What is the age of consent?
Your penis or vagina belongs to you, but you should not use it as you please.
The age of consent is the age at which the law considers a person mature enough to make adult decisions about his or her sex life.
You can get away with usikojoe hapa (don’t pee here) – assuming you can run fast enough, but you cannot get away with having sex with a minor!
Huwezi panda miti anywhere! (You should not plant your tree anywhere!) and the same applies to women, it is illegal to have sex with minors.
So, who is a minor?
The Children’s Act defines a minor as a person who is below the age of 18 years. Minors are under the care of parents or guardians; they make decisions on behalf of the minor. This means parents or guardians consent to things on behalf of the minor.
In Kenya the age of consent is 18 years.
What this means;
A person cannot consent, or agree, to have sex or engage in sexual acts if they are below 18 years. If you have sex with that person (minor), you have committed an offense. This also includes sexual acts (or indecent acts) such as touching their vagina/penis. If two minors have consensual sex or engage in other sexual acts with each other, they will be arrested. This is according to the Sexual Offenses Act (2016).
The purpose of setting an age of consent is to protect minors from sexual abuse, especially by adults.
But wait;
What if it is the minor who wants to have sex?
It does not matter.
According to the law, a person who hasn’t reached the age of consent is legally unable to agree to have sex because he or she is not yet considered capable of fully understanding sex and its consequences. Marriage is also illegal for minors.
Whoever has sex with a person who is under the age of consent is therefore breaking the law and can be jailed for not less than 10 years.
In some countries the offender could be sent to jail and, after sentencing, he or she will be required to register as a sex offender.
Parting shot;
If you are an adult and wish to have sex or engage in sexual acts, do it with another adult.
If you are below 18 years, keep your penis and vagina to yourself, sex is not going anywhere.
Should the age of consent remain 18, be increased or lowered? Share your thoughts in the comment section.