Government Senator calls for age of consent to be reviewed

Published
Senator Samantha Marshall calls for age of consent to be reviewed (State Media)

By Aabigayle McIntosh

There is a renewed call for the age of consent in Antigua and Barbuda to be reviewed moving it from 16 years old.

Senator Samantha Marshall made the remark during her presentation in Parliament on Monday.

She was piloting the Small Charges (Amendment) Bill 2024, which imposes a 10pm – 6am curfew on children, and prohibits them from attending fetes and other such events.

“I do support the fact that there should be some discussions on the age of consent. You can’t vote until you are 18, you can’t drive, you can’t fete, you can’t work and you definitely can’t go no fete until you are 18th.

“I don’t want for us to create another problem by them saying, my age of consent is 16 and I can go somewhere and do what I want to do,” she added.

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This story was first published by Antigua News on : antigua.news/2024/09/24/government-senator-calls-for-age-of-consent-to-be-reviewed. © 2024 Antigua News. Republication without permission is not allowed.

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Comments (3)

  • Lisa September 24, 2024, 1:56 PM

    I agree with her, 18 it should be but we know why it’s stuck at 16..
    Reply
  • Realist September 24, 2024, 6:03 PM

    Lisa why is it at 16? Listen, the age of consent can be 22 and children will have sex when they want. So many 12-year-old girls having sex, and not a damn thing happening. They should remove the law altogether because it is protecting no one
    Reply
  • Teacher for Life September 26, 2024, 5:39 AM

    I agree with Ms. Marshall provided this law is strictly enforced because our children’s innocence is often violated without consequence and that must stop.
    Reply

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