Overview

• Precisely what is the age when a child becomes a competent adult? At what age can our freedoms no longer be curtailed by the fiduciary responsibilities of our parents or guardians? This is one of many grey areas for which there is no objective ‘right’ answer. Instead, we must use the concept of reasonableness.
• Most countries around the world set the age at between 16-21 years old, which we could take as the reasonable range.
• Some countries in Europe set the lower end of the range at 14, but it may be reasonable to require ‘close-in-age’ rules that prevent anyone older than 17 from having a sexual relationship with a 14 or 15-year-old. Power imbalance clauses may also be reasonably implemented to prevent the abuse of authority (e.g., in teacher-student or employer-employee relationships).
• Example: If a 30-year-old man had sex with a 10-year-old girl, it would be a breach of the Legal Principle even if the man, the girl, and the girl’s parents consented. It is not reasonable to think that a 10 year old girl is a competent adult, no matter what the local customs of that area.