof of exact age and precise date of birth were often unavailable.<ref name="chnm.gmu.edu"/>

In 18th-century Australia it was thought that children were inherently sinful and vulnerable to sexual temptations. Punishment for "giving in" to these temptations was generally left to parents and was not seen as a government matter, except in the case of rape.<ref name="aic">{{cite web|url=http://aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/special/007/Historical-review-sexual-offence-child-sexual-abuse.pdf|title=Historical review of sexual offence and child sexual abuse legislation in Australia: 1788–2013|publisher=Australian Institute of Criminology|last1=Boxall|first1=Hayley|last2=Tomison|first2=Adam M.|last3=Hulme|first3=Shann|date=2014|access-date=25 August 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150412095850/http://aic.gov.au/media_library/publications/special/007/Historical-review-sexual-offence-child-sexual-abuse.pdf|archive-date=12 April 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> Australian children had few rights and were legally considered the [[wikt:chattel|chattel]] of their parents.<ref name="aic"/> From the late 18th century, and especially in the 19th century, attitudes started to change. By the mid-19th century there was increased concern over child sexual abuse.<ref name="aic"/>