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Age of consent should be 13, says barrister

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Age of consent should be 13, says barrister

#1 Unread post by weezypops » Thu May 09, 2013 11:45 am

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22459815
A prominent barrister specialising in reproductive rights has called for the age of consent to be lowered to 13.

Barbara Hewson told online magazine Spiked that the move was necessary in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal to end the "persecution of old men".

She also said that complainants should no longer receive anonymity.

The NSPCC called her views "outdated and simply ill-informed" and said to hear them "from a highly experienced barrister simply beggars belief".

Her remarks come after a number of high-profile arrests over allegations of historical sexual offences in the wake of the Jimmy Savile scandal.

Among those to have been convicted is former BBC broadcaster Stuart Hall, who admitted 14 charges of indecently assaulting girls, including one aged nine, between 1967 and 1985.

Ms Hewson described Hall's crimes as "low-level misdemeanours" which "ordinarily... would not be prosecuted".

"What we have here is the manipulation of the British criminal justice system to produce scapegoats on demand. It is a grotesque spectacle," she said.

"It's time to end this prurient charade, which has nothing to do with justice or the public interest."

She argues for an end to complainant anonymity, a strict statute of limitations to prevent prosecutions after a substantial amount of time has passed and a reduction in the age of consent to 13.

She said that "touching a 17-year-old's breast, kissing a 13-year-old, or putting one's hand up a 16-year-old's skirt" are not crimes comparable to gang rapes and murders and "anyone suggesting otherwise has lost touch with reality".

The NSPCC described crimes such as Hall's as "incredibly serious" and said that "to minimise and trivialise the impact of these offences for victims in this way is all but denying that they have in fact suffered abuse at all.

"Any suggestion of lowering the age of consent could put more young people at risk from those who prey on vulnerable young people."

It also argued that complainant anonymity should be maintained and that historical prosecutions should be allowed as "many who are abused are bullied, blackmailed and shamed into staying silent, often well into adulthood".

The Hardwicke chambers, where Ms Hewson works in London, said it dissociated itself from her comments.

In a statement, Hardwicke said: "We are shocked by the views expressed in Barbara Hewson's article in Spiked.

"We did not see or approve the article pre-publication and we completely dissociate ourselves from its content and any related views she may have expressed via social media or any other media outlets."
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Re: Age of consent should be 13, says barrister

#2 Unread post by weezypops » Thu May 09, 2013 11:53 am

While I can understand the argument that in the past girls would have had babies at young ages, we have progressed beyond just seeing females as baby factories, and understand the dangers of pregnancy etc. at this age more now, which completely negates any biological reasons for lowering the age of consent, as far as I'm concerned. The idea that it should be lowered to protect men is just totally absurd - they are not the vulnerable ones! If you don't want to get prosecuted for it, then stop using your age/position of power to abuse children. I appreciate there is a grey area when it comes to consensual relationships when someone is just under the age of consent (say a 17 year old and a 15 year old), but most of these people who have recently been exposed have been accused of predatory and abusive crimes of young people.
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Re: Age of consent should be 13, says barrister

#3 Unread post by BrandonsMum08 » Sat May 11, 2013 6:54 pm

i agree with it being lowered or scrapped completely. Rape is rape and abuse is abuse at the end of the day, regardless of age. If sex is consensual between both parties, especially in a relationship then neither should feel scared of persecution. This just makes teenagers more secretive about it and potentially less responsible.
It can also be used as a weapon, usually against boys/men when a girl suddenly feels she did the wrong thing and wants someone to blame, or to be malicious if the relationship breaks down.

Heres an example. My partner and his ex were having consensual sex when she was 15, nearly 16. They went away with her parents with them knowing the relationship was sexual. She forgot to take her pill for just one day and ended up falling pregnant on that holiday aged 15. She went on to give birth aged 16 but after 4 years together when my stepdaughter was one, they broke up. My partner saw his daughter and suddenly a few months latet his ex got nasty and stopped him seeing her. He said he would get access from the courts if need be and she threatened him with reporting him for underage sex with the proof of a child. For 3 years he had to be dictated to by his ex because he was scared of persecution. Finally he saw a solicitor who said it was too long down the line as it was a relationship and on a family holidag and her parents therefore should have said something back then.

I just dont like how people can use age of consent as a weapon when they consented at the time.
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Re: Age of consent should be 13, says barrister

#4 Unread post by weezypops » Sat May 11, 2013 7:30 pm

I feel that the age of consent is necessary myself, if only to try and prevent youngsters being coerced into sex by older people. A 13 year old girl might not say no to a 30 year old man, but I don't really believe that she would be mature enough to make that decision. Sure, there might be some who are, and there is a grey area when it comes to those nearer the age of consent, but I think that in a lot of cases young teenagers could be persuaded into doing something they aren't truly happy about or mature enough to do, just to keep a partner, make them happy etc. I think there would be a lot more cases of a youngster being pushed into sex by someone older than of the sort of situation you're describing. And in the kind of situation you mention, for me a big factor would be the age gap - an 17 year old and 15 year old wouldn't worry me in most cases but a 30 year old and a 15 year old would, just because of the difference in maturity/abuse of power aspect.
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Re: Age of consent should be 13, says barrister

#5 Unread post by BrandonsMum08 » Tue May 14, 2013 11:27 am

Yes, fair point. Maybe I was seeing it just from the personal situation and not the wider picture. There wasnt a big gap between him and his ex, but in the eyes of the law as it is now, even a 15 and 17 year old is wrong. Maybe it should have sub sections to the law so its not a case of one size fits all.
On reflection, I also see that lowering would open the doors for paedophiles to have their way legally in the cases you mention where young girls are persuaded. I, myself had that happen when I was 16 so I was legal age, but not long after I realised that it was very very sick and one of my biggest regrets.
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Re: Age of consent should be 13, says barrister

#6 Unread post by Reese_09 » Thu Feb 27, 2014 10:33 am

Nice post

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Re: Age of consent should be 13, says barrister

#7 Unread post by Celebritydiscodave » Mon May 15, 2017 10:47 am

The best approach would be one of gradually raising the age of consent to around twenty years, but then not to treat "dirty young men/boys" so very differently from "dirty old men" Taking it that the girl is already having active sexual relationships, love is both 100% genuine and mutual, and putting public opinion and parental reaction for a moment to one side, the psychological damage is quite simply not going to be a measure for the disparity of years. The single only factor would be the nature of their partner. Some of us are ageing incredibly quickly, whilst others again, ten, very exceptionally twenty, even thirty years (in a lifetime) behind. Nobody should be having sex with a thirteen year old, but where it concerns sixteen year olds one individual thirty year old may be considerably younger than the average twenty five year old, and I`m talking both physically and psychologically, under the microscope as well. In my opinion nobody should be having sex with sixteen year olds either. The ultimate test for genuine love is to deny the male your body. Very little truly genuine romantic love even exists, we`d be talking spiritual romantic love, but yes, it could still exist where there is considerable disparity of years. Where there exists too much disparity spiritual romantic can do no damage, and likely considerable good. There is so much social ignorance out there that spiritual romantic would n`t likely even be recognised by a majority.


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