In El Salvador and Honduras, 15 years ± is considered the age of consent; while in Cuba, Nicaragua, Peru, Venezuela and Guatemala, they increase it to 16. Already in the 18 years ±this is the age that is assumed in many parts of the world, are Bolivia, Panama and Uruguay. In addition, like©Mexico, the United States has differences in its©states, although it generally considers 18 to be the legal age of consent. In 47 states and the District of Columbia, the age of majority is 18. On the other hand, in two states – Alabama and Nebraska – it is reached at the age of 19, and in only one state – Mississippi – the age of majority is set at 21. In Spain: Most Spaniards live in their parents` house until the age of 27. At age 18, only 3% flew out of the nest. At this age, more than half believe that the ideal age to settle is over 25 years. Among the places with the highest population of Latin American origin, California and Florida set the score at 18 ±, while Texas and New York State consider 17 years to be an appropriate age. One detail to keep in mind in the U.S. is what they call the “age difference provision.” This sets the threshold of how many older people the most mature person can be in the relationship with the youngest. For California, Florida and New York, there are no limits, but in Texas, anyone who has sex with a 17-year-old± cannot exceed their partner by more than 4 years, that is, they cannot be over 21 years old. The law, which is being changed in England and Wales, has supported a prominent couple of nineteenth-century Spanish exiles in England.

The youngest, Teresa Mancha, was known as the lover of the poet José de Espronceda, but she was also the wife of the wealthy Bilbao merchant Gregorio de Bayo, in an amalgam of circumstances that wisely reflect what marriage means in certain places and at certain times. Teresa`s father, Colonel Epifanio Mancha, was a liberal who had to leave Spain after the absolutist triumph of 1823. He went to Portugal, where he coincided with the poet Espronceda, who wrote to his parents that he was on the run, “not because of a foolish skull, but because of the love and honor of the country.” In some countries, the age of majority can be reached before the legally established age, this can be done by marriage, parental consent or court order. Sometimes age differs in men or women, in situations where it is declared incapable, or in special age groups. The UK government yesterday lowered the age of criminal consent for same±s relationships to 16, bringing it into line with the rules applicable to heterosexual couples. The new Sexual Offences Act, passed twice by the House of Commons by a large majority and twice rejected by the Lords, only came into being when the Labour executive decided to use the legislative powers that allow it to pass a rule even though the House of Lords refuses©to accept it. Although the government has kept its election promise to end this type of discrimination denounced by the homosexual community, it has not been able to prevent the decriminalization of this type of relationship from becoming one of the most sensitive issues raised since coming to power. In Spain, the age of majority is reached when you reach the age of 18, although this is not the case in all countries of the world. The age of majority is defined as the “age threshold recognized in the jurisdiction in which the person reaches adulthood”. In addition to the ceremonial injustices that marriage entails, the ages of those involved have skyrocketed since Teresa married a wealthy Basque in London at the age of 16. Official data in Spain on marriages in 2020 (atypical year due to the pandemic) place the age of couples at an average of 38 for men and 36 for women.

In the same year 2020, 90,416 ties, 4,098 separations and 95,254 divorces were registered (atypical double year, more divorces than unions). According to the comparison with the United Kingdom, 242,000 marriages were registered in 2021 (67 million inhabitants), while Spain had 161,000 (47 million inhabitants).