Parliament adopts bill that makes teen sex legal

27 May 2015 - 19:12 By RDM News Wire

After an outpouring of public opinion and two Constitutional Court rulings‚ parliamentarians in the justice portfolio committee have adopted a Bill that allows teenagers to engage in consensual sexual behaviour with fellow adolescents without fear of prosecution. However‚ MPs have not ruled out future intervention on issues such as at what age an adolescent is capable of making a decision to engage in sexual activity.The Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services today adopted the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act Amendment Bill.The Constitutional Court in 2013 had ordered to parliament modify the legislation after it had ruled in two cases that sections 15 and 16 of the act were unconstitutional. The court ruled that holding children between the ages of 12 and 15 criminally liable for consensual sexual acts with other children in the same age group infringes on their constitutional rights.The Bill will now be sent to the National Assembly for debate and adoption before it is referred to the National Council of Provinces.The intention behind the Sexual Offences Act‚ which was amended in December 2007‚ was to strengthen the state’s ability to prosecute rape and child abuse. But it was described as being too broad and in effect criminalised everything from sex to foreplay and even kissing between 12 to 16-year-olds – opening them up to prosecution and forcing adults to report them to the police for sexual activity.Adolescents who were found guilty could have their name placed on the National Sex Offenders register along with child molesters‚ paedophiles and rapists. This was one of the aspects that the Constitutional Court had asked parliament to revise.In a statement today‚ the portfolio committee said it had received more than 1‚000 written submissions on the Bill and held a series of public hearings.“During the public participation process it became apparent that concerns were raised that Parliament intended to lower the age of consent. The Committee wishes to reiterate that this is not the intention.” Committee chairperson Dr Mathole Motshekga said the age of consent remains 16 years of age.Motshekga said that some of the public concerns merited further consideration. “The Committee therefore recommends that some aspects raised need further investigation with the view to promote a Committee Bill at a later stage. This includes uncertainty that may exist regarding the age of consent and circumstances where an adolescent is incapable in law of consenting to a sexual act.”-RDM News Wire..

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