Some people say “children can give consent for sex, but it is illegal”. Others say “children cannot give consent. Full stop”.

Let’s look at these two views.
There’s a technical difference between the two positions. It’s NOT THE SAME.

So Can Children give Consent?
Pls RT thread/

Before we can address the main issue of wether children can give consent or not; it is good to state clearly that “CONSENT” is a technical term with a clear specific meaning.

In the context of sex and especially in children, it is NOT just an English word that means “to agree”.

Consent is agreement to an activity by a person who has the freedom and the capacity to make that choice.

So Consent is NOT simply “agreement”.

Consent must have:
1. CAPACITY to choose.
2. FREEDOM to choose.

It is NOT defined “consent” in the absence of those two components.

So if you read those documents from the Police and from the National Health Service- you will see that there is NO consent in the absence of capacity to choose and freedom to choose.

Capacity is the ability to understand a choice you make and the consequences of that choice.

Children by nature are incapable of understanding fully the nature of choosing to have sex and the global consequences of that choice on their lives.

That’s why children are deemed to have NO capacity. And because children have NO capacity, children CANNOT consent.

Do you get?

This is why I said in the previous tweet that consent is not simply “agreement”.

It’s a technical term with a specific technical meaning which must have those two components for the definition to be fully satisfied.

Once you take out capacity and freedom, there’s no consent.

This is why truly drunk people cannot consent. This is why people with mental disabilities cannot consent. This is why unconscious people cannot consent.

Simply because they lack the capacity in that state of mind to make an informed decision about sex or it’s consequences.

And that’s the same category that children are in. They lack the capacity to truly consent to sex- so even IF they ask for sex, they do not know actually what they are doing/asking for.

And that’s exactly why the law cannot and does not hold a child responsible for that choice.

And this is why when an adult has sex with a child, it is ONLY the adult that has committed a crime and will be held responsible EVEN IF the child asked for the sex.

That is because a child has NO CAPACITY to consent for sex but an adult has capacity and understands what sex is.

Now let’s look at the 2nd component of Consent. The FREEDOM TO CHOOSE.

For a decision/choice to be regarded as “consent”, it must be made by an individual who has FREEDOM to choose.

Freedom means the person is not dependent, dominated or under the control of the other person.

So let’s apply that to children.
Any child having sex with an adult CANNOT be said to be truly exercising “freedom of choice”.

It’s either the adult directly exercises power and control over the child like a teacher, guardian, parent etc

Or the child depends on the adult like

Or the child depends on the adult in some way financially or for care and protection- like parents, priests etc.

This is why when a parent has sex with a child, the parent has committed a crime because that child never truly exercised the FREEDOM to choose that sexual activity.

That’s also why if a 29years old banker has sex with a 14year old high school student- that is NOT consent at all and it is legally rape.

Because it is seen as a manipulation and power play by the adult who may be using money, subtle force, and other means to coerce the child.

So in conclusion:
Consent is NOT simply “to agree” or “to choose”. It is more complex than that.

Consent is a technical word that means the choice made by someone who has:
1. the capacity and
2. the freedom to make that choice.

In the absence of those two,
There is NO consent.

This is why children CANNOT CONSENT to sex. I hope this is clear.

Children can have sex.
But they CANNOT CONSENT to sex- in the actual definition of what consent is.

And this is why any adult who has sex with children has committed a crime EVEN IF you say the child asks for it.