Consent

Consent is the willingness and agreement to engage in an act or proposal made by another party. Consent must be given voluntarily without the person being subject to force, coercion, or deception. Consent can be express or implied and must be given by someone with the capacity and mental competence to understand the act in question.

Express consent is given directly in writing or spoken aloud. Implied consent is given via action or conduct.

Limitations of Consent

Consent can be withdrawn at any time and under certain conditions cannot be given due to incapacity. For example, person who is severely intoxicated, under the influence of drugs, or asleep cannot give valid consent because they lack the capacity temporarily. Mental capacity is refers to a person's ability to understand information, make rational decisions, and express themselves.

Most countries have laws stipulating that people under a certain age cannot sign legal contracts and in the United States such contracts are voidable in court. Countries commonly legislate that people under a certain age cannot consent to sexual relationships subject to a variety of exceptions. "Romeo and Juliet" exceptions allow young people close in age to give consent to one another for sex. The age of consent and exceptions vary widely from country to country and within countries reflecting the arbitrary nature of age of consent laws and a misunderstanding of physiological and neurological development. The same person may be legally capable of conseting to sex in one jurisdiction but not in another regardless of their individual capacity , mental competence, and willingness based solely on physical age.

"the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals boasts three different ages of consent — Indiana: 16, Illinois: 17, and Wisconsin: 18. I defy anyone to tell me that teens in Indiana are more mature than those in Wisconsin. Maybe Indiana legislators simply don’t believe in the science of adolescent development?"Heading text

Many states also make exceptions to the age of consent law for married partners who may be under the local age of consent or married, with permission of their parents, to an older partner.

History and Modern Interpretation

The first laws governing consent and age come from English law in 1275 where it was a misdemeanor to "ravish" a maiden below the marriageable age of 12 with or without consent. The modern descendant's of these laws violate the fundamental principal of bodily autonomy: that my body is my own for me. Age of consent laws are primarily used to pursue cases where both partners willingly agreed to sex or where the case is marginal. The cases can be pursued by district attorneys without cooperation of the minor and even over the protests of the person being 'protected' by the law. Cases of non-consensual sex could be persued under rape laws, but those laws aren't relevant to sex between willing people.

In the united States the youngest age of sexual consent is 16 years old in 33 states, 17 years in 6 states and 18 years in the rest. A teen who lived in Washington State could legally consent to have sex with an older partner of 22 for example, but if they traveled the next day to California, the same teen could not legally consent to sex with another 16 year old because there is no Romeo and Juliet exception in California and the age of consent is 18. Legally both teens would be committing sexual assault while simultaneously both being assaulted.

Informed Consent

Informed consent is a clinical term relating to medical and research situations. Patients and research participants have the right to ask questions, be given relevant information that a reasonable person would want to have to make an informed decision. The information should be in language that is understandable to them. The should be made aware that participation or treatment is voluntary. A provider seeking informed consent must judge the patient's decision making capacity and ability to understand relevant treatment information. Informed consent can be given even when an inducement such as money is involved. "Broad consent" refers to how consent is uses colloquially outside of clinical situations.