Sexual majority occurs a few years before civil majority, and is more like an age of legal consent.
What is sexual majority?
THE term “sexual majority” “does not exist legally”, informs Alexia Théodosiou, project manager at the Youth Health and Priority Public Center at the Regional Center for Information and Prevention of AIDS and for Youth Health (Crips). There is no age from which one has the right, according to the law, to have sexual relations. In common parlance, the age of sexual majority refers to the age below which a minor does not have the right to have sexual relations with an adult.
What is the age of sexual majority?
The age of sexual majority is 15 years old In France. From this age, it is considered that the minor is able to give informed consent for have sex with an adult (18 years old). So it’s allowed. On the other hand, before 15 years, it is not allowed to have sex with people aged 18 or over. It is allowed to have sexual relations with consenting persons under the age of 15 (if there is not too great a difference in age) or with consenting persons who are older but who are under 18.
What is the age of sexual majority for a girl in France?
The age of sexual majority does not vary according to sex. It is fixed at 15 years for a girl. For example, if a 14-year-old girl has sex with someone over 18, the adult is committing a wrongdoing.
What is the age of sexual majority for a boy in France?
Similarly, the age of sexual majority is set at 15 for boys. If a 14 year old boy has sex with a girl who is 18 or older, it is against French law.
Is this the same as the legal age of consent?
The legal age of consent and sexual majority are identical. There The concept of consent is nevertheless the most important. “Before the age of 15, you can have sex. What is prohibited by law is having sex with an adult over 18 at that age. It is then considered that I cannot give informed consent”, clarifies Alexia Théodosiou. Regardless of age, the consent is essential in sexuality. When there is no consent, there is sexual violence.
What does the law say if you do not respect the legal age?
Any sexual relationship between an adult and a minor under the age of 15 (i.e. under the age of 15) is prohibited and liable to criminal penalties. Three articles define the parameters of the legal age of sexual consent, in the paragraph of the Penal Code dedicated to sexual offenses committed against minors. I’section 227-25 stipulate that “the fact, for an adult, to exert a sexual attack on a minor of fifteen years is punished by seven years of imprisonment and a fine of 100,000 euros”. The penalty can go up to 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of 150,000 euros when the adult exercises authority over the minor, when the acts are committed by several people, when the first contact was established on a “communication network electronic”, and when the offense is committed by someone in a state of obvious intoxication or under the influence of narcotics. Note thata sexual relationship does not necessarily contain an act of penetration. Of the touching are also considered a sexual assault under the law: a kiss, a hand on the buttocks, caresses on the thigh… Whether consented to or not, these acts are reprehensible –provided they are the subject of a complaint–, if they are committed on a minor under the age of 15, by an adult.
Thanks to Alexia Théodosiou, project manager at the Youth and Priority Public Health Center at Crips.