Age of consent should be 13, says barrister

[Fiction]

A prominent barrister specialising in reproductive rights has called for the age of consent to be lowered to 13.

Barbara Hewson told online magazine Spiked that the move was necessary in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal to end the "persecution of old men".

She also said that complainants should no longer receive anonymity.

The NSPCC called her views "outdated and simply ill-informed" and said to hear them "from a highly experienced barrister simply beggars belief".

Her remarks come after a number of high-profile arrests over allegations of historical sexual offences in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal.

Among those to have been convicted is former BBC broadcaster Stuart Hall, who admitted 14 charges of indecently assaulting girls, including one aged nine, between 1967 and 1985.

Ms Hewson described Hall's crimes as "low-level misdemeanours" which "ordinarily... would not be prosecuted".

'Prurient charade'
"What we have here is the manipulation of the British criminal justice system to produce scapegoats on demand. It is a grotesque spectacle," she said.

"It's time to end this prurient charade, which has nothing to do with justice or the public interest."

She argues for an end to complainant anonymity, a strict statute of limitations to prevent prosecutions after a substantial amount of time has passed and a reduction in the age of consent to 13.

She said that "touching a 17-year-old's breast, kissing a 13-year-old, or putting one's hand up a 16-year-old's skirt" are not crimes comparable to gang rapes and murders and "anyone suggesting otherwise has lost touch with reality".

The NSPCC described crimes such as Hall's as "incredibly serious" and said that "to minimise and trivialise the impact of these offences for victims in this way is all but denying that they have in fact suffered abuse at all.

"Any suggestion of lowering the age of consent could put more young people at risk from those who prey on vulnerable young people."

It also argued that complainant anonymity should be maintained and that historical prosecutions should be allowed as "many who are abused are bullied, blackmailed and shamed into staying silent, often well into adulthood".

The Hardwicke chambers, where Ms Hewson works in London, said it dissociated itself from her comments.

In a statement, Hardwicke said: "We are shocked by the views expressed in Barbara Hewson's article in Spiked.

"We did not see or approve the article pre-publication and we completely dissociate ourselves from its content and any related views she may have expressed via social media or any other media outlets."

Full story at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22459815

Well personally I think that is nothing short of disgusting. When I first read this I thought it would be stuck up old man but no, it's a woman. I don't understand how a woman can have so little empathy for this subject, all in the name of protecting old men who did wrong in the first place and ruined innocent young girls lives.

[BebeFleur.]

It's 13!! People will argue: "I'm mature enough!" but most are not. At thirteen, you aren't prepared, you are in it for the moment. Many don't understand about STDs/pregnancy. I think 13 is far too young. That just encourages teen sex.

[Plane And Simple]

If you want to lower it, 16 is the lowest i'd go. 13 is waaaaay too low.

[Princess Ariel]

13 is far too low. It's fine where it is now.
13 year old don't understand the many risks that come with sex and how one night can change your whole life and evidently ruin your teenage life even more and this works with both boys and girls If they were to lower it, I'd say 16 or 17. At that age, they are much more mature and understand all the risks. But really, leave the age of consent where it is!

[Stronk Serb]

13 year old girls and boys are not even physically ready for sex. What the fuck does she think this is? I find it disgusting to encourage young teenager sex like this. If they are lowering it, at least lower it to 16. That is when both males and females should be physically ready, but not mentally. Most of them would not understand the consequences until it is too late.

[Troy35216]

i texted that to my friend (age of consent should be lowered to 13 says barrister) and he texted back "wtf do i care what some starbucks guy thinks about the age of consent?"

[xmojox]

i texted that to my friend (age of consent should be lowered to 13 says barrister) and he texted back "wtf do i care what some starbucks guy thinks about the age of consent?"

OMG!! I almost fell over laughing dang you :P

[Hunter_Steel]

http://i3.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/000/005/pedobear.jpg

This pretty much sums up what this woman is supporting.

Age of Consent should stay at 18, if they were to lower it, 16 is a better decision. But encouraging Pedos is just sick and wrong.

~Hunter

[HahaWaitWhat]

13? Oh my gosh. Pretty sure she's related to Pedo Bear or something. Should stay at at least 18.

[karl]

The age of consent in Spain is 13 for both boys and girls. I've been at school here for 4 years and I haven't noticed any problems.

[Jean Poutine]

She argues for an end to complainant anonymity

A hundred times yes. In an era where everything spreads like wildfire, a rape accusation can put the life of a man in jeopardy, even without any conviction. Not many people can maintain "innocent until proven guilty" in their minds when they hear one of their coworkers is being accused of fiddling with kids. That alone can put a break to a promising career and turn society against you. The least that is fair is to allow the person who is accused to know who is accusing him. This cuts on abuse and any fears about the victim's safety can be handled with a restraining order, and it allows easier cross-checking of the story. Anonymity is a powerful tool, too powerful to be given to just anyone. At the very least, its bestowing should not be automatic.

a strict statute of limitations to prevent prosecutions after a substantial amount of time has passed

No, that's fucking stupid. New, scientific, reliable ways of obtaining evidence spring by every year and I think it would be fucked up to deny access to justice to somebody if he/she can prove to the standards of the court that a crime was committed, no matter the amount of time that has passed since. Statutes of limitation are there to 1) ensure the law and the rights it bestows remain stable (in the case of suits relating to property rights, for example, it would not make sense to evict someone out of a home he's been in for 30 years because the title is faulty) and 2) punish people for waiting too damn long to file a suit, which is irrelevant in criminal matters. Vacuous old accusations that devolve into "he said, she said" should however simply be thrown out during the preliminary hearing. The system has all the tools already to deal with abuses, we do not need more rules making it harder for real victims to prosecute, we need to use what's currently there to kill false accusations in the egg before they become disastrous. Mostly that means raising the standard of evidence a tad and letting the prelim hearing do what it's supposed to do.

and a reduction in the age of consent to 13.

I agree with this with an age-in limitation : the age of consent should be 13 if both parties are under 16, if not it should be 16, and if one party is an adult or has authority over the other, then it's bumped to 18. A general age of consent of 13 is stupid because as was pointed out, teens are REALLY FUCKING DUMB and too many adults would be able to abuse the sad fact that teens are biologically incapable of reliably making sound decisions to lure them into bed. They are also liable to be emotionally abused and manipulated.

33% isn't a pass grade, said barrister should go back to common sense school.

[Krash9]

This sounds like a great Idea. I mean in some states romeo and Juliet laws make it legal as long as the two kids are within two years.

[Human]

I don't think having the law stops anyone, anyway.

It's probably too young however, but I think the age of consent being young is fine as long as its only between similar years.

[Jean Poutine]

I don't think having the law stops anyone, anyway.

It's probably too young however, but I think the age of consent being young is fine as long as its only between similar years.

The purpose of the age of consent is not to stop teens from having sex with each other, but to stop adults from preying on the emotionally unstable and vulnerable.

The threat of a statutory rape charge stopped and is stopping many in their tracks, I assure you.

[Jess]

I agree that 13 is definitely too low. It should be 16.

[Twilly F. Sniper]

I think 15 or 16 is suitable. 18 is too ridiculously high, 13 is too ridiculously low.

Pretty much every [STRAIGHT] guy by that time and some girls just has the need for sex at that time of their life.
the gays, though are usually a little more patient in that regard.

[Krash9]

The threat of a statutory rape charge stopped and is stopping many in their tracks, I assure you.

it slowed me down from having sex with my first gf ... true story

[Plane And Simple]

The age of consent in Spain is 13 for both boys and girls. I've been at school here for 4 years and I haven't noticed any problems.

True. I have never seen raping and those kind of news over spain. I didn't know age of consent was 13 here though

[Fiction]

People are missing the point of this article.

She wants to lower the age of consent so that all the old men (e.g Jimmy Saville and Gary Glitter) can stop being persecuted for raping underage children. THAT is the sick part.

Also the age of consent in the UK is already 16.

[Synyster Shadows]

Yeah, but then you might as well just get rid of the age of consent, and what good does that do?

[BebeFleur.]

I find that there is no reason for children as young as 13 to be having sex. People say "Oh, but they're mature enough!" Yeah, sure. At 13, you are not responsible to handle a child. Pregnancy can still happen if it is protected sex. Condoms can breaks, and birth control can fail. There is no reason for sex to be a focus at such a young age.

[PinkFloyd]

Just the idea of SEVENTH GRADERS doing that is bad... I mean some of them haven't even started maturing!

[BebeFleur.]

Just the idea of SEVENTH GRADERS doing that is bad... I mean some of them haven't even started maturing!

What does masturbating have to do with this? Many start masturbating at an even younger age (some as young as 9/10) and some never masturbate.

[Erasmus]

What does masturbating have to do with this? Many start masturbating at an even younger age (some as young as 9/10) and some never masturbate.

Ummmm, I'm pretty sure he meant "maturing", i.e. starting puberty, not "masturbating".

[BebeFleur.]

Bleh, sorry. I can't read anything on my phone x.x

But yes most haven't matured, physically or mentally. The idea is just sickening.

[PinkFloyd]

What does masturbating have to do with this? Many start masturbating at an even younger age (some as young as 9/10) and some never masturbate.

I didn't mean to bring that up. Sorry. It's just that in my opinion, in order to have sex, you need to be mentally and physically ready. More so the mentally readiness.

[Hyper]

SNIP

I agree with everything you basically said... Just I don't see restraining orders working... Ever...

As for the age of consent... Where I live the general age of consent is 14 and its insane.

[HunterBlue]

At one time I would have said no, but now I agree with her. Not only are 13 year olds having sex but really, that's what they have been doing for thousands of years. 13 year olds get horny. they have sex. and who says its to protect old men? Lots of female teachers have been sent to jail having sex with young guys so it goes both ways. And I doubt 13 year olds would be wanting sex with old guys anyway. And I bet it would be more people around 20 or so.

In Canada the age of consent was 14 until recently. when it was raised it was pointed out it wasn't because or because the were any problems. But because or moral outrage. And if 13 is too young for sex, a LOT of posts posts and posters here should be taken down.

[HowlingSnail]

I get that supporting paedophiles is wrong, but I find the age of consent odd anyway. It varies worldwide, but it's not like people are any more or less mature in these places!

[sophiaLockhart]

back in the 70's in the UK there was someone wanting to reduce the Age of Consent to 10, and in columbia still its 12 for girls and 14 for boys. and there a few countries where there isn't any i believe (could be wrong)

[HunterBlue]

I wrote to late lady in England. The focus isn't to protect old men. She just says girls area tire at that age.

Anyway, here's N example. I buys finished reading in the news about a girl who's 18 who is charged with having sexy with a 14 year old and will face up to ten years in jail! As well as being a registered sex offender. The person she had sex with was another girl. They had been seeing each othe for almost a year.

I don't think she shoul be going to jail for that.

[johnsmith1]

In the UK, where tis is proposed, the current age is 16 (a lot of places are around the 16 to 18 mark), and to stop the case of old perverts getting off the hook, which is completely wrong, and is going into very dangerous territory

The talk on 2 young teens, is a different issue, partly caused in the last 150 years or so due to decreasing ages of physical development. It was not unknown during World war 1 (1914-18) that 16 YO boys enlisting, not having started puberty, whereas now we would be suggesting a trip to the doctor for hormome treatment.

However, in either case, we need laws to protect our young, and not let them be preyd upon. It may not stop two young teens, who mentaly don't know better, and are acting on physical urges, but older guys, should know better!

[jacob88]

The reasons she gives to lower the aoc are really fishy, but what I find wrong is, when I hear about almost same age teenagers being arrested for a long time and labeled as sex-offender for consensual sex in the US. Age gap provisions are difficult, because the partner could be just a little bit older than allowed and then you need to wait four years or so. I think this is a matter of education, of talking to kids about sex and relationships. We Germans get along with a pretty low age of consent really good. The minimum age is 14 but there are several laws regarding abuse. For example: Exploitation of a 14–15 year-old person's lack of capacity for sexual self-determination. It is to check if it was informed self-determination or if the victim was just been preyed on or tricked into sex or something like that. Individual cases need to be treated individually in court until a certain age (in this case 16). It is not common here that 14 or 15 year olds have way older (sex-)partners, but we believe it is not a crime in any case. Most young people don’t want someone old. No one is under pressure to have sex at that (any) age, just because it is not a crime. Below 14 you need to be same age. Teens want to wait for the right person, which doesn't necessarily mean, they have to wait till marriage and the only one (of course they can and not few do). The younger you are, the longer and better you need to know your partner, best is a love-relationship. The urge to have sex or petting comes with the onset of puberty, in the vast majority of cases way before 14. Some have gay / lesbian / bi - phases during puberty. Lots of people are at least a little bi, they prefer one gender, but are not completely averse to the other. As I said it is a matter of good sexual education (school, magazines, Internet, where young people can ask questions) and talking about sexuality and relationships in family openly, correctly and early enough. Then Teens will keep it safe. Teens need to be explained that there are older people that just want to use them, but they should know anyway. Still a relationship or sex with a well known adult can also have positive impact on a teenager. It is a case by case decision. In USA a lot of relationships that have a positive impact on both partners are criminalized, which doesn’t help a teenager at all. There are young people that feel attracted or fall in love with someone older, which is not necessarily bad. Parents can forbid the contact of course, when they think the partner of their kids has a bad influence on her / him. Prohibition encourages the rebel factor within teenagers which leads to excesses and unsafe sex. Parents have a better eye on the partner of their teen, when a relationships doesn't happen in the hide to begin with because of prosecution. We (Europe) have a way smaller teen pregnancy- and STD-rate than the US (except GB). Buy condoms that fit. It's not a shame to buy a small size, thats ridiculous. Be manly, stand to yourself. Small dicks can be as great as big ones, depends on the techniques and preferences of the partner and yourself. By the way, pedophiles feel attracted to people that didn't hit puberty yet, so use that term correctly and, another point, the most real child molestation cases happen within families not explicit by pedophiles. In history it was all too common to give birth at young ages like 13. That doesn't fit in today's culture but we have contraception and the knowledge about save practices. Teenagers have a human right to have safe sex in safe places, a right for good education. Sexuality is not comparable with drinking or driving age. It is a natural body function and urge. Sexuality doesn't necessarily mean fu**ing, can also mean petting. E.G. lots of gay people don't like anal sex, they prefer petting. There are other things in this world that are bad and we need to worry about.

[bored4evah]

Im 13 and even I think its disgusting -.-

[jacob88]

Thats very good and what I said. You can make your own decisions. I would suggest to wait for the right person around your age.

[Austinb13]

It really doesnt make a difference kids that age and younger still do it and wont stop if its lowered or not.