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In England, Northern Ireland and Wales, a child is someone who has not yet reached their 18th birthday. Once they turn 18, they are legally an adult. In Scotland the definition of a child varies. In most situations, a child is someone who is under There are also different laws across the UK that specify age limits for young people in different circumstances.

These include leaving care; the age of consent; and the age of criminal responsibility. England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland each have their own legislation and guidance on keeping children safe.

A child is anyone who has not yet reached their 18th birthday. Child protection guidance highlights that unders who are:. Download Working together to safeguard children: A guide to inter-agency working to safeguard and promote the welfare of children PDF. Social Services and Well-being Wales Act Part 1 of the National guidance for child protection in Scotland explains that a child is generally defined as someone under the age of The UK has ratified this convention. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights In all nations of the UK, children leaving care at 18 are entitled to support from their local authority until they are at least The age of consent the legal age to have sex in the UK is 16 years old.

The laws are there to protect children from abuse or exploitation, rather than to prosecute unders who participate in mutually consenting sexual activity. Underage sexual activity should always be seen as a possible indicator of child sexual exploitation.

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To help protect younger children the law says anyone under the age of 13 can never legally give consent. This means that anyone who engages in any sexual activity with a child who is 12 or younger is breaking the law Sexual activity with a child who is under 13 should always result in a child protection referral. The law gives extra protection to young people who are over the age of consent but under It gives more information about specific offences and the related penalties.

The age of criminal responsibility in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is 10 years old. However, the law is in place to protect young people from sexual exploitation and abuse. The law is not intended to punish consensual i. Sex or any sexual activity between an adult and a young person aged under 16 is against the law in the UK and the adult will be held responsible for their actions. This applies to both men and women, whether they are of the same or the opposite sex of the young person and no matter what their cultural background is.

Different types of sexual assault include:.

It is illegal for anyone over 18 to encourage anyone under 16 to watch a sexual act. This includes watching porn. It is illegal to take a sexual picture or video of anyone under 18, even if it is of yourself. It is also illegal to share it with someone else. Can young people get punished for breaking the law? At what age can I have sex? What is sexual assault?

The definition of a child in child protection legislation and guidance

Although the age of consent is stipulated at 14 in Portugal, the legality of sexual acts with a minor between 14 and 16 is open to legal interpretation since the law states that it is illegal to perform a sexual act with an adolescent between 14 and 16 years old "by taking advantage of their inexperience". Homosexual acts were legalised for the first time in Portugal in , with an equal age of consent at that time - although homosexuality was again re-criminalised in They were decriminalised a second time in and an age of consent was set at 16, in line with heterosexual activities.

In , a new Penal Code was introduced with "different circumstances" for different sexual behaviours. Since September , the age of consent, regardless of sexual behaviour, gender or sexual orientation, is 14 [ citation needed ]. The new Romanian Criminal Code, [] which came into force on 1 February , sets a general age of consent of However, sexual acts that do not include penetration may be performed from age There is also a close-in-age exemption: The law sets several other restrictions in regard to children under In addition, it is illegal for an adult to engage in acts of sexual penetration with an adolescent under 18, if the adult abuses the authority or influence they have over the minor in order to gain the sexual access.

The relevant articles of the Criminal Code are Art. All these laws are gender neutral and apply regardless of the sexual orientation of those involved. For a very long time, the age of consent in Romania was The Penal Code of , which followed shortly after the union of the Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia , and was in force between and , set an age of consent of Under this code, Article read: With regard to rape article the victim being under 14 constituted an aggravating factor.

Nevertheless, the age of consent of 14 was maintained. Article of the code read: The late s and the early 21st century saw major modifications to the criminal code, in an effort to modify what was seen as outdated provisions, especially as Romania prepared to enter the EU. As such, homosexuality was decriminalized, the text of several criminal offences was modified by making it gender-neutral, the age of consent was lifted to 15 applicable to both girls and boys , punishments for several sexual crimes were increased, and the stipulation that a rapist could avoid punishment after rape if he married his victim was abolished.

Changes were made through Law no. Nevertheless, the rapid adoption of numerous laws led to poorly drafted and contradictory texts, which have caused difficulty among the jurisprudence and doctrine, and several cases ended to the High Court of Cassation and Justice in order to clarify the interpretation of the law. The age of consent in Russia is The age of consent changed several times in Russian history: Law of early tightened the consent laws in Articles and considerably.

However, only a person over 18 can be charged. Charges are relatively low up to 4 years of prison - regardless of gender - and "obscene actions" have even less charges. If the victim is not understanding the nature and consequences of the act due to their age being under 12 or mental abilities , it will be considered rape and charged much more severely up to 15 years of prison, or up to 20 if the victim is under Sexual intercourse committed by a person who has reached the age of eighteen years with a person who has not reached the age of sixteen years - shall be punishable by obligatory labour for a term of up to hours, or by restriction of liberty for a term of up to four years, or by compulsory labour for a term of up to four years with or without deprivation of the right to hold certain posts or to be engaged in a certain activity for a period of up to three years, or by deprivation of liberty for a term of up to four years with or without deprivation of the right to hold certain posts or to be engaged in a certain activity for a period of up to ten years.

Pederasty or lesbianism in respect of a person who has not reached sixteen years of age effected by a person who has reached eighteen years of age - shall be punishable by compulsory labour for a term of up to five years with or without deprivation of the right to hold certain posts or to be engaged in a certain activity for a period of up to three years, or by deprivation of liberty for a term of up to six years with or without deprivation of the right to hold certain posts or to be engaged in a certain activity for a period of up to ten years.

The deeds stipulated by Part One and Two of this Article committed to a person who has reached twelve years of age but has not reached fourteen years of age - shall be punishable with deprivation of freedom for a term of three to ten years with or without deprivation of the right to hold certain posts or to be engaged in a certain activity for a period of up to fifteen years and with restriction of liberty for a term of up to two years or without such.

The deeds stipulated by Parts One, Two or Three of this Article committed in respect of two or more persons - shall be punishable by deprivation of freedom for a term of eight to fifteen years with or without deprivation of the right to hold certain posts or to be engaged in a certain activity for a period of up to twenty years.

The deeds provided for by Parts One, Two, Three or Four of this article made by a group of persons, by a group of persons by previous concert or by an organised group - shall be punishable by deprivation of freedom for a term of twelve to twenty years with or without deprivation of the right to hold certain posts or to be engaged in a certain activity for a period of up to twenty years and with restriction of liberty for a term of up to two years or without such. The deeds provided for by Part Three of this article made by a person with a previous conviction for having committed an offence against sexual integrity of a minor - shall be punishable by deprivation of freedom for a term of fifteen to twenty years with or without deprivation of the right to hold certain posts or to be engaged in a certain activity for a period of up to twenty years or by life imprisonment.

Where the age difference between the victim and the accused person is less than four years, the latter shall not be punishable by deprivation of liberty for the committed deed provided for by Part One of this article or by Part One of Article of this Code. The commission of lecherous actions without using violence by a person who has reached eighteen years of age in respect of a person who has not reached sixteen years of age - shall be punishable by obligatory labour for a term of up to hours, or by restriction of liberty for a term of up to three years, or by compulsory labour for a term of up to five years with or without deprivation of the right to hold certain posts or to be engaged in a certain activity for a period of up to three years, or by deprivation of liberty for a term of up to three years with or without deprivation of the right to hold certain posts or to be engaged in a certain activity for a period of up to ten years.

The same deed committed in respect of the person who has reached twelve years of age but has not reached fourteen years of age - shall be punishable with deprivation of freedom for a term of three to eight years with or without deprivation of the right to hold certain posts or to be engaged in a certain activity for a period of up to fifteen years and with restriction of liberty for a term of up to two years or without such.

The deeds provided for by Parts One or Two of this article made in respect of two or more persons - shall be punishable by deprivation of liberty for a term of five to twelve years with or without deprivation of the right to hold certain posts or to be engaged in a certain activity for a period of up to twenty years. The acts stipulated by Parts one, two or three of this Article committed by a group of persons in preliminary collusion or by an organised group - shall be punishable by deprivation of freedom for a term of seven to fifteen years with or without deprivation of the right to hold certain posts or to be engaged in a certain activity for a period of up to twenty years and with restriction of liberty for a term of up to two years or without such.

Age of consent reform in the United Kingdom

The deed provided for by Part Two of this article which is made by the person who has a previous conviction for having committed an offence against sexual integrity of a minor -. Illicit Sexual Relations or Other Sexual Actions with a Person Who Has Not Reached 16 Years of Age Illicit sexual relations, pederasty, or lesbianism, committed by a person who has reached 18 years of age with a person who obviously has not reached 16 years of age, shall be punishable by restraint of liberty for a term of up to three years or by deprivation of liberty for a term of up to four years.

Depraved Actions Commission of depraved actions without the use of violence by the person who has reached the age of 18 years in relations to a person who obviously has not reached 16 years of age, shall be punishable by a fine in the amount up to thousand roubles, or in the amount of the wage or salary, or any other income of the convicted person for a period up to two years, or by restraint of liberty for a term of up to two years, or by deprivation of liberty for a term of up to three years. Illicit Sexual Relations or Other Sexual Actions with a Person Who Has Not Attained 14 Years of Age Illicit sexual relations, pederasty, or lesbianism, committed by a person who has attained 18 years of age with a person who obviously has not attained 14 years of age, shall be punishable by restraint of liberty for a term of up to three years or by deprivation of liberty for a term of up to four years.

Depraved Actions Commission of depraved actions without the use of violence, in relations to a person who obviously has not attained 14 years of age, shall be punishable by a fine in the amount of to minimum wages, or in the amount of the wage or salary, or any other income of the convicted person for a period of three to five months, or by restraint of liberty for a term of up to two years, or by deprivation of liberty for a term of up to three years.

The penalty for having sex with a minor is not always applied. For example, in , Valentina Isaeva gave birth to a girl in Moscow, Russia at the age of 11 years, 10 months. The child's father was sentenced conditionally for child abuse but was not jailed because he was willing to support Valentina and their daughter. The age of consent in San Marino is 14 , per Article The age of consent in Serbia is 14 , regardless of sexual orientation or gender. This is regulated by Chapter 18 Sexual Offences of the Penal Code of the Republic of Serbia and especially Article prohibiting sexual intercourse with a child.

Article defines a child as a person under 14 years of age. Article prohibits sexual intercourse with a juvenile defined in Article as a person under 18 if the juvenile is entrusted for learning, tutoring, guardianship or care. Article furthermore forbids cohabitation with a minor person under 18 unless a marriage is conducted. From to , sexual acts between men of any age was a criminal offence in Serbia, although the law has never been applied.

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Then in , the age of consent was 18 just for anal sex between males; any male performing anal sexual conduct with another male, is punishable by up to 1 year in prison , 16 for all other sexual conduct. Since , an equal age of consent came into force, regardless of sexual orientation or gender - This is regulated by the section of the Penal Code of the Republic of Serbia stating that "lewd acts" between a male adult and a male under the age of 16 is punishable by imprisonment from 1 to 8 years.

There is no specific reference to "lewd acts" between two females of the same offence.

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The province of Vojvodina , a northern province of Serbia, had decriminalized homosexuality in [ citation needed ] , thus effectively making an equal age of consent for any sexual practice regardless of sex or gender. This lasted until Vojvodina lost its law-making power in The age limit of sexual acts in Slovakia is 15 , as specified by the Slovak Criminal Code, Section Any person, who has sexual intercourse with a person less than fifteen years of age or who subjects such person to other sexual abuse, shall be liable to a term of imprisonment of three to ten years.

The history before within Czechoslovakia is commons with the Czech Republic. Until , homosexual acts were prohibited, however the Criminal Code of that year decriminalised such behaviour partially.