masukuma wrote:let me ask... why 18?
To answer this, we would need more data on the % of girls and boys who have sex with each other versus those who are victims of adult predators.
In the absence of such data, we default to an age when the child's life would be disrupted less by having sex (e.g pregnancy)--A pregnancy in form 2 is very different from a pregnancy in form 4, to say nothing about the social, psychological and medical consequences of a pregnancy in a 16-year old girl.
ETA: Defaulting to 18 also leaves room for us to prosecute adult child predators. Some boys and young men will be collateral damage, but that is the price for protecting children...