Opposition proposes age of sexual consent be raised to 18.

 Senator Damion Crawford, Opposition spokesman on Education has proposed a raft of measures he believes will stem the rising tide of teenage pregnancy in Jamaica. One such proposal is legislatively raising the age of sexual consent from 16 to 18 years. 

Speaking in the State of the Union Debate in the Senate on Friday, Dec. 2, 2022, he revealed that approximately 60,000 young girls have given birth over the last ten (10) year period.

Pointing out the problem of teens making themselves absent from school or dropping out of school before fifth form, he posited that a major factor is teen pregnancy, noting that according to the Jamaica Survey of Living Conditions data, 49 per cent of girls of high school age are not enrolled because they are pregnant and so have dropped out.  A worrying concern that has the Senator appealing for the government to increase the consent age. 

He said:

"I would like to recommend at this time, knowing that we intend for a seven-year secondary school experience, that it is sensible to review the age of consent from 16 to 18 because if we want them to be in school, then sex creates a risk of 49 per cent already." 

Senator Crawford argued that young girls are lured into early sexual activity mainly because of economic circumstances. He shared that some girls have told him that they receive a daily allowance of $300 from men they provide sexual favours. 

Senator Crawford:

"Based on our Jamaican circumstances, in exchange for goods, food... You know how many of these nasty men out there [who use] fast food to lure our little young girls suffering from economic circumstances and poverty that they are in?"

The Senator also made it a point to speak on the on-spoken culture of mothers sending out their daughters to be exploited by men for financial gain. He said that the girls were "basically sex workers for their family. We have to do something; it's a state of emergency."

Crawford in his presentation also noted that according to UNICEF (United Nation Children's Fund), the objective of the age of consent is to protect teens from sexual abuse, and from the consequences of early sexual activity namely the stunting of their full socio-economic potential.