This is not an official guide. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of any of the information contained herein. Please send us any corrections that are needed as well as the source or site where the corrections can be verified.

Notations:

Argentina	means that you can read the accompanying notes at the source site
14 / 18	means that there is documentation to show that the age is 18, but also particular reasons for continuing to show 14 on the age chart, for instance, the sexual activity is legal at the lower age unless the younger person subsequently complains, or else, like in Canada, the age of consent for non-anal intercourse and for people in a position of non-authority over a person is 14. If there is anal intercourse involved, or if one is in aposition of authority, then it is 18.
16	means that there is documentation confirming that the age is the number shown in red
16	means that we do not have any documentation but that there are good reasons to believe this is the age
16?	means this information is obtained through unofficial emails or other sources.
illegal	means that this is illegal regardless of age
invalidated	means that the law was struck down by a court of law, making the law "null and void". It does not mean that the law was removed from the books or repealed by the legislators of the state
repealed	means that the law was removed and changed by the legislators of the state. It is the most unusual of the cases, because it is rare that any legislator wants to author a motion to remove a current law. Historically, state law books are ripe with old laws that have no meaning, but no one has the courage to open the motion to remove the law

Some Definitions:

Adolescence	Adolescence starts with the beginning of physiologically normal puberty and it finishes when the identity and behavior of an adult are accepted. This period of development generally corresponds to the period going on the 10th to the 19th year. (Committee of the medicine of Adolescence).
Age of Consent	The arbitrary age, assigned by legislators, that define the legal time at which a person may consent voluntarily to sexual activity with another person. The age shown in the chart is the age at which one person may legally consent to sexual intercourse with another person who is at least that age or older, provided that there are no ties between them (ie: one is not in a position of trust or responsibility over the other).
Intercourse	Intercourse in the various laws is referred to many different things. One question we were asked often was "is oral sex considered the same as intercourse as it applies to age of consent issues". We have begun obtaining more definitions from the various states and have found that oral sex does in fact provide the same penalty. Tennessee for instance, defines their law as "sexual penetration" of a minor. They define "Sexual penetration" [as] sexual intercourse, cunnilingus, fellatio, anal intercourse, or any other intrusion, however slight, of any part of a person's body or of any object into the genital or anal openings of the victim's, the defendant's, or any other person's body, but emission of semen is not required. This clearly means (at least in this example) that the age of consent laws do apply to oral sex as well.

http://www.ageofconsent.com
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