Under the Criminal Law Amendment Act 2013, the age of consent in India is 18. People under the age of 17 cannot legally consent to sexual activity, which could lead to prosecution for rape. In 1892, the age of consent was 10, but it gradually increased over time to 18. The age of consent should be lowered to 16, as many police-reported cases of sexual assault involve people between the ages of 16 and 18 who engage in consensual sex but are reported by disapproving parents. In almost all Australian territories, including the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, Victoria and Western Australia, the age of consent in Australia is 16. However, two Australian territories, Tasmania and South Australia, have raised the age of consent to 17. As in many countries, the age of consent increases to 18 if the oldest participant is in a position of care or authority (teacher, guardian, clergy, etc.) over the minor participant. Many jurisdictions have age-related exceptions that also vary by region. The age of consent in Russia is 16. However, as in many countries, the age of consent in Russia has changed several times. The Criminal Code of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) stipulates that consent takes place at the time when „sexual maturity“ has been reached. It was set at 16 years in 1996 when the Russian Criminal Code was introduced, lowered to 14 years in 1998 and postponed to 16 years in 2003.
In Russia, there is no law on age limits. However, articles 134 and 135 of the Criminal Code, which set out the conditions for legal rape, stipulate that the perpetrator must be at least 18 years of age to be legally responsible, creating roughly the same protection as an age clause. The age of consent in Italy is 14 years and increases to 16 years if one participant occupies a position of authority or influence over the other (teacher, clergyman, etc.). In addition, it is illegal to engage in sexual acts if a person under the age of 14 is present to observe them, even if the minor does not participate. Sexual activity with a prostitute under the age of 18 is illegal in Italy. In addition, Italy has an age limit rule that allows 13-year-olds to legally consent to partners under three years older (or less). 1. Any adult between the ages of 14 and 16 who performs a major sexual act or has it performed by him with others and abuses his inexperience, is liable to imprisonment for up to 2 years. The Austrian Criminal Code previously set 18 as the age of consent for male homosexual relations, in which the other partner was between 14 and 18 years, while there was no corresponding provision for heterosexual sexual conduct or in connection with female homosexuality; it was section 209 of the Criminal Code. In November 1996, an amendment to delete Article 209 was submitted to the Austrian Parliament; But the vote ended in a draw and the amendment was not adopted. A similar amendment was tabled in July 1998; It was rejected by the conservative majority. Article 209 came into force when homosexuality between men became legal in 1971.
As provided for in sections 148 and 149, regardless of age, it is illegal for a person who holds a position of authority or superiority over a person to engage in sexual acts with that person, or if there is a breach of trust or a situation of distress or dependence. The penalty is more severe if the person is under 18 years of age. Under article 115 of the Belarusian Criminal Code, rape is defined as „sexual intercourse involving the use of physical force, threat or application of a state of powerlessness on the part of the victim“ and is punishable by imprisonment for three to seven years (Belarus, 1 May 1994). Rape committed by a person who has already committed a similar crime may be punishable by five to ten years, while rape committed „by dangerous relapse or has particularly serious consequences“ is punishable by imprisonment for eight to fifteen years or the death penalty (ibid.). Rape of a person under the legal age of consent is punishable by imprisonment for five to fifteen years (ibid.). The legal age of consent in Belarus is eighteen years after Interpol (Interpol, 4 Nov. 2005) and sixteen years after the entry into force of the Belarusian Criminal Code (Belarus, 1 May 1994). According to the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA), the legal age of consent in Belarus is fourteen years for heterosexual and lesbian sexual activities and eighteen years for sexual activities between men of the same sex (ILGA 31 July 2000). Male homosexual acts have been decriminalized in Gibraltar since 1993, when the age of consent was higher at 18 for homosexuals and 16 for lesbians and heterosexuals. Anal sex was still illegal for heterosexuals. The equal age of consent at 16 and the legalization of heterosexual intercourse occurred due to a Supreme Court decision in 2011. [158] In 2011, the Non-Gender-Based Crimes Act 2011 introduced an equal and neutral age of consent of 16 and legalized anal sex for heterosexuals – reflecting the Gibraltar Supreme Court decision and repealing and updating Gibraltar`s 140-year-old criminal laws.
[157] The concept of age limit used in Canada, for example, does not exist in the Maltese legal system and sexual activity between a 15-year-old partner and a 16-year-old partner may constitute a stain on minors, depending on the circumstances, without exception permitted solely because of their age. Male homosexuality was illegal under Article 175, regardless of age since 1872. Female homosexuality has not been prosecuted. In West Germany, male homosexuality was legalized in 1969. The age of consent was set at 21 and lowered to 18 in 1975. Only men over the age of 18 may be delinquents and the courts may refrain from punishing if the offender is not yet 21 years of age.