Talk:Age of consent in Africa

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This article is part of the Age of consent series of articles project.

In the interest of accuracy and quality it was decided by consensus^* to hold these pages to a high standard of verification and to avoid ambiguity through the use of prose (not dot points) discussing the relevant statutes, case law or other authorities.

To this end all information must be properly referenced. Where writing about legislation or other law, the appropriate statutes and similar must be cited. Where appropriate, portions of the legislation can be quoted. Where possible, a link to an up-to-date online copy of the legislation can be included (preferably, but not necessarily, in English). It is preferable to include any such references in-line, rather than in a separate <ref> section at the bottom of the page. This is to make it easier for readers to find the references in context.

The unfettered age of consent should be in bold text, in order that it stand out. No other ages should be in bold text. Any exceptions to should then be discussed afterwards (close in age exceptions, same sex relations etc).

For an example of a properly formatted article see the Ages of consent in Australia and Oceania.

*(The original age of consent formatting discussions began here)

The articles in this group are	Helpful repositories of legislation
Age of consent Age of consent reform Ages of consent in Africa Ages of consent in Asia Ages of consent in Oceania (including Australia) Ages of consent in Europe Ages of consent in North America Ages of consent in the United States Ages of consent in South America Age of consent in Brazil List of countries by age of consent	Worldlii: Global Austlii: Australia Bailii: Britain and Ireland Canlii: Canada Commonlii: Commonwealth Cylaw: Cyprus Droit: French HKlii: Hong Kong	Juri Burkina Cornell law NZlii: New Zealand Paclii: Pacific Islands Saflii: Southern Africa

Please note that ageofconsent.com is not an acceptable reference as it has not been updated since 2002.

South Africa - Sexual Offenses Bill

A Bill is not law until it becomes an Act. At this momment in time, the Sexual Offenses Bill has been delayed once again, and the age of consent in South Africa is not governeed by it but rahter an much older act. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Warpedshadow (talk • contribs) 21:18, 19 November 2006.

Thank you, I've updated the section. Do you have any more insight? Can you cite the existing legilation?--Monotonehell 22:23, 19 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Madagascar

I think Madagascar should be 21, not 14. Perhaps someone could translate the French. I can also provide a dozen websites that say Madagascar is 21. — Reinyday, 01:27, 22 November 2006 (UTC)

The paragraph you've provided refers to "un-natural acts" so I guess it means homosexual acts? Can you point out the relevant articles in the legislation and change the 14 to 21? I'm sure you're right, I think the 14 might actualy have been put in by a vandal, but we also need to cite the appropriate legislation. --Monotonehell 05:11, 22 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

It is fully clear to anyone who understands legal French, including the US embassy [1], that age of consent is 14. Hawklord 11:00, 22 November 2006 (UTC)[reply]

This is English Wikipedia - the French should be translated into English. — The preceding unsigned comment was added by 203.113.117.2 (talk) 06:49, 25 December 2006 (UTC).[reply]

I think so too, this is why I did not add any quotes, just a reference, when I added the Madagascar entry. Someone else later added a quote without translation. However, it is written at the top of this page: "not necessarily in English". Hawklord 17:07, 26 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

I've removed the section from the article until we can sort this out. I see that the quote from Article 331 was only one third represented. The complete article is as follows:

--- "Article 331

L'attentat à la pudeur consommé ou tenté sans violence sur la personne d'un enfant de l'un ou l'autre sexe âgé de moins de quatorze ans, sera puni de cinq à dix ans d'emprisonnement et d'une amende de dix millions à cinquante millions de francs

(Ord. 62- 013 du 10. 08. 62) Sera puni de la peine portée à l'alinéa premier, l'attentat à la pudeur commis par tout ascendant sur la personne d'un mineur de vingt et un ans, même âgé de plus de 14 ans, mais non émancipé par le mariage.

(Loi no 98-024 du 25. 01. 99) Sans préjudice des peines plus graves prévues par les alinéas qui précèdent ou par les articles 332 et 333 du présent Code, sera puni d'un emprisonnement de deux ans à cinq ans et d'une amende de dix millions à cent millions de francs quiconque aura commis un acte impudique ou contre nature avec un individu de son sexe mineur de moins de vingt et un ans." --- [2]

The first section seems fairly clear that below 14 years is a crime. The second section I don't understand properly but at a guess I'd say that it's saying that if the "victim" is less than 21 and not married to the "accused" it is still a crime. The third section I also don't fully understand but I think it's refering to "unatural acts" ie male homosexual sex? Can anyone with more than 6 months French lessons and a dictionary help out here? --Monotonehell 17:41, 26 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

The full paragraph was quoted until you deleted it (look at the history). I'll explain the meaning of the paragraph. The first subparagraph deals with the general case, it is a crime to have intercourse with someone below 14 years. The second subparagraph is the exception in the case where the guilty person is a close relative to the young person, and the young person is not yet married (In Madagascar, you are considered adult by the law when you are married, even if you are under 21). Then the age limit is 21 years. The third subparagraph is also an exception, dealing with "unnatural"/homosexual acts, again 21 years. Here's the link to the US embassy again: [3]. Hawklord 21:59, 27 December 2006 (UTC)[reply]

Countires are missing

Why is there no age for Ghana and Togo? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.243.228.126 (talk) 11:32, 3 October 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Liberia

The article says: "The age of consent in Liberia is 18. Statutory rape is a first-degree rape offense which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The age of consent was raised to 18, from 16, in 2009." Does it mean that you can go jail for the rest of your life just for having a consensual sex with a 17 year old girl??? 77.127.4.185 (talk) 19:52, 28 March 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Page redesign

This page is dreadful. Ideally it needs to be converted into a table for ease of navigation and effective communication of the information it contains. Peter B. (talk) 03:06, 21 December 2013 (UTC)[reply]

Nigeria

Somebody changed the age of consent in Nigeria to 11, based on some press articles. Actually this news article contradicts this: FACT CHECK: Nigeria’s Sexual Offences Bill stipulates 18 years, not 11 years, as age of consent

Also, in general, please do not use the media as a source for this article; it is often unreliable; use links to the actual current laws.

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Kenya, please comment

This is penal code of Kenya http://www.ageofconsent.com/kenya.htm and it clearly states age of consent at 14. But this article says it is 18. Can anybody please comment on this?--Reciprocist (talk) 05:29, 18 July 2016 (UTC)[reply]

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Sudan

In Sudan, the age of consent is set at puberty, which is usually around 10.

Angola incorrect on the map

The text lists the age of consent as 14 in Angola, but it's displayed as 12 on the map. Greenman (talk) 12:10, 18 September 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Not only that, the unfettered age of consent in Angola is actually 16; 14 is the age limited age of consent (List of countries by age of consent). Guarapiranga (talk) 23:07, 21 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Also, the map doesn't specify the gender, and ages of consent are different for males and females, especially in Africa. Guarapiranga (talk) 23:07, 21 October 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Summary table

I've added a summary table. I believe the content is correct; if not, please correct it. Each country is wikilinked to its section on the page. The Consent by age should be removed, as it's incorrect. Ages of consent vary by gender and sexual orientation, most of all in Africa. Cheers.

Seychelles

Hi! I saw this entry and the removal of the info about Seychelles.

The penal code may say that, but it is possible that there may be another law in the penal code that says something else, and/or the penal code changed since the State Department reviewed the laws of the Seychelles. It would do well to leave the State Department analysis up anyway, and to contact the State Department about the matter. The agency could revise its information if it gets an update. WhisperToMe (talk) 20:47, 31 May 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Territories that are integral parts of countries outside Africa

There are several sections here for territories that are integral parts of the "mother" countries.

Spain
- Canary Islands (autonomous community)
- Ceuta (autonomous city)
- Melilla (autonomous city)
- Plazas de soberanía (administered directly by the Spanish central government)
France
- French Southern and Antarctic Lands (overseas territory)
- Mayotte (overseas department)
- Réunion (overseas department)

As far as I know, these territories don't have the constitutional power to make their own criminal law, so they must by definition have the same age of consent as the country they are part of. So I don't think it's necessary that each one should have a separate section. I suggest we reduce this to two sections, "French territories" and "Spanish territories", which name the territories in question and give the relevant ages. Would there be any objections to that? - htonl (talk) 15:23, 4 June 2020 (UTC)[reply]

Unsourced table

The table did not have any sources, and I have tagged that section here. This is lazy editing and could put people's lives in danger. For example, the Gambia: How can same sex be illegal in that country, yet the editor wrote the age of consent is 18 for homosexuality? If it is illegal, then how can there be an age of consent? Even our article LGBT rights in the Gambia and sources state that it is illegal. Please research African countries thoroughly before you start adding dangerous information. 2A00:23EE:1300:82A3:F8F1:FF95:36F7:E9A1 (talk) 14:21, 1 June 2023 (UTC)[reply]