NCW to hold consultations to fix age of consent for sex
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COMMENTS 
There is no uniformity on the age of consent for sex, with different laws stipulating different ages. The National Commission for Women has been asked to clear the ambiguity
The National Commission for Women will be consulting with stakeholders to fix the right age of consent for sex, for Indian women.
Currently, there are conflicting opinions under various legislations and court judgments. For example, the Indian Penal Code says a girl below 16 years is a minor and can’t be a consensual partner in sex, but if she is his wife and under 15 years of age, it is all right. The Hindu Marriage Act allows a woman to marry at the age of 15. The Child Marriage Restraint Act prevents marriage of girls below 18 and boys below 21. The Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act makes 18 the age of consent for marriage, for both men and women.
While decriminalising consensual sex between adult homosexuals, the historic high court verdict fixed the consent age for them at 18 years. The new sexual offence law proposed by the home ministry in the wake of the recent verdict in the Ruchika molestation case puts the age of consent at 18.
NCW Chairperson Girija Vyas says that various sections of the IPC list the minimum age for sex and marriage differently, ranging from 13 years to 18 and 21 years. The Child Marriage Act was amended in 1978 to raise the legal age of marriage to 18, but the IPC has not followed suit, hence much of the confusion.
The government has acknowledged that a single common age must be fixed by law, and has asked the NCW to consult with stakeholders to fix an appropriate age of consent.
“For a discussion on this, we have invited various stakeholders -- women’s groups, advocates and child rights activists from all over the country,” said Vyas.
The recommendations of this meeting will be sent to the government for the new law to be drafted.
The age factor is important in view of the large number of child marriages that take place in the country, which has health consequences for both woman and child. It is also important in order to fix statutory rape, which is having sex with a minor with or without his/her consent.
Source: DNA, June 14, 2010
www.legalindia.in , June 14, 2010