What should the age of consent be?

[Filuwaúrdjan]

16 is totally arbitrary, but all such lines will be and it seems to be an acceptable one (as in - not absurdly high and not low enough to cause certainly problems better off avoided. And also not low enough to offend against "public morality" - the Law ought to reflect, at least to an extent, social values and social norms, otherwise there's usually "trouble". I can't say that I like fourty year olds who prey on fourteen year olds, but that doesn't mean that I want them lynched). Of course the point of such laws should relate entirely to predatory behavior from people over it (ideally well over it), and not as a restriction on the sexual practices of teenagers - so sliding scales make some sense as well.

The danger of letting either judges or juries having much of a say on sex offences is that they tend to be dangerously prone to absurd and disgusting decisions (in both directions, I might add) although in different ways.