The Age Of Sexual Consent Is 18, Not 16 – ConCourt
THE Constitutional Court (ConCourt) yesterday raised the age of sexual consent from 16 to 18 in a landmark ruling with far-reaching consequences.
The ruling follows an application by two Harare women seeking to nullify the age of consent set at 16, saying it violates the rights and protection of girls in terms of the Constitution which set the legal age of marriage at 18.
The women, Loveness Mudzuru and Ruvimbo Tsopodzi, who were 19 and 18 at the time of the application, approached the court through their lawyer, Tendai Biti, challenging the Customary Marriages Act.
“Yes, the ConCourt handed down the judgment holding that the age of sexual consent is 18 years of age, not 16, and that no one may marry a child who is below 18,” Biti told NewsDay yesterday.
The women argued that 16 years as the age of consent was indirectly discriminating against girls based on gender, compromising “their health, education, human dignity and best interests”.
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