In India, a petition to increase the age of consent from 18 to 16 is being heard in the Supreme Court. Supporters see it as a protection for teenage romantic relationships, while opponents see it as an increased risk of sexual exploitation.
New Delhi: The legal age for consensual sexual intercourse in India is 18 years. Relationships with people below this age come under the purview of the POCSO Act. But, the hearing on the petition demanding increasing the age of consent to 16 years is going to start in the Supreme Court on November 12, regarding which a big debate has erupted on social media. People are sharing posts in favor and against it.
Senior lawyer Indira Jaisingh is assisting the Supreme Court in the case ‘Nipun Saxena vs Union of India’. Indira Jaisingh argues that the age of consent should be 16 years. They argued that the existing law under the age of 18 criminalizes even consensual romantic relationships between teenagers and is a violation of their constitutional rights.
At the same time, people are strongly criticizing this on social media. Many people have written that 16 years is too young and cannot be considered the age of consent for relationships. People argue that 16 years means students studying in class 10th and this may increase the risk of sexual exploitation of girls. People are also asking that when the legal age for drinking alcohol or driving in India is 18 years, then why is the age of consent being raised to 16 years.
By the way, some people are also supporting increasing the age of consent to 16 years. Supporters argue that there are many cases where children fall in love with mutual consent, but the boys go to jail under the POCSO Act. Some people also argue that girls’ families often misuse POCSO to trap boys.