Belgium has lowered the age of consent to 13 is this a good idea it would certainly reduce the crimes of paedophilia?

It seems a bit counter intuitive. Age of consent laws were passed many years ago to protect the young. Before these laws were put into place there were actually brothels that offered young girls and boys. Paresis Hall in New York is a good example.

It's not as alarmist as the headline leads you to believe. Until recently Belgium has been one of the few countries in Europe with a hard age of consent, the UK is another one. Most other countries have a sort of sliding scale that officially recognises the concept of "nearness of age" so that two teens around the same age messing around is a matter for parents to deal with while a teen and an adult would be illegal because of the power disparity. Even the UK, for example, has a higher age of consent for young people and adults in positions of authority such as teachers and pupils or bosses and staff.

Hard and fast ages of consent just don't work. Look at all the questions on this site from dumb, horny kids. What Belgium has done is "decriminalised" sex from 13 - 16 which gives the law more leeway in applying the law when it comes to sex between young people. It's not a carte blanche for paedos. Nobody but some very twisted individuals think it's a good idea to free up the criminal system by simply ignoring actions that cause actual harm. No one is advocating 40 year olds grooming 14 year olds.

Belgium Age Of Consent

13 is much too young, because no 13-year-old has the life-experience to understand the long term consequences of most of the things they're faced with. Most 13-year-olds can only see tomorrow, or possibly, next week. They cannot see 'when I'm 30'. They just don't have anything to relate the future to. Even 18-year-olds still need their parents guidance. It's not a good idea to be more concerned about reducing "crimes of pedophilia" than the emotional/physical/spiritual well-being of kids. That's really a no-brainer.

It is 13 were I live. With no more than 3 years age difference. Also parental consent. It is discouraged. It is not good for those that young. But back in the mountains & such. Small villages, native rights, still 50 years from getting electric areas. It does happen.

The governing Flemish liberals proposed legislation will allow children to have sex from the age of 14.

Under the proposal the legal age of consent will stay at 16, but having consensual sex with anybody older than 14 will no longer be punished as long as there is no more than a five year age difference.

Having said all the reports I have read say the vote is still to take place, so as of yet Belgium are voting on a proposal, and the age of consent is still 16.

It probably just means that a 16 yr old can't be charged with statutory rape for having a consenual relationship with say, a 14 year old. That kind of thing happens all the time and many times, say, a 16 year old boy and a 14 year old girl are the same maturity wise and could easily meet in their school and develop attraction.

I seriously doubt that law means a 45 year old could go get with a 13 year old. You're taking it out of context and making a mountain out of a mole hill.

Red, it's great to hear from you again. In any decent society, the age of consent should coincide with the age at which a person can marry. Unless Belgium is prepared to allow its citizens to marry at the age of 13, something which most of us would deplore unreservedly, this change in the law makes no sense.

I think some thirteen year olds know the consequences of their actions very well and are smart... Now the others... They're the reason I disagree with this law. I knew the consequences of everything, I think I was intelligent for my age. I knew about safe sex and everything, but others may not. It's more of a maturity thing than age in my opinion, but there isn't really a way to gauge maturity or take some test to prove your maturity or anything. No matter if every thirteen year old in the world knew everything adults would, that doesn't change the fact that they shouldn't be having sex at thirteen!

The age of consent ranges from 14-18 in most countries. 13-16 is too young in my opinion. Regardless this does not affect pædophilia in any way, since that involves much younger people.