Dear Editor,

For some time now, the debate over the age of consent and whether it should be moved from 16 has been brewing. The age of consent is the age at which a person can legally give permission to engage in acts such as sex. The question that many parents are asking is how can a child give permission to engage in adult activities?

Under the law, a child is a person under 18 years and is to be treated differently from adults, hence a special court, bus fare, hospital, medication, etc. The present consent age does not sit well with parents who are faced with their 16-year-old daughter being legal to give consent to sex. She is able to take on adult circumstances but not the responsibilities; as if she beomes pregnant she cannot be legally employed to earn funds to take care of a child.

According to the Child Care and Protection Act, a person should have attained 18 years or over in order to drink, smoke, vote, enter a nightclub and acquire a driver’s licence, but the law gives permission to a ‘minor’ to consent to sex. This goes to show how misguided and twisted our leaders are.

Raising the age of consent can in no way prevent underage sex, but it will show children that it is an adult activity and only adults should engage in it as it would now become a criminal matter. Children are often forced to grow up long before their age can allow. Their bodies, along with a consent age at 16, trick them into thinking that they are mature enough for adulthood. Did the law take into consideration the best interest of the child? Let us get our act together.

Hezekan Bolton

h_e_z_e@hotmail.com