The decision to raise the age of consent to 16/18 was never actually based on reasoning that sex with everyone below 16/18 was always harmful, and the fact that the AoC varies so much around the world shows that even regular people don't believe it to be a magic number. The AoC was 10-13 in western countries until the 19th century, largely reflecting what was a marriageable age in societies that still condemned pre-marital sex. In response to outrage whipped up by the burgeoning gutter press over the rampant prostitution and general abuse of children in Dickensian London, the English AoC was raised to 16 in 1885. The temperance movement and women's suffrage movement joined forces in late 19th century America to promote the rights of women, who at the time were legitimately suffering from widespread abuse. This was also a time when sexually transmitted infections were hard to treat, and when not being a virgin could make a woman ineligible for marriage. The activists were successful in both raising the AoC and criminalizing recreational consumption of alcohol in the name of protecting women and girls. Given the historical context, it's not hard to see why the AoC was raised to 16/18 in England and America in the late 19th and early 20th century, setting a precedent for the world. However, what is strange is how such a high age of consent has persisted while other archaic laws rooted in historical issues have either been repealed or simply not enforced. This is something that MAP advocates should be investigating. |