Age of consent

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The age of consent is the age at which a person can legally have sexual intercourse.

Historically in England and Wales the age of consent for heterosexual intercourse for girls was 12, there was no lower age limit for heterosexual intercourse for boys, buggery (but not other forms of gay sex) was illegal between men and boys at any age, and there were no explicit laws about lesbian sex.

The Criminal Law Amendment Act 1885 raised the age of consent for girls to 16,and also introduced the offence of gross indecency between males, effectively making all kinds of gay male sex illegal, irrespective of age.

The Sexual Offences Act 1967 legalised gay sex between men in private, with an age of consent of 21. It did not apply to Scotland or Northern Ireland, where gay sex was still illegal.

The Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 reduced the age of consent for gay men to 18.

The The Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000 introduced a common age of consent of 16 for both males and females, and for both heterosexual and homosexual acts.

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