Another call has been made for the age of consent to be moved upward from 16 to 18 years old.
The argument was made by St George North Member of Parliament and trade unionist Toni Moore, as she contributed to debate Tuesday on the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill 2024 in the House of Assembly.
She told the Chamber that there was a need to standardise the various pieces of legislation that help to define who is a child, the age of responsibility, the age of consent to sexual activity and consent to marriage.
“Different things can apply for different pieces of legislation. But when he met in the committee . . . that has responsibility for examining social and environmental issues, in the exchanges, one of the overarching concerns was this very fact that we had definitions that meant different things in different places,” the backbencher noted.
Calling for consistency in the framing of legislation, Moore told the Lower Chamber: “As we try to standardise the pieces of legislation, we should not standardise them at the lowest level possible. But we should standardise them in a way that offers maximum protection to people, in this case, children.”
Moore added: “I believe that we could have gone further to make the definition of a minor reflect one that is consistent with the Child Justice Bill and the Child Protection Bill and the Liquor Licence Act carrying that age to age 18. I think [that is] where I have further concern.”
The MP urged more reflection on the issue: “I recognise minor for the purpose of this act is a child or a person under the age of 16, and my proposal is to adjust it to under the age of 18.”
(IMC1)
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