With the passage of the Violent Crime Act in 2008, the age of consent in Canada was raised from 14 to 16. It was the first time since 1892 that the age had been raised. The law applies to all forms of sexual activity and was developed with the aim of scaring off online predators. The law provides for an exception of proximity of age. As a result, 14- and 15-year-olds can legally consent to someone under five years older than them, and 12- and 13-year-olds can consent to a partner if the partner is less than two years older than them. There must be no relationship of authority, dependency or exploitation of the younger person for consent to be valid. While most European countries set the age of consent at 16-17, several others, including Malta and Vatican City, require young people to be at least 18 before legally having sex. The lowest age of consent in Europe is 14, which applies in Austria, Italy, Serbia, Germany and Portugal. According to Article 305 of the South Korean Penal Code, the age of consent in South Korea is 20. This is one of the oldest ages of consent in the world. Previously, the age of consent in South Korea was 13, one of the lowest in the world. However, there were significant demands at that age that led to several complicated cases that sometimes seem to contradict each other. Note: This age is measured in the international age, which starts at zero on the birthday, as opposed to the Korean age which counts time in the womb and adds a year on January 1, so it is usually 1-2 years older than the international age.

The age of consent in the Philippines is controversial. Many argue that a person this age does not have the emotional or physical maturity to make an informed decision about sex. In addition, persons under the age of 18 may not have access to protective measures such as contraception or HIV/AIDS testing without parental consent. The Philippine government is in the process of raising the age of consent to 16, which will likely take effect in 2022. In Tajikistan, the age of consent is set at 16 years, in accordance with article 141 of the Criminal Code. The penalty is 2 to 5 years` imprisonment. [22] Sexual activity outside of marriage is illegal in Oman. [15] Section 375 states: “A man is said to commit `rape` who, except as excluded below, has sexual intercourse with a woman in circumstances falling within one of the five descriptions below. Fifthly. With or without her consent if she is under 14 years of age.”[32] The age of consent in Thailand is 15, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, as stated in Section 279 of the Thai Penal Code.

The current legislation applies to everyone, regardless of gender or sexual orientation. Thirty-one states have set the age of consent at 16, eight at 17 and eleven at 18. Twenty-six states have “Romeo and Juliet” laws, or age limit laws, that legalize sexual activity between underage participants if they are close enough to each other in age. The maximum age differences in these laws vary from state to state. For example, in Colorado, the age of consent is 17, but people under 15 can consent to a partner under four years older, and those under 15 or 16 can consent to a partner up to 10 years older. By comparison, Arizona law sets the age of consent at 18, allowing teens between the ages of 15 and 17 to consent to sex with partners under 24 months of age. The age of consent is 16 in the United Kingdom and South Korea, 15 in France and 14 in China, Germany and Italy. The Civil Code also addresses the age of consent at the prefectural level (and sometimes at the level of communes within a prefecture).

In Japan, a person must reach the age of 20 to be considered an adult, and parental consent plays an important role in legal issues affecting young people. While the age of consent in Japan is a fact that is discussed with somewhat disturbing frequency in online discussions about the country, in practice, a number of local laws already criminalize adults who have sex with these young minors. However, such behavior contrary to domestic law gives prosecutors another charge to bring against violations, and the proposed amendments to the draft would also introduce a number of other changes designed to provide better protection against sexual assault as well as support for victims. Because shame and embarrassment can make it difficult for victims to come forward quickly, the bill would extend the statute of limitations for laying charges by an additional five years. In the case of victims for whom the offence was committed when they were minors, the number of years between the time of the incident and the victim`s age of 18 (the age of legal majority in Japan) would also be added to the statute of limitations. The de facto age of consent for heterosexual relations in Malaysia is 18 for both sexes, as homosexual activity is illegal in Malaysia. Section 377A (Violations of Public Morals) of the Criminal Code states: “Any male person who, publicly or privately, commits or encourages the commission of gross indecency against another male person, or who provokes or attempts to cause a gross indecency to be committed against another male person by a man, is punishable by imprisonment for up to 2 years. ». This means that any male sexual activity of the same sex (including mutual masturbation, oral or anal sex) is still illegal and the penalty can be up to two (2) years in prison, based on the Offences Against the Person Act 1861.