In Canada, you must be 16 years of age to legally consent to sexual activity.1 This is called the “age of consent.” Sexual activity includes a range of activities from kissing to sexual intercourse and cannot involve abuse or exploitation. There are some exceptions for youth under the age of 16, but only if they are part of “peer groups” or “close to old age” (see below).2 In other words, a person must be at least 16 years of age to legally consent to sexual activity. For any sexual activity or contact to be legal in Canada, it must be done with the voluntary permission of each person involved. Giving your voluntary permission is called “consent”. Sexual acts or touching without consent violate the criminal law, regardless of your age. You must be 18 years old to legally consent to sexual activity that “exploits” – if it involves prostitution, pornography, or if the sexual activity takes place in a relationship of authority, trust, or addiction (for example, with a teacher, coach, or babysitter). IMPORTANT: There are also some situations in which a teen cannot legally consent to sexual activity. This means that even if a teen gives permission or says “yes” to sexual activity, the law does not recognize consent as a valid “yes”: At Kruse Law, our legal team is made up of several former prosecutors, which gives us the advantage of knowing what works on both sides of the aisle. Contact us today to arrange your free case review and learn how to minimize the impact of criminal charges on your life. These exceptions to the “peer group” mean that if teens under the age of 16 are close to old age, they can legally engage in sexual activity with each other, including things like “sexting.” However, if a young person under the age of 16 engages in sexual activity with someone older than their “peer group/age limit”, this is considered a criminal offence. It does not matter if the young person has given permission, as consent is not considered legally valid.5 The age of consent in Canada refers to cultural and legal discussions in Canada about the age of consent, which were raised in May 2008 under the Tackling Violent Crime Act. [1] This applies to all forms of sexual activity.
[2] The age of consent is the age at which a young person can legally consent to sexual activity. The age of consent applies to all forms of sexual activity, from kissing and fondling to sexual intercourse. One of the motivations for reforming these laws in Canada was the case of Dale Eric Beckham. In March 2005, Beckham, then 31, traveled from his home in Woodlands, Texas, to Ottawa, Ontario, to meet a 14-year-old boy he had met on the Internet. The boy`s parents, after seeing him sneak into a taxi in the middle of the night, alerted police, who followed the taxi to a downtown hotel. Police found Beckham and the boy naked in a hotel room engaged in sexual activity. It was later discovered that the two had also had sex the night before. Police also discovered hundreds of pornographic images of children on a laptop that Beckham had brought back from Texas.
Beckham was arrested and held on bail. In Beckham`s home state of Texas, the age of consent is 17 and offenders can face prison sentences of up to 10 to 20 years. In Canada, sexual activity with 14-year-olds was legal (until May 2008) as long as it was consensual and the adult was not in a position of authority or dependence. The boy, who reportedly suffered from social anxiety disorder and showed signs of suicidal thoughts, insisted in interviews with police that sex with Beckham was consensual. Therefore, the only crime for which Beckham could be prosecuted in Canada was a relatively minor offence of possession of child pornography. In November 2005, Beckham pleaded guilty and was sentenced to what he had already served. He was then deported to the United States. [8][9][10][11][12][13] It should be noted that minors may consent in these circumstances, not that they have consented in a particular case. The proposal was also criticized by Andrea Cohen of the Canadian Federation for Sexual Health Pro-Choice (formerly the International Planned Parenthood Federation), who said the organization believed the legislation had done nothing to protect young people. She spoke on CTV News Channel`s “Mike Duffy Live,” where she explained, “What this will do is violate the rights of young people in terms of their ability to make decisions about their own sexuality.” [17] In 2007, his organization issued an official statement.
[21] Peter Dudding, Executive Director of the Child Welfare League of Canada, also criticized the effect of the legislation to remove judicial discretion in cases involving 14- and 15-year-olds: “If we deal with arbitrary limits, we lose the flexibility to apply the law in a much more specific and individual way.” [22] Section 159 of the Criminal Code sets 18 as the age of consent to intercourse for unmarried couples. In June 2019, Bill C-75 was passed by both Houses of the Canadian Parliament and received Royal Assent, repealing section 159 and making the age of consent equal to 16 for all types of sexual intercourse. [5] Prior to its repeal, section 159 had been declared unconstitutional by several courts, including 4 courts of appeal, and was found to be unenforceable. [6] Any sexual activity without consent is a criminal offence, regardless of age. From 1890 until recently, the age at which a teenager could consent to non-exploitative sexual activity was 14 years (1). With the recent amendment to the Criminal Code of Canada, the age of consent for non-exploitative sexual activity is now 16. A 14- or 15-year-old can consent to sexual activity as long as the partner is under five years older and there is no relationship of trust, authority, dependence or other exploitation of the adolescent. This means that if the partner is 5 years old or older than the 14- or 15-year-old, any sexual activity is a criminal offence. If you are 16 or 17, you have reached the age of consent to sexual activity as long as your partner is at least 14. For exploitative sexual activities (prostitution or pornography, or if there is a relationship of trust, authority or dependence), the age of consent is 18. If you have been accused of sex with a minor partner, you may have defensive measures available.
As experienced sexual assault advocates, we know how to present these cases in the best possible light. Depending on the circumstances, we may be able to argue that you made an honest age error before making sexual contact, or that less serious charges should be dropped in your case. LGBT activists have criticized the law for failing to address equality and for maintaining the age of consent for extramarital sex at 18 in Canada. Hillary Cook, a spokeswoman for gay rights group Egale Canada, said the bill was “an attempt to score partisan points.” [17] In June 2019, Bill C-75 was passed by both Houses of the Canadian Parliament and received Royal Assent repealing section 159 with immediate effect and equalizing the age of consent at 16 for all individuals. [18][2] Ibid.
