Lifting The Lid On Hiv And Aids

Wrong but relieved!

I stand corrected….the age of sexual consent is not 13. Thank you for those who e-mailed and corrected me. It is gratifying on many levels – first of all that people actually read the column, that people make the time and effort to email me and most importantly that the age of consent is not 13! You know they say that the human brain is not fully developed till about 25. Neuroscientists have shown that a young person’s cognitive development continues into this later stage and that their emotional maturity, self-image and judgement will be affected until the prefrontal cortex of the brain has fully developed. So really the age of making life changing decisions such as having sex or getting married really should wait until 25!

Before getting into a psychological debate on the age of emotional maturity and decision making, I should clear the air and say the age of consent in Malawi is 16. Thanks to the Directors of Eye of the Child and Nyale Institute for Sexual and Reproductive Health Governance – Equality, Rights and Justice for sending me further information.

Below is the relevant Penal Code

Section 138: Defilement of girls under 16 years of age

  1. Any person who carnally knows any girl under the age of 16 shall be guilty of a felony and shall be liable to imprisonment for life.
  2. Any person who attempts to have carnal knowledge of any girl under the age of 16 shall be guilty of felony and be liable to imprisonment for 14 years.

Provided that it shall be a sufficient defence to any charge under this section if it shall be made to appear to the court, jury or assessors before whom the charge shall be brought that the person so charged had reasonable cause to believe and did in fact believe that the girl was of or above the age of sixteen years.

In an article from the director of the Eye of the Child, Maxwell Matewere, an advocate of increasing the age of marriage to 18, titled “Evils of child marriage in Malawi”, he writes on the legality, drivers, factors and consequences of early marriages. A comprehensive report that highlights the complexity of various legal codes, international practices compounded by sociocultural and traditional contexts “by reference to international standards. UNFPA, for example, defines early marriage as“any marriage carried out below the age of 18 years, before the girl is physically, physiologically,and psychologically ready to shoulder the responsibilities of marriage and childbearing.”

Should the age of sexual consent and the age of marriage be the same?

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