[The Slim Reaper]

Originally Posted by Soldier Boy

Ultimately the simplest solution would be to raise the age of adult consent to 18 (which is in line with most other thinking on what constitutes an adult in law) whilst decriminalising sex close-in-age under 18 which is, in practice if not officially, pretty much how it currently works with under-16's.

I do still personally think 18 is on the young side, however there's a vast difference between an 18 year old and a 16 year old so I think it's a fairly sensible compromise: again, especially given that we currently mark "18 as adulthood" in general thinking anyway.

FWIW marriage at 16 is also bizarre in concept, especially as it's basically a contract, and you have to be 18 for most contracts to be properly binding . So I would raise the age for marriage to 18 as well.

Raising the age to 18 seems completely ridiculous to me, and is creating a a solution in need of a problem, but I appreciate it's your opinion. I'm closer to you on marriage being raised, because that's supposed to be a lifetime contract. Experimenting sexually in our teens isn't a lifetime contract, and is a healthy part of growing up and finding out who we are.