No to lowering the age of consent

THE EDITOR, Sir:

I read with shock and dismay the recent articles regarding establishing 15 years old as the age of consent in France. The idea stems from two recent high-profile rape cases where the victims were 11 years old. In France, to prove rape even with females this young, one has to prove force was used.

It was then brought back to me forcefully by Wesley Thomas's letter "Food for thought" in your Op-Ed page of Thursday, March 22, 2018.

While France considers the question of establishing the age of consent at 15, Mr Thomas wonders whether in Jamaica we should consider reducing our consensual age, given the recent cases featuring men of the cloth and children as young as nine being "sexually active."

I am totally against that. It was only about five years ago that a debate was raging about raising the age of consent from 16 to 18, a move in the opposite direction.

Recent events notwithstanding, reducing the age would definitely not help us.

Wayne Campbell's opinion in the Jamaica Observer of November 27, 2013 outlines some of the myths he says still exist, even in this information age, that apparently gives rise to the practice of older men having sex with underage girls.

Reducing the age would serve to facilitate and legalise this heinous practice.

Rather, we should continue to seek to empower our youth in every way and prepare them to be citizens of Jamaica and the world, able to realise their full potential. As we grow and develop as a nation, let us make those steps that create a strong foundation to build on and not foster broken systems or persons whose ability to contribute positively to our society would be compromised.

SHARON PARCHMENT SCOTT

sharonparchmentscott