Home / Sunday-mid-day / / Article /
At 18, India's legal age for consensual sex is "probably one of the highest"
Updated On: 23 July, 2023 08:55 AM IST | Mumbai | Jane Borges
With Bombay HC asking the Centre to reconsider law on age of consent for sex, which at 18 is the highest in the world, experts argue why young individuals don’t need this protection
Listen to this article :
Representation pic
It was while researching the “secret lives” of urban Indian teens for a book that Abu Dhabi-based Jyotsna Mohan Bhargava learnt that kids as young as 13 were either engaging in sexual behaviour or were sexually active. “And this wasn’t a one-off case,” she says, over a call. It’s been nearly three years since her book, Stoned, Shamed, Depressed, got published, and she says nothing has changed. “The numbers are only adding up... A lot of children are going out on dates, experimenting, and this is perfectly normal for them.” Bhargava says this has partly got to do with the access they have to information on the web. “But a lot of the knowledge is also half-baked,” she confesses. “It’s a generation that’s in a flux and needs hand-holding.” This is why Bhargava makes a case for laws that are aligned with their reality. Especially, the age of consent for sex, which was increased from 16 to 18, after India introduced the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. “It needs a thorough re-look,” she feels, “But they [our law-makers] don’t want to address the elephant in the room, because the moment you address it, you also have to admit to it [that this is happening in the country]. They want to hold on to ‘parampara’.”
Last week, the Bombay high court expressed concern over the age of consent under the Indian law. A single bench of Justice Bharati Dangre, while setting aside a 25-year-old’s conviction and 10-year sentence for a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old, observed that the age of consent in India was “probably one of the highest globally” as most countries have set it at the range of 14 or 16. In reference to the case, the bench observed that while the said relationship was consensual, a sexual relationship with the girl would amount to rape, because she was aged 17. “Ultimately, it is for the Parliament to ponder upon the said issue,” the court observed, as reported by livelaw.in, “...[while] being cognisant of the cases, which are coming before the courts, with a huge chunk, being the romantic relationship.”
Trending Stories
Latest Photos
Latest Videos
Latest Web Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
Mid-Day Fast
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT