Govt lowers age of sexual consent to 16. Do you agree?

GN Bureau | March 14, 2013



Government has decided to fix the age of consent to 16 years. It has also said that the definition of rape will now be seen in context with crime against women and will be different from other sexual offences. Overriding the objections raised by the ministry of women and child development (WCD) on the age of consent, the GoM has decided to stick to 16 years instead of 18. The GoM is of the view that sexual awareness and related activities have increased today. WCD minister Krishna Tirath had written to the PM expressing her dissatisfaction at not being consulted when the draft was being prepared for the anti-rape law.

While much is being debated on the age of consent, one is left wondering when one thinks that teenagers can engage in sexual activity at 16 but can’t marry until they turn 18. Is the government right in lowering the age of consent?
 

Comments

 

Other News

Govt, RBI announce major reforms to attract FPI

The finance ministry on Friday announced a series of measures aimed at enhancing the ease of investment for individual Persons Resident Outside India (PROIs) and Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs), and to attract stable long-term foreign capital flows.   Building on the recent in

Lessons in climate adaption from world’s largest inhabited river island

Majuli Island, perched between the Brahmaputra River to the south and east, the Subansiri River to the west, and a branch of the Brahmaputra to the north, has been severely affected by recurrent flooding and intense riverbank erosion. Despite its global importance in acquiring UNESCO tentative status for

Careless whispers and the impossible trinity

Time can never mend, the careless whispers of …    As the RBI marches ahead, for the upcoming monetary policy meeting this June, whispers from the corridors echo around several policy options to defend the rupee – by deploying forex reserves, raising in

Bullet Train Project: Third mountain tunnel breakthrough achieved

A major engineering milestone has been achieved in the Mumbai–Ahmedabad Bullet Train Project with the successful breakthrough of the third mountain tunnel (MT-07) at Ambesari village in Dahanu Taluka of Palghar district, Maharashtra.   With this achievement, three mountain

Supreme Court gets five new judges

Five new judges were appointed to the Supreme Court of India on Monday. "Vide Notifications of even number dated 01.06.2026, in exercise of the powers conferred by clause (2) of Article 124 of the Constitution of India, the Hon’ble President of India is pleased to appoint (i) Shri

Astonishing breadth and depth of ancient Indian knowledge systems

The Greatest Books of Ancient India: Incredible Ideas about Science, Music, Maths, Art and More By Dr. Pradeep Chakravarthy and Dr. R. Thiagarajan Hachette India, 208 pages, Rs 399  





Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter