Why the Age of Consent for Sex is Important

The Right Person to Have Sex With

The “age of consent” is the age at which it becomes legal for young people to engage in penetrative sexual acts. There are laws to stop older people from taking advantage of people younger than sixteen by having sex with them. There are different laws in different states of Australia, and they may be different for homosexual than for heterosexual sex, so you had better find out what applies to you if you are thinking about having sex.

So why is the age of consent important? Because society believes that people younger than sixteen are not able to think Sex-Wise and that they can be hurt either physically, emotionally or mentally (or in all those ways!). That’s worth considering! Older people who make the laws are, after all, coming from the wisdom of the pain of past experience. They are not just there to spoil your fun. They also want to protect you from making the same painful mistakes they made. Some of them regret having sex too early, in the wrong place, with definitely the wrong person, for the wrong reasons and without protection – sometimes with sad and sorry consequences that almost ruined a life.

The laws are also intended to protect younger people who may not really understand the maturity it takes to have sex and keep it Sex-Wise. For instance, it is not usually easy for very young teenagers to have and care for a baby - not easy for a couple and certainly not easy for a single girl on her own.

Let me tell you a true story.

Belinda was a good student at school and really talented at science. Her teachers thought she could become a great scientist and encouraged her to sit for a scholarship. Belinda was the first girl in history to be awarded the scholarship. She did not get to celebrate her big achievement though as she found out that at fifteen, she was pregnant to her boyfriend, Tony.

Belinda’s family did not like Tony and they put all the blame for the pregnancy on Tony.Of course Belinda knew she was also responsible for getting pregnant as she loved Tony and wanted to have sex with him. Her parents refused to accept this and they also refused to let Belinda have an abortion.They had strong religious beliefs that taking a baby’s chance of living away through an abortion was a sin.

Belinda and Tony ran away from their parents’ homes and tried to set up a home of their own to have the baby in. Unfortunately, Tony could not get a job because he had no training. Also nobody would rent them a flat because they had no credit rating (that’s when you have proven that you can borrow money and pay it back reliably). Belinda got very sick during her pregnancy and wanted the security of a roof over her head and so the young couple decided to split up and go back home to their parents.

Belinda had the baby but Tony never saw it. He had gone to live interstate. Belinda took a part-time job in the supermarket as a “check-out chick” so that she could be there as much as possible for the baby. She never did get to find out how good she could have been as a scientist.

Don’t you think Belinda missed out on something!