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Spain has agreed to increase the age of consent from 13 to 16 and the permitted minimum legal age for marriage from from 14 to 16, thereby formalising a measure agreed in principal by the previous PSOE-led Government in 2009.
The new law - expected to come into force later this month - carries a possible prison sentence of between 2 and 12 years, depending upon the circumstances of the incident.
A notable exception is that of "Consensual sex with someone under 16 when the other party is of a similar age or stage of development and maturity", which is likely to leave lawmakers arguing over the exact interpretation of the clause in future cases.
With this reform, Spain has been brought into line with the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Belgium and the UK. In Germany, Austria, Hungary, Italy and Portugal the minimum age stands at 14, whilst Turkey and Malta impose a minimum age of 18.
The majority of European Countries do not discriminate in cases of same-sex partners.
Whilst it can not be denied that any such law to protect the safety and well being of minors is a good thing, it can also be argued that passing a law is likely to have zero effect on society.
The data provided by the UN Statistics Division of incidences of Teenage pregnancies in various countries of the EU for mothers aged 15-19, proves if nothing else that Spain's previously lax attitude to the age of consent has had nothing but a positive effect. Between the years 2000 and 2009 Spain had the 2nd lowest number of teenage pregnancies from a table of 24 Countries surveyed.
Country | Birth Rate | Abortion Rate | Combined Rate | Aborted |
Netherlands | 7.7 | 3.9 | 11.6 | 33.6 |
Spain | 7.5 | 4.9 | 12.4 | 39.5 |
Italy | 6.6 | 6.7 | 13.3 | 50.4 |
Greece | 12.2 | 1.3 | 13.5 | 9.6 |
Belgium | 9.9 | 5.2 | 15.1 | 34.4 |
Germany | 13.0 | 5.3 | 18.3 | 28.9 |
Finland | 9.8 | 9.6 | 19.4 | 49.5 |
Ireland | 16.7 | 4.6 | 21.3 | 21.6 |
France | 9.4 | 13.2 | 22.6 | 58.4 |
Denmark | 8.2 | 15.4 | 23.6 | 65.3 |
Sweden | 7.7 | 17.7 | 25.4 | 69.7 |
Norway | 13.6 | 18.3 | 31.9 | 57.4 |
Czech Republic | 20.1 | 12.4 | 32.5 | 38.2 |
Iceland | 21.5 | 20.6 | 42.1 | 48.9 |
Slovakia | 30.5 | 13.1 | 43.6 | 30 |
Australia | 20.1 | 23.9 | 44 | 54.3 |
Canada | 22.3 | 22.1 | 44.4 | 49.8 |
Israel | 32.0 | 14.3 | 46.3 | 30.9 |
United Kingdom | 29.6 | 21.3 | 50.9 | 41.8 |
New Zealand | 33.4 | 22.5 | 55.9 | 40.3 |
Hungary | 29.9 | 30.2 | 60.1 | 50.2 |
Romania | 40.0 | 37.9 | 77.9 | 48.7 |
United States | 55.6 | 30.2 | 85.8 | 35.2 |
Teenage Psychology : Prohibition can often lead to the exact opposite of the desired effect ?
Source :
Wikipedia : Prevalence of Teenage Pregnancy