MOOT: The age of consent in Jamaica is 16, it is the minimum age at which an individual is old

enough to give consent in participation in sexual activities.

Oxford dictionary no defines the age of consent as the age at which a person's consent to sexual
intercourse is valid in law. It is legislated in Jamaica that the age of consent is 16. One would
argue that “Simply passing laws does not prevent lawbreaking”.

Principles of law:
The law serves many purposes. Four principal ones are establishing standards, maintaining order,
resolving disputes, and protecting liberties and rights.

In any judicial system, the goal of setting laws is to ensure that there’s a system in place for
when unacceptable acts are committed. This also applies to the age of consent.

1. The law recognizes that children are developmentally not able to make decisions about
some things, including when to engage in sexual behaviors.
2. Even if a child or underage teen gives permission or acts willingly, this never implies
consent. A child is never accountable. A child’s permission or even request to play a
sexual touching or watching game never excuses the adult or teen from taking full
responsibility for the interaction. https://www.stopitnow.org/ohc-content/why-
permission-from-a-child-or-underage-teen-doesnt-count
One will never understand the age of consent being 16 without first establishing its purpose. Due
to being uninformed, one would ask the question “But does that stop younger aged children from
having sex?” The long and short of it is no. But does it help to bring justice when their innocence
is disregarded, yes it does. Additionally:
1. The minimum age of sexual consent is the age from which someone is deemed capable of
consenting to sexual activity.
2. The objective of the minimum age of sexual consent is to protect adolescents from sexual
abuse and from the consequences of early sexual activity on their rights and development.
3. Young adolescents may be lured into sexual activity by older adults in exchange for
goods and favours, making those from disadvantaged settings and poor background
particularly at risk. Underage sexual activity presents a number of risks in relation to
 sexual and reproductive health, including unwanted or early pregnancy and exposure to
sexually transmitted diseases. Early pregnancy and motherhood is in turn a primary
determinant of school drop out for adolescent girls.
4. International standards do not indicate what the minimum age for sexual consent should
be

Opponent points Our contradiction (make notes)

The numbers of young people whose sexual

activity results in sexually transmitted
infections is substantial.

Lowering the age of sexual consent would

result in the decriminalisation of just under
one-third of the adolescent population. Most
such law-breakers are not currently
prosecuted, but it cannot be right that their
freely given sexual consent is deemed illegal.

The number of pregnancies in 15–17-year-

olds, although it is reducing, remains
substantial.

Further, the sexual experience of many young

people, particularly girls, is distressing, and a
substantial number of girls regret their first
full sexual experience.

Lowering the age of sexual consent would

make it distinctly easier for appropriate sex
education to be provided to children and
young people to enable them to make wiser
decisions. It would also make it easier to
provide sexual health services to people of
this age without the fear of conniving in
illegal activity.

Raising the age of consent will not stop young

people from having sex,What will contribute
towards lower rates of early sexual initiation
is effective sex education that focuses on
providing them with age appropriate
information on their bodies, sexualities, safe
sex and the risks involved.
Counterarguments

Against lowering the sexual consent age are the following arguments. Counterarguments follow.

1. A legislative change would lead to increased underage sexual engagement. There is no

indication that the law affects young people's sexual behavior. Between 2010 and 2012,
31% of British males and 29% of females had complete sexual intercourse before 16.
15% of men and 4% of women did this 50 years ago. 7 Heterosexual interaction laws had
not changed. A survey of American schoolchildren's sexual abstinence grounds found
that the law was not referenced.
2. The law gives young people, especially girls, a strong reason to refuse sexual
involvement. This argument is widely cited, however there is no anecdotal evidence to
support it. It's hard to envision a female telling her lover she doesn't want sex because it's
illegal. She wouldn't want him to laugh at her, but she wouldn't want sex either.
3. 11–16-year-olds in focus groups oppose this legislative reform. As mentioned above,
young people's behavior and attitudes on the law differ.
4. (d) 14-year-olds are physically immature for full sexual engagement. English and Welsh
girls born 1982–1986 had a median menarche age of 12 years and 11 months. 10 Thus,
most 14-year-old girls are sexually mature.
5. 14-year-olds cannot assess sexual risk. There is evidence that 14-year-olds can analyze
the risks and benefits of sophisticated medical interventions as well as 21-year-olds. 11
6. 14-year-olds are emotionally immature for full sexual activity. Steinberg12 demonstrates
that emotional arousal and peer pressure may impair mid-teenagers' cognitive maturation.
He cites his own research13 on age-related sensation-seeking and impulsivity. Under
experimental conditions, young people aged 10–11 to 30 show decreasing impulsivity.
 His theory fails since impulsivity decreases most in 22–25-year-olds and 26–30-year-
olds. Is sexual consent invalid till 26?
7. Neuroscience shows that the adolescent brain changes throughout the teens and beyond.
Casey et al.14 state that ‘recent human imaging and animal studies provide a biological
basis [...] demonstrating differential development of subcortical limbic systems relative to
top-down control systems during adolescence relative to childhood and maturity'. Teens
are biologically unfit to make risk-taking judgments. It is unwise to depend on such
indirect data when far more relevant research reveal that the young's greater sensitivity in
risky settings is due to inexperience rather than biological constraints. ‘Of the studies that
sought to quantify the relative relevance of age and experience factors, most showed a
more powerful effect from length of licensure,' McCartt et al.15 found.
8. Knowledge gained through MRI imaging reveals that the teenage brain is stunningly
different from that of an adult. While some areas - particularly those focused on motor
control and hand eye coordination - are as good as they will get, others, like the prefrontal
cortex just behind the forehead, which dictates complicated decision-making and
moderates social behavior, lag far behind.
9. The experts in teenage behavior say that their poor decisions have nothing to do with
intelligence. Blame the disconnect that exists between those deep primitive centers of the
brain - the ones associated with emotion and risk-taking - and the frontal lobe, the region
responsible for rational thinking and future consequences, says B.
10. Most health experts warn that having sex too young can cause both physical and
emotional problems, and they recommend teens wait until they're mature enough to have
sex (18 and older).
11. Besides feeling the pleasure that comes with sexual intercourse, experts have warned that
such behavior makes teenagers feel used, contract sexually transmitted diseases as well as
get unwanted pregnancies, which in turn makes them conduct unsafe abortions that have
seen some of them lose their lives in the process. Some fall into postpartum depression.

3rd speaker
 The mind of a teenage boy or girl is significantly different from the mind of
an adult. Infact , the connections between the emotional part of the brain and the
decision making center in teenagers are still developing . This part of the brain is
the prefrontal cortex and it is responsible for rational decision making . According
to the health encyclopedia the prefrontal cortex is not fully developed until 25
years of age.
After hearing this how can you as a person , as a citizen of Jamaica be of the
stance that a 16 year old is cognitively mature enough to engage in sexual activities
. The age gap between 25 years and 16 years is nearly a decade . In my opinion
that is too enormous of a gap for a 16 year old to effectively evaluate the decision
of engaging in intercourse .
Dopamine is a hormone in the brain released when a person is anticipating
a reward or experiencing pleasure . When a teenager’s brain is flooded with
Dopamine it gives them a rush and results in them focusing solely on the positive
outcomes of a decision without considering the consequences . Unlike an adult
who can exercise self control and carefully analyze a situation, a teenager is more
likely to take the dangerous route.
At 16 years of age an individual is not emotionally mature enough to handle
the weight of engaging in intercourse. Many teens tend to participate in “casual
sex” without weighing the emotional effects it entails. For instance school boys in
Jamaica fall victim to peer pressure as they engage in intercourse to avert the
stigma of homosexuality or to be accepted into their various friend
groups .Additionally ,in Jamaica it is a cultural norm for teenage boys to have
multiple relations with a girl to be regarded as we say in Jamaican terms a
“gyalsis” .As such many teenage boys tend to partake in sexual activities for the
wrong reasons and in the future they are unable to emotionally commit to their
partners. By setting the age of consent at 16 we are condemning this behavior.
What kind of society are we generating when we are encouraging adolescents to
have frequent sexual encounters without any commitment ?
Furthermore , engaging in sexual activities exposes teenagers to various
STDs such as herpes, aids or chlamydia . My opponents may argue that sex and
education can be taught in schools but, my question to you is what about the
adolescents this lesson may not reach? According to the national library of
medicine in regards to Jamaica “more than 40 % of sexually active adolescent
girls reported that they had not used a contraceptive method at last
intercourse .” By doing so these teenagers are putting themselves at risk and
compromising their quality of life . Teenagers also find it challenging to
access contraceptives as pharmacists and health care providers are either
hesitant or reluctant to distribute these supplies to adolescents . Furthermore ,
the Government of Jamaica’s ministry of education forbids the distribution of
contraceptive methods in schools. Consequently , teenagers end up engaging
in unprotected sex.
By having unprotected sex not only are adolescents running the risk of
contracting a sexually transmitted disease but they are risking an unwanted
and unplanned pregnancy . The World health organization states Jamaica has
one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy in the Caribbean . With
abortion being illegal in Jamaica that adolescent will have no other choice but
to keep the baby . Motherhood is a big responsibility and at the age of 16
most students are pursuing their secondary level of education . Majority of
the time students dropout of school to care for their child. As such they are
put at a disadvantage as they are unable to complete their secondary level of
education. This leaves my mind very unsettled and my heart filled with
immense sorrow and agony for all teen mothers.
The Age of majority act passed on April 30,1979 states a minor is anyone
under the age of 18 years old. If a 16 year old still being a minor is not deemed old
enough to vote in general elections or work full time, why are they entrusted with
the choice of consenting to sexual activities ? The age of consent allows for a
minor , a 16 year old to legally have sex with adults from all age groups. I am
terribly troubled by this statement . This puts teenagers at a risk of sexual
exploitation or abuse . I do believe at sixteen , teenagers are to be given a sense of
independence but such a choice should absolutely not be up for discussion . The
law of Jamaica contradicts itself because given that a guardian or parent is legally
liable for a child until the age of 18, because they are not deemed physically or
emotionally mature enough to care for themselves, how can they possibly be
mature enough to make such a decision ?
Examining this room , looking at my opponents , my teammates and the
audience majority of us are sixteen . It is a very disturbing image
that an adult can have sexual relations with children who are the same age as us.
For the parents in this room, think of your daughter's or son’s safety and the risk of
sexual exploitation or abuse , sexually transmitted diseases or teenage pregnancy
he or she may face, if they chose to engage in sexual activities at 16 without being
emotionally or physically mature. I am of the view that the age of consent needs to
be raised as a 16 year old simply should not be concerned with making sexual
choices at this stage in their life.

https://www.unicef-irc.org/portfolios/documents/399_jamaica.htm
 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3364618/#:~:text=With
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