Logic of upping the UK's age of sexual consent from 16 to 18 to help prevent teenage pregnancy?

Question

Teenagers have s*x, why do people try to deny it. Upping the age of consent will not change that.

So I have some questions...

1. What about the 16 and 17 y/o's who are already sexually active?

2. How does it effect people who marry at the age of 16/17?

3. Instead of trying this tactic because it 'seems to work in the USA', why can't teenagers just be taught properly about contraception instead of just being told to abstain (as an awful lot of UK schools are now teaching this)?

Answer 1

It runs in families. The pregnant 14 year old has a 29 year old mum and a 45 year old granny.

1. It will make no difference.

2. I don't believe there are more than a handful marrying at that age in the UK.

3. I think you got that backwards.

Answer 2

it won't change - people can leave school and start working at the age of 16....so why can't they have s*x?

and that won't change all the age 14/15/16 pregnancies cause they would just do it anyway

and at my school....we had a class on s*x in yr 8 and yr 9 and thats it - most yr 10s and 11s have s*x anyway!

Answer 3

better information and availablility of contraception is more likely to be effective, for instance free condoms / confidential service for the pill etc if you are under 18. There was a girl in my school who got pregnant at 13 because she didnt know about contraception

Answer 4

There is no point in trying. Upping the age will make it worse. Teenagers enjoy breaking the rules which is why they do it.

Answer 5

The age of consent varies in the USA, from 16 to 18 depending on the state. Those who are 16/17 and already sexually active would be treated under the new law, unless they are married, then they are considered an adult. Kids do not need to be sexually active until they are out of school, too bad not enough people teach their kids these morals. Kids need to be taught not just to not do it, but also how to protect themselves from pregnancy and STDs. Its amazing that one of the fastest growing age group for HIV starts while they are still in High School

Answer 6

It totally doesn't work in the US. The US has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in the industrialized world. In places in the US that offer comprehensive s*x education and access to contraceptives, teen pregnancy rates are falling. In places in the US that offer virginity pledges and abstinence-only education, they're not. Every major US medical organization has spoken out against abstinence-only s*x education for teens. And the age of consent has absolutely nothing to do with anything, it seems.

Answer 7

At 18, they're still teenagers & still too young to cope with the responsibilities of pregnancy & parenthood. If they want to have s*x, they should be more responsible about protection. Teenage marriages aren't really to be recommended either, as it's not really the answer to a teenage pregnancy. And lowering the age of s*x education classes isn't the answer either.

Answer 8

It does not matter what the age of consent is! I started at the age of ten many many years ago and didn't consider age at all. (I am English through and through )

As far as the age of consent legally is concerned - it makes no difference at all - when did you last see someone prosecuted for it ? Rather they just take the resultant product and supply mother and daughter with a council flat !

Answer 9

i don't agree with that. teenagers, whether you like it or not, are sexually active, even as young as 12 or 13.

upping the consent age will increase the number of "not-really" statutory rapists, which could mean the 17 yr old's girl's 18 yr old boyfriend getting arrested and put on the registry, even if she consented.

your other questions:

2. i think that they will inevitably have to raise the marrying age, or make some adjustment that excludes married couples.

3. this does not work in the USA at all. instead of being taught how to use contraception safely and smartly, teens are being told "No, don't do it. Nooooo...". Instead, when they, of course, defy that weak argument, they are clueless on how to go about s*x safely.

Answer 10

That's so true, its also not just about the teenage parents, its also about the many 16 year olds who are responsible and adult about it.

Answer 11

Laws don't change anything. It's all about education and parental control.

Answer 12

It doesnt, i dont see the point in it at all, im 14 and i no people that r younger than me that r sexually active already. and all through my high school i only had 2 s*x ed classes

Answer 13

Maybe they should focus on teaching the responsibilities, and then hold the farthers to those responsibilities. There wouldn't be so many cocky little b*stards if the government actually forced them to pay for their children instead of expecting us to.

Answer 14

Spanish law I think is Ok - it depends on the age of both parties.

There is no point burying your head in the sand. I lost my virginity at 17 with a 16 year old. However her previous boyfriend was 20 when she was 14!

Kids experiment, it's just human - so as I said Spanish law sounds good,

Me as an adult, it would be illegal if I had s*x with a 17 year old - rightly so..

I'll try & find a link.. Not quite the link, 16 seems right with someone of a similer age.

Answer 15

Do you really think if the legal age of s*x was 18 two 16 year old who are about to have s*x are going to say "Oh wait this is illegal let's not do it" I dont think so.

Answer 16

at the end of the day if kids are stupid enough to ruin their lives and have kids at that age why should i care?  yes it eats away at my taxes but the way i look at it those girls have a cr@p life and never make anything of themselves where as i have a good job and house and can go on holiday 2-3 times a year.  i think i have it alot better then them so if they want to blow the rest of their lives and bundle themselves with a kid then i say let them.  i dont care what they say about s*x ed...i didnt have it but i was smart enough to know how girls get pregnant.  teens talk and read magazines and are clued up..they dont need s*x ed classes to teach them about the birds and bees...they learn from reading and the internet.  everyone wants to blame the parents or the government but at the end of the days these kids dont have anyone to blame but themselves.  let them live in a dirty council estate and live out their years struggling and misserable with a bunch of brats by diffrent dads..its their life and thankfully not mine....look forward to all the thumbs down i will get!

Answer 17

It doesn't work in the US.