How Age Of Consent Kept On Changing In India?

Attaining the age of 18 makes one an adult. Though they are seen as teenagers as per their age, 18 makes one adult. 18 is also the minimum age of consent as prescribed under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act.

Of late, we are hearing a lot about the proposal to reduce the age of consent. It is also being said that work is going on about this. Amid this, the Law Commission is said to have advised that it is not good to reduce the current age of consent. In a report, the law commission said the same.

For the unversed, the age of consent is the age that is prescribed for marriage and consensual relationships. The age limit is very crucial in the way the case investigation and other legal procedures where girls are attacked or harassed. Based on the age the punishment gets tough.

A debate is going on about the age of consent. Let us know the history of how the age of consent kept on changing with time. The age of consent was 16 before the emergence of the POCSO Act which came into effect in 2012.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development, India came up with the act to counter child sexual abuse. India had one of the biggest child populations in the world back then and the Ministry brought a law that talks about safeguarding children from abuse. After the act, the age was increased to 18.

Back when we were under British Colonial rule, the age of consent was just 10. When a 11-year-old girl died after intercourse with her husband the rule was changed and in 1891 the age was increased to 12. Cut to a few decades the age was increased to 14 in 1925 and to 16 in 1940. Till 2012 the age was 16.

If we look at the age of consent in various nations it is between 13 to 18. In Canada, the age of consent was changed to 16 in 2008 from 13. As per the American Federal Law, the age of consent is 18. However, there are different laws in different states there. In Australia, the age of consent is 16 to 17 and in Japan, it was changed to 16 from 13 in Japan.