What should the age of consent be?

Watching the TV series of Game of Thrones / House of the Dragon, one is reminded of the age when the marriage ages of 12-14 years was common place.
Whilst it's true that in days of yore, life expectancy was much shorter, - with War, Famine, Pestilence and Death seeing off many a man, child and especially women (i.e child bearing), with the advancement of knowledge and development of remedies and safeguards things have significantly changed.
My question is:
Should the age of consent be lowered (back) to 14? (when a girl 'comes of age)
- After all, we are much more 'educated' in the ways of both Biology and Consequences
Should the age of consent be lifted to 18?
- A General; though not Worldwidely agreed average time of Adult maturity

How far should freedom of choice go

 

I think 14 is much too young, maybe they develop body’s and physically ready, but what about emotionally ? I don’t think a 14 year old is ready for that.

 

https://www.theweek.co.uk/92121/ages-of-consent-around-the-world

 

Legal history
In 1275, the first age of consent was set in England, at age 12 (Statute of Westminster I)

Age of consent reform in the United Kingdom - Wikipedia

 

If I had my way it would be at age 21.

 

In centuries past young people were forced into maturity at a younger age due to hardships and the necessity of hard manual labor to survive. That may be still true today in some remote and more primitive cultures, but in modern society mental and emotional immaturity have been prolonged by the comforts provided by parents and others. I voted 18, and agreeing with Boozercruiser that's still pretty young nowadays.

 

In Islam( shariat) 9 years old girl can get marry, if she is mature physically and mentality.!!!!
For boys the age is 15. I believe these is slavery partculary for girls

 

Filthy Bastards.
And all done in the name of religion.
Makes me wanna puke!

 

It is surprised if you know the age of guy to marry a girl 9 years old!!! It doesn't matter, it could be up to 90 years .
It some Islamic countries, marrying a younger girl less than 18 needs to get permission of the court, based on physical and mental medical approval.

 

This question does not seem to have created as much discussion as I thought it would do.
.
For me: -
'Legal 'Consent' is dependent on educational awareness. This is why I feel Sex education is a must these days.
.
The media opportinities to view on TV and Cinema screen can be regulated, but now with the onset and availabity of modern IT.
All one needs is a phone to put risque and worse! online in any area, be it bedroom, local park, bus or indeed any indoor and outdoor areas.
.
Teenagers were, are and will be curious and inherently rebellious - "back in my day" what started out as a 'Doctors and Nurses', 'Truth or Dare', Spin the bottle ' games of 'you show me yours and I'll show you mine' is beyond tame these days, and sexual interaction deemed as a reasonable act.
'
It is however the consequences od such that seem to be overlooked. An 'unmarried (and/or) teenage mum was a lot rarer years ago, now no one bats an eyelid, and whilst one champions the cause of individual freedom of choice, like a lot of things in these days of whimsical choice and demand with instant access and delivery, - consideration is very much lacking

For me: -
I would have to say 'legal consent' should be aligned with voting age (be it 16,18 or 21)
There is a line in the Barry McGuire song 'Eve of Destruction ' - that states "..you're old enough to kill,- bit not for voting' and whilst that song related to the Vietnam war, draft and expectancy to 'die for one's country,-a country where you had no right to influence though electoral voting, I believe that a parallel should be drawn with such.
'
'Kids having kids' is an oft used phrase, therefore if it is deemed one is mature enough to make a considered choice on their local/National representative for Political leadership, then having consideration of/with the potential consequences of sexual liaison
AND
- - - Vice versa

 

This may sound flip, but I believe that the age of consent, the age when it's legal to drink in public, the age at which you can vote, and the minimum age that you can serve in the military should all be the same.

If the government thinks that you're old enough to carry a rifle into battle, then you should be considered old enough to legally drink, fuck, and vote.

 

I was really confused, because, I don't know why having sex for teenagers at a different age is legal, but, marriage should follow the law.

 

This is a tough question males and females can mature at different ages. Why should an 18 year old be condemned for dating and having sex with a 16 year old when they both agree to it and neither one is being forced or taken advantage of.there should be other factors used to decide if this is appropriate.some times a mature 16 year old can be taking advantage of

 

I know 24 year olds who shouldn't be allowed to cut their own food.

Age of consent? 19. Then they can sex, drive, drink, kill with Government sanction (military service) and, Goddess help us, vote.

 

Here is my thoughts.
Age is not what should be considered but mental capability to understand the seriousness of the possible outcomes. A 12-year-old in the 1800s were treated as an adult in every way work responsibility and the life expectancy was much lower as well. And yes, boys and girls can physically have sex as young as 10. But a 10-year-old these days is treated like a child with little to no sex education, zero responsibility and no possible way to comprehend the possible outcome! Upper European countries have taken another approach by teaching sex from birth and encouraging masturbation by themselves with a friend or a date. They saw STDs and unwanted pregnancies drastically drop. kids and teens were asked what they think all said they were fully satisfied through masturbation and wanted to wait for marriage before having intercourse.

I was raised this way but in America. Masturbating with friends was fully satisfying!

 

18... But even 18 is scary when you think about it. 18 year olds aren't too bright - Especially these days.

 

where is the none of the above.
responsible maturity is not a matter of number of years,
but of however many years each individual takes,
to outgrow narcissism.

 

My father was about 14 when his first daughter was born and almost 70 when he got around to producing me. I ended up with a step sister roughly the same age as my mother and a 16 year old calling me uncle when I was a toddler.

 

This is an interesting question without an easy answer. Even now the age of consent is different in different places, not just different countries but even different states in the US. What should it be based on? Puberty? You can complete puberty by around 16 and the age of puberty has actually been decreasing. Mental maturity? They say your brain isn't fully developed until you are in your mid 20s. Should that be it? I honesty don't know what the answer is and should it not be a specific number but be dependent on individual factors? I think people want an easy number like "18" but how do we arrive at that specific number? And you can drive at 16, but not drink or smoke marijuana until 21 (in the US). On one hand I have argued for raising the military enlistment age.