But why does such a law exist. Hopefully, the following examines the commonly voiced arguments for and against 'the age of consent'.

Whatever the law passed in any country, there will always be supporters and opposers of it. Opposition can be for a number of reasons ranging from a sense of lost liberty to outright anarchy. The subject of sex however, is one that affects different individuals differently and amongst the popular arguments for under age sex are: that some young people might be mature and mentally as well as physically ready for a sexual experience a lot earlier than the prescribed age of 16; it may be the platform they need to progress from childhood to adulthood; it is a potentially enjoyable experience that they are being denied; it enables people to express themselves and their feelings early in life and not feel ashamed or inhibited about sex or sensitivity as they get older; it is a wonderful, mutually pleasurable pastime that in the main, does not cost money to perform; keeps you out of trouble and off the streets; it takes away the feeling of guilt and the need to sneak around behind your parents

Like adults, young people are made up of cross-divisions of society and their backgrounds, personality, experiences and maturity can often determine whether they are old enough to handle sex and more adult emotions or not. For instance, on the one hand you may have a young girl who has been brought up in the security of a loving family unit, had the full range of access to family values, and the influence of her parents, siblings and friends include knowing 'right from wrong' and upholding the law'. Typically one would expect such a child to take full advantage of her childhood and participate in sexually activity after she became a legal adult or women. On the other hand you could have a young girl who had received very little love or affection as a child, denied guidance or interest from her parents, lacked self-esteem and confidence around others. Typically such an individual could grow into her teenage years yearning for the love and affection that she was denied as a child and unwittingly participate in sexual activity as a means of substituting this.

In contrast, there are many compelling arguments to not only keep the age of consent where it is, but possibly to have it raised. Many of these have sadly been based upon unfortunate consequences of under age sex, but nevertheless serve to reinforce these arguments amongst which are: teenage pregnancies - requiring many girls to drop out of school, give up their education and 'rob' themselves of their youthful and social years; on the back of this, an early loss of innocence - which many young people are not yet ready for, particularly when they are suddenly expected to transfer from child to adult overnight; peer pressure - which again forces a child to effectively progress to another stage of life that they are not necessarily ready for; isolation and expulsion from the family unit for 'bringing shame upon them'; this could lead onto homelessness, potential drug abuse and prostitution as a 'way out', in addition to unwanted attention from paedophiles; a lack of sexual education and protection could lead to sexually transmitted diseases such as AIDS, Hepatitis or other health problems later in life like cervical cancer; child abuse resultin

Some common words found in the essay are:
AIDS Hepatitis, , Street Amongst, age consent, sexually transmitted diseases, age 16, transmitted diseases, popular arguments, sexually transmitted, earlier prescribed age, 'rob' themselves youthful, school education 'rob', prescribed age 16, sex sensitivity, ashamed inhibited, inhibited sex, feel ashamed, life feel,
Approximate Word count = 1491
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)