Age of consent

Age of consent is a term referring to the age at which a person becomes competent to consent to sexual acts with an adult. Generally this is set at 18, but ages as low as 16 and as high as 21 also exist. There are also sometimes exemptions from this law allowing children below the age of consent to have to sex with other people below a certain age, but not above that age, known informally as "Romeo and Juliet" laws.

Historically

In the United States prior to 1900 many states had ages of consent as low as 10. However by 1920 most states had raised their age of consent to 18, although ages as low as 14 still existed until the 1990s. Currently the majority of states have an age of consent of 18, with a number setting it at 16 or 17.

Age of consent in law

In law the age of consent is the age at which a person is deemed to be competent to give consent to an activity, such as sexual intercourse or medical treatment, which would be otherwise be unlawful without informed consent.

The age of consent is one of several legal principles that govern the rights and responsibilities of minors in common law systems, such as:

• The age of license is the minimum age that a person must obtain to be permitted to undertake an activity, such as driving a motor vehicle on public roads.
• The age of criminal responsibility is the age at which a person is deemed to be fully responsible for their criminal actions.
• The age of majority is the age at which a person is deemed to have the rights and responsibilities of an adult and the age at which parental rights and responsibilities cease.

American States/Territories and their Corresponding Age of Consent

Puerto Rico sets the age of consent at 18 and all 50 US states have age limits of 16, 17 or 18 with 18 being the most common age. Some states have "close in age exemptions" which allow those under the age of consent to engage in sexual activity with teenagers close to their age (if the age difference between the partners is small, for example 3 or 4 years or if the older partner is younger than a specified age, usually 18 or 21).

Alabama	18	Illinois	17	Montana	18	Puerto Rico	16
Alaska	18	Indiana	16	Nebraska	18	Rhode Island	18
Arizona	18	Iowa	18	Nevada	18	South Carolina	18
Arkansas	18	Kansas	18	New Hampshire	18	South Dakota	18
California	18	Kentucky	18	New Jersey	18	Tennessee	18
Colorado	18	Louisiana	18	New Mexico	18	Texas	18
Connecticut	18	Maine	18	New York	18	Utah	18
D.C.	16	Maryland	16	North Carolina	16	Vermont	16
Delaware	18	Massachusetts	16	North Dakota	18	Virginia	18
Florida	18	Michigan	18	Ohio	18	Washington	18
Georgia	16	Minnesota	18	Oklahoma	18	West Virginia	18
Hawaii	16	Mississippi	16	Oregon	18	Wisconsin	18
Idaho	18	Missouri	17	Pennsylvania	16	Wyoming	18

See also

• Age of majority