Age of consent should be moved to 18

Dear Pastor,

I am the mother of two teenage daughters, and I am very concerned about them.

When I read in the newspaper or watch television and see how men have been abusing young girls, I fret for my daughters. Men are not willing to see young girls grow up into womanhood. They are after them at a very early age. They kidnap them and sexually abuse them. So many young girls are not listening. If a man offers them ride, they are willing to jump in their cars and go out with them.

Which brings me to this point: What is the age of consent? Why are we not hearing that more men are sentenced to prison when they have sex with children? I did not have sex until I was 19 years old, and I was so scared. The man who had sex with me was 20. Don’t you think that the age of consent should be moved to 18?

From the time my children were 12 years old, I talked to them as if they were big people because I know at that time that very soon, their emotions may run away with them, especially if they have started to menstruate. Shouldn’t the Church appeal to the Government to raise the age of consent to 18? I believe that the Church should get active in that area.

Concerned Parent

Dear Concerned Parent,

The age of consent in Jamaica is 16. You are aware of that from what you have written in your letter.

What that simply means is that a teen can agree to have sex with an older person, but under 16, the teen cannot consent. I remember many years ago, I was asked to sit on a committee to look into changing the age of consent from 14. Many of my readers may not be aware that at one point, the age of consent was 14. It was the committee in which I participated that asked the Government to raise the age from 14 to 16. At that time, all the members of the committee thought that that was reasonable.

One must bear in mind that even if a young girl agrees to have sex, and she has not reached the age of consent, that man can still get into serious trouble and be charged for going to bed with someone who has not reached the age of consent. In different countries, the age of consent differs. I think it is safe to say that the age of consent in most countries is 16. In the United States of America, the age differs from state to state.

I am glad that you are concerned about this matter. Please be vigilant in how you talk to your children about sex. They will listen to you; I am sure they will.

Pastor