The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts, and is thus the minimum age of a person with whom another person is legally permitted to engage in sexual activity. The distinguishing aspect of the age of consent laws is that the person below the minimum age is regarded as the victim, and their sex partner as the offender.

The term age of consent rarely actually appears in legal statutes; it has sometimes been used with other meanings, such as the age at which a person becomes competent to consent to marriage, but the meaning given above is the one now generally understood. It should not be confused with the age of majority, age of criminal responsibility, the voting age, the drinking age, driving age, etc.

Age of consent laws vary widely from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, though most jurisdictions set the age of consent in the range 14 to 18. The laws may also vary by the type of sexual act, the gender of the actors, or other restrictions such as abuse of a position of trust. Some jurisdictions may also make allowances for minors engaged in sexual acts with each other, rather than a single age. Charges resulting from a breach of these laws may range from a misdemeanor such as corruption of a minor, to what is popularly called statutory rape (which is considered equivalent to rape, both in severity and sentencing).

There are many "gray areas" in this area of law, some regarding unspecific and untried legislation, others brought about by debates regarding changing societal attitudes, and others due to conflicts between federal and state laws. These factors all make age of consent an often confusing subject, and a topic of highly charged debates. (Full article...)

• ...that 18th century prostitute Sally Salisbury (pictured) was sent to prison after a riot but was released by a judge who was infatuated with her?
• ...that Marthe Richard was a former prostitute and spy who worked to make brothels illegal in France?
• ...that Amsterdam's Prostitution Information Center provides the city's visitors with information and advice about prostitution?
• ...that 18th century brothel-keeper Jane Douglas (pictured, bottom window, praying) sold condoms in silken bags to her customers?
• ...that madame Anna Wilson, the "Queen of the Underworld" in early Omaha, Nebraska, bequeathed her 25-room brothel mansion to the city to use as an emergency hospital upon her death?
• ...that sexual relations between a man and his daughter-in-law were fairly common in pre-revolutionary rural Russia?

April - July 2007

12 March 2024 –

A Romanian court rules that social media influencer Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan Tate can be extradited to the United Kingdom to face charges of sexual aggression. (BBC News)

28 February 2024 – LGBT rights in Ghana

The Parliament of Ghana passes a bill making the promotion or advocacy of LGBT rights punishable by five years in prison. (Reuters)

For editor resources and to collaborate with other editors on improving Wikipedia's Human sexuality-related articles, see WikiProject Sexology and sexuality.