Sex no, marriage yes ...that’s life at sixteen

It is unlawful to have sex with a 16-year-old but not illegal to marry one, and figures show there were 17 such marriages over the past five years. The highest number of marriages involving a minor was recorded in 2010 when six couples tied the knot. According to statistics obtained from the Home Affairs Ministry there were no marriages between minors between 2008 and 2012. The figures put under the spotlight a legal anomaly involving the age of sexual consent that was recently highlighted by Culture Parliamentary Secretary Jose Herrera. While the Criminal Code makes it illegal to take part in sexual activities with someone under 18, a provision that carries a two-year jail term, the Marriage Act allows 16-year-olds to marry. Malta is the only European country, along with Turkey, to set the age of consent at 18. During a public dialogue, Dr Herrera reiterated a belief he first expressed three years ago that Malta might want to seriously consider lowering the age of consent to 16. “Malta’s age of consent is far higher than most other countries and we need to give serious thought to align ourselves within the European mainstream,” Dr Herrera said when asked to elaborate. Age of...