The age of consent

Note: links below will take you to other sites throughout the internet.

In the 1860s the age of consent in Britain was twelve years old. Historically you will find many records of people of 12 and sometimes younger being married. Further back in history this would appear to have been commonplace, with a number of kings of Britain marrying 9 year old brides.

Some people such as Josephine Butler and Barbara Bodichon were concerned that young girls were being sold to brothels. They became involved in the campaign against the white slave trade and in 1875 the House of Commons agreed to raise the age of consent to thirteen.

Campaigners were not satisfied with this change and continued to argue for further reform. In 1885 William Stead and Bramwell Booth of the Salvation Army joined forces to expose what they believed was an increase in child prostitution. In July 1885, Stead purchased Eliza Armstrong, a thirteen year-old daughter of a chimney-sweep, to show how easy it was to procure young girls for prostitution. Stead published an account of his investigations in the Pall Mall Gazette entitled Maiden Tribute of Modern Babylon.

In September, William Stead and five others were charged with unlawfully kidnapping a minor and committed for trial at the Old Bailey. Stead was found guilty and was imprisoned for three months in Holloway Gaol. As a result of the publicity that the Armstrong case generated, Parliament in 1885 (or may have been early 1900's) passed the Criminal Law Amendment Act that raised the age of consent from thirteen to sixteen, strengthened existing legislation against prostitution and proscribed all homosexual relations.

The current situation within the UK.

Please note: we are not suggesting anyone under 18 does anything or presenting a definite legal opinion, what we are trying to do here is to just clarify the situation somewhat. As far as covens are concerned no adult coven will involve anyone under 18 in the inner circle.

The actual practice is that over half of 15 year olds in the UK are sexually active, this is an underestimate as many will not admit it, in some areas near 100%. Many parents support young people in making their own decisions, but their are geographic and social variations. 

As the majority of young men in the UK will at some time sleep with a girl under 16, or at least have close physical contact, that would qualify as sexual assault as the police hold that girls under 16 cannot consent to anything, it follows that most if not all men in Britain are in the eyes of the police, sexual criminals or pedophiles. Society, ie real people, tend to be upset when there is a large age difference.

From a legal standpoint, we have a variety of ages, 13, 16, 18 and 24.

13, the minimal age a person under 24 may have sex with a girl, without getting locked up. This is of course far more complex than in seems. Most police forces will not get involved where their is a consenting couple where the girl is over 13 and the man under 24, or will just let off steam but not prosecute. The law however does not exactly say this, it says that a man under 24 may perhaps mistakenly believe a girl under 16 to be over 16, where a man over 24, perhaps can not. A recent high court case suggests that any age man can get confused and have this defense. The difference is therefore the seriousness that the law views the situation.

16 the age of consent for girls, or for boys with a woman.

18 adult, therefore able to make in theory all their own decisions.

Their is a time limit under which under age sex actions have to be brought, the police get around this by saying anyone under 16 cannot consent therefore it is rape. or indecent assault.

The table below is from a campaigning site for male homosexuality, we have reproduced it here because it shows one set of interpretations as to the age of consent across countries. You should research this further, looking at both the situation within the UK of activities abroad and the law of the country being visited to get a better understanding.