Spain Raises Age of Consent for Sex and Marriage
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Age of consent, in terms of legal matters, refers to the age in which a person can be deemed legally capable of consenting to sexual intercourse. Different countries and municipalities bear the responsibility of setting their own standards for the age of sexual consent.
In hopes of improving the health and safety standards for children, Spanish Health Minister Ana Mato issued a statement Friday saying the country will be revising its consensual age for both sex and marriage.
Up until now Spain has recorded the world's lowest consenting age for both marriages, at 14, and sex, at 13.
The new minimum age for marriage has been raised to 16 while the minimum age for sex must still be decided by Parliament, Reuters reported.
This decision comes less than a month after the New Delhi government's proposal to lower the consenting age from 18 to 16 was met with a flurry of political protests. The proposition to lower the age of consent was ultimately denied by the Cabinet after pressure from various political parties.
According to a survey taken by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 47.4 percent of US high school student have engaged in sexual intercourse. Increased sexual activity in teenagers can become problematic when those young people don't fully understand the potential dangers involved.
The survey also indicated that 39.8 percent of teens reported not using a condom the last time they had sex and 76.7 percent reported not being on birth control.
Planned Parenthood's website offers a wide range of information dealing with STD prevention and sexual activity in teenagers.