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The âAge of Consentâ is the age at which a person may consent to participation in sexual intercourse. A person younger than the legal age of consent cannot legally consent to a sexual act. The age of consent in the United States ranges from 16-18 depending on the state, meaning that a person 15 years of age or younger cannot legally consent to sex. Each state enacts its owns laws which set the age of consent.
Other nations across the world have set the legal age for sexual consent at anything from 12 to 20. In New Zealand, where many Pitcairn residents go for jobs and education, the age of consent is fixed at 16. But travel in the opposite direction across the Pacific to Peru and the age of consent for girls is 12 - as long as there is no violence or intimidation.