Here, we explore how the UK’s age of consent compares with the rest of the world, from countries without a legal age limit, such as Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Afghanistan, to those with a much higher age of consent, such as Bahrain, South Korea, and Nepal.
Countries with no age of sexual consent:
There is no age of consent in some countries, including Iran, Libya, the Maldives, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.
In these countries, it’s illegal to engage in sexual activity outside of marriage (per Age of Consent). As such, they have laws stipulating an age of consent to marriage. In many countries where sex before marriage is illegal, the age of consent to marry is higher for men than it is for women. For example, in Qatar, the minimum legal age of marriage is 16 for girls and 18 for boys.
Even in countries with a minimum age of consent to marriage, the courts can still grant approval for individual cases where the parties(s) are underage.
Countries with ages of consent under 16:
Most countries require young people to be at least 14 before engaging in sexual activity, with some notable exceptions: In Nigeria, the age of consent is 11; in Angola and the Philippines, it’s set at 12; and it’s 13 in Niger, Burkina Faso, and Japan – although the latter’s consent laws vary depending on which region you’re in.
If Iraq’s new legislation becomes law, the age of consent will be lowered from 18 to nine.
Many European countries, including Italy, Hungary, Germany, Albania, Serbia, and Montenegro set the age of consent at 14. This is also true of a number of South American countries, including Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Columbia, Ecuador and Paraguay.
The age of consent is also 14 in Bangladesh, China, Myanmar, and Chad.
The age of consent rises to 15 in Thailand, France, Poland, Sweden, Greece, and Croatia – as well as Iceland, Denmark, and Honduras.
Countries with ages of consent 16+:
The UK sets the age of consent at 16 – along with Spain, Russia, South Africa, Canada, Australia, and Israel.
Finland, Norway, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, Bahamas, Luxembourg, and Cuba also set the age of consent at 16.
The age of consent varies by state in the USA: 31 states set the age of consent as 16, eight set it at 17, and 11 set it at 18. According to Age of Consent, 26 states have close-in-age laws, which legalise “sexual activity between underaged participants if they are close enough to one another in age.”
The age of consent rises to 17 in Ireland, Mexico, Cyprus, and Nauru; and 18 in India, Egypt, Vietnam, Kenya, Uganda, Argentina, Iraq, Chile, and Vatican City.
The age of consent is 20 in South Korea and Nepal and 21 in Bahrain.
GLAMOUR has reached out to Russell Brand for a comment. This feature will be kept updated.
GLAMOUR is campaigning for the government to introduce an Image-Based Abuse Bill in partnership with Jodie Campaigns, the End Violence Against Women Coalition, Not Your Porn, and Professor Clare McGlynn.
For more information about emotional abuse and domestic abuse, you can call The Freephone National Domestic Abuse Helpline, run by Refuge on 0808 2000 247.
For more information about reporting and recovering from rape and sexual abuse, you can contact Rape Crisis on 0808 500 2222.
If you have been sexually assaulted, you can find your nearest Sexual Assault Referral Centre here. You can also find support at your local GP, voluntary organisations such as Rape Crisis, Women’s Aid, and Victim Support, and you can report it to the police (if you choose) here.
For more from Glamour UK’s Lucy Morgan, follow her on Instagram @lucyalexxandra.
