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The highlighted age is that from which a young person can lawfully engage in a non-commercial sexual act with an older person, regardless of their age difference. If a participant in a sexual act is under 18 but above the age of consent then sexual acts with another person who is at or over the age of consent may still be illegal if the older participant is in a position of authority over the younger person. For example, a teacher and their student or someone in the police. Commercial sex/prostitution requires all those involved to be 18 or older. Sexual acts may not be legal if those engaging are blood relatives, regardless of age, though the [[legality of incest]] varies between European countries.
Some countries have close-in-age exceptions, allowing partners close in age of whom one or both may be below the standard unrestricted age of consent to be able to both legally consent to engage in sexual acts with each other. The lowest minimum age of consent for a close-in-age exception to apply in Europe is 12 (in [[Ages of consent in Europe#Hungary|Hungary]]), providing their older sexual partner is under 18.<ref name="jogtar"/>
All jurisdictions in Europe per [[List of sovereign states and dependent territories in Europe]]:
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The age limit in the Austrian Empire was 14 years under § 128 of the Empire's Penal Code of 1852.<ref>117/1852 Ř.z., Zákon trestní o zločinech, přečinech a přestupcích: § 128 Zprznění</ref> Homosexual sexual intercourse and sexual intercourse with animals were generally grouped in as "crime against nature" by § 131.historic The Austrian Penal Code was replaced in Czechoslovakia in 1950. The Czechoslovak Penal Code 86/1950 Sb. in § 239 raised the limit to 15 years. Almost identical regulation was contained in the Czechoslovak penal code under 140/1961 Sb., which in § 242 reads: "A person who has coitus with a person under fifteen (15) years of age or who sexually abuses such a person in any other way shall be sentenced to imprisonment for at least one and at most eight years."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://trestni.juristic.cz/489540/oddil/trzo |title=J§ Trestní oblast: Z 019 Trestné činy proti lidské důstojnosti |access-date=10 April 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110517051618/http://trestni.juristic.cz/489540/oddil/trzo |archive-date=17 May 2011}}</ref> The new Czech Penal Code (40/2009 Sb., effective from 2010 January 1) contains a similar regulation: § 187. Around 2008 and 2009, the lowering of the limits of [[criminal responsibility]] as well as sex [[Criminal responsibility|acts age limits]] from 15 to 14 years was passed in Parliament in the new Penal Code 40/2009 Sb. effective from 1 January 2010. Both changes were criticized. Before coming into effect, the amendment act 306/2009 Sb. changed both limits back to 15 years.
Until 1962, homosexual sexual intercourse was illegal in Czechoslovakia. The Czechoslovak 140/1961 Sb., Penal Code, introduced in that year, still contained as a crime
==Denmark==
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The age of consent in [[Iceland]] is '''15''', as specified by Section 202 of the Icelandic Penal Code, which reads: "Anyone who has carnal intercourse or other sexual intimacy with a child younger than 15 years shall be subject to imprisonment for at least 1 year and up to 15 years."<ref>''(Icelandic)'' [http://www.althingi.is/lagas/135a/1940019.html The Icelandic Penal Code] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160317171939/http://www.althingi.is/lagas/135a/1940019.html|date=17 March 2016}}
Section 202 Anyone who is 18 or older and has carnal intercourse or other sexual intimacy with a child younger than 15 years shall be subject to imprisonment for at least 1 year and up to 16 years.
</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://visindavefur.hi.is/svar.php?id=3683 |title=''Hver er samræðisaldur á Íslandi?'' |trans-title=What is the age of consent in Iceland?|language=is}}</ref> The age of consent was raised from 14 to 15 in 2007.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.coe.int/en/web/european-social-charter/-european-social-charter-and-european-convention-on-human-rights|title=European Social Charter and European Convention on Human Rights|website=European Social Charter}}</ref> A close-in-age exemption allows sexual acts from age '''14''' if the older party is under 18.<ref>''(Icelandic)'' [http://www.althingi.is/lagas/135a/1940019.html The Icelandic Penal Code] {{
Section 202 Anyone who is 18 or older and has carnal intercourse or other sexual intimacy with a child younger than 15 years shall be subject to imprisonment for at least 1 year and up to 16 years.
</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://visindavefur.hi.is/svar.php?id=3683 |title=''Hver er samræðisaldur á Íslandi?'' |trans-title=What is the age of consent in Iceland?|language=is}}</ref>
==Ireland==
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==Italy==
The age of consent in Italy is '''14''' years, with a close-in-age exception that allows those aged 13 to engage in sexual activity with partners who are under the age of 18, provided that the age gap between them is less than 4 years (i.e. if the partners are all under the age of 18, but at least 13).
The age of consent rises to 16 if one of the participants has some kind of influence on the other (e.g. parent - being a natural or an adoptive one, teacher, tutor, etc.). Not knowing that the victim is underage is not a legal defense, except when it was unavoidable ignorance. If the minor involved is under the age of 11, the crime can be punished even without a complaint and the punishment is aggravated. It is also illegal to perform sexual acts in the presence of a minor aged less than 14 with the intent of allowing the minor to witness the acts, even if they do not take an active part.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.diritto.it/leta-del-consenso/|title=L'età del consenso | Il portale giuridico online per i professionisti - Diritto.it|date=7 January 2022|accessdate=11 March 2023}}</ref>
See also related [[s:it:Codice Penale/Libro II/Titolo XII#Art. 609 bis Violenza sessuale|Wikisource]] articles from the Italian Criminal Code (in Italian). See also more related articles from Interpol.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.interpol.int/Public/Children/SexualAbuse/NationalLaws/csaItaly.asp |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20010925003359/http%3A//www.interpol.int/public/children/sexualabuse/nationallaws/csaitaly.asp |url-status=dead |archive-date=25 September 2001 |title=Internet / Home - INTERPOL }}</ref>
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:For the completed offence and apart from the formal element of the offence, there must be the lewd act (''atto di libidine'') and the actual defilement. The lewd act may be committed either on the person or in the presence of the minor. All acts which, either by their very nature or of the circumstances in which they are performed, either are directed to the indulgence of the sexual appetite, either of the agent or of the victim, and are capable of arousing sexual interest of the victim, are lewd acts for the purposes of the offence in question.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://docs.justice.gov.mt/SENTENZI2000_PDF/MALTA/TAL-MAGISTRATI%20(GUDIKATURA%20KRIMINALI)/2008/2008-09-25_568-2005_50759.PDF|title=IL-PULIZIJA SPETTUR LOUISE CALLEJA VS. GIUSEPPE ZAMMIT, Numru 568/2005, 2008-09-28 |work= QORTI TAL-MAGISTRATI (MALTA) BHALA QORTI TA' GUDIKATURA KRIMINALI (Court of magistrates (Malta) as a court of criminal judicature) |publisher=Docs.justice.gov.mt}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.timesofmalta.com.mt/articles/view/20080423/local/ex-religion-teacher-confesses-to-defilement-via-sms |title=Timesofmalta.com - Ex-religion teacher confesses to defilement via SMS |access-date=8 October 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101113052345/http://www.timesofmalta.com.mt/articles/view/20080423/local/ex-religion-teacher-confesses-to-defilement-via-sms |archive-date=13 November 2010}}</ref>
The interpretation of the law is situational and at the discretion of the prosecution and the courts, based on relevant factors that may be taken into account to decide whether the minor was actually "defiled". For example, in 2008 two brothers, aged 19 and 20, were found not guilty of defiling a girl, then aged 16 (until 2018 the age of consent was 18). Their sexual encounters were consensual, and it was clear that the girl had had several previous sexual adventures with several youths.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20080428/local/brothers-acquitted-of-defiling-girl |title=Brothers acquitted of defiling girl |date=28 April 2008 |publisher=timesofmalta.com |access-date=17 May 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://docs.justice.gov.mt/SENTENZI2000_PDF/MALTA/TAL-MAGISTRATI%20(GUDIKATURA%20KRIMINALI)/2008/2008-04-23_914-2004_48886.PDF|title=POLICE INSPECTOR TEREZA SCIBERRAS, INSPECTOR RAYMOND AQUILINA VS. SEBASTIAN FRANCIS De BONO, ZACHARY De BONO, Number 914/2004, 2008-04-23 |work= COURT OF MAGISTRATES (MALTA) AS A COURT OF CRIMINAL JUDICATURE |publisher=Docs.justice.gov.mt}}</ref> In 2007 a man of 30 was found guilty of defiling a boy, then aged 14. He had set up a situation in which the boy came to his apartment; as a result of both childish curiosity and what the court deemed to be the guile of the adult man, the boy remained in the apartment even while man first showered and then committed the lewd acts.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://docs.justice.gov.mt/SENTENZI2000_PDF/MALTA/TA'%20L-APPELLI%20KRIMINALI%20(INFERJURI)/2007/2007-06-11_170-2007_43765.PDF|title=The Police v. Arshad Nawaz, Criminal Appeal Number. 170/2007, 2007-06-11 |work= MALTA - COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEAL |publisher=Docs.justice.gov.mt}}</ref> There are also other cases, where offenders have been found guilty even though the circumstances were not clear, such as the case of a hotel manager aged 35 with a 14-year-old girl on holiday,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timesofmalta.com.mt/articles/view/20080902/local/man-accused-of-defilement |title=Timesofmalta.com - Man accused of defilement |access-date=8 October 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216114916/http://www.timesofmalta.com.mt/articles/view/20080902/local/man-accused-of-defilement |archive-date=16 December 2008}}</ref> three men aged 18, 19 and 20 with three 14-year-old girls<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.timesofmalta.com.mt/articles/view/20080827/local/three-admit-indecent-acts |title=Timesofmalta.com - Three admit indecent acts |access-date=8 October 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216114905/http://www.timesofmalta.com.mt/articles/view/20080827/local/three-admit-indecent-acts |archive-date=16 December 2008}}</ref> or another hotel manager of 46 and a boy of 14, who had encounters over a longer time.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.timesofmalta.com.mt/articles/view/20080822/local/hotel-manager-charged-with-defiling-boy-14 |title=Timesofmalta.com - Hotel manager charged with defiling boy, 14 |access-date=8 October 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101119045509/http://www.timesofmalta.com.mt/articles/view/20080822/local/hotel-manager-charged-with-defiling-boy-14 |archive-date=19 November 2010}}</ref>
In the wording of the law there is no discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. However, discrimination can result from selective enforcement with regard to individual cases. "This may therefore lead to a higher incidence of cases in which the minor and the perpetrator are of the same sex, given that there may be parents who would not resort to legal proceedings should their 17-year-old child have sexual relations with another person of the opposite sex but would do so if the person is of the same sex."<ref name="attard">{{cite web |first=Christian |last=Attard |url= http://www.law.leiden.edu/general/img/Malta%20-%20Summary%20of%20legislation%202006_tcm19-55172.pdf|title=Summary of legislation implementing "Directive 2000/78/EC establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation" with respect to sexual orientation in Malta |year= 2005 |publisher=Law.leiden.edu}}</ref>
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==Netherlands==
The age of consent in the Netherlands is '''16''', as specified by the Dutch Criminal Code: {{Blockquote|text=A person who, out of wedlock, with a person who has reached the age of twelve but has not reached sixteen, performs indecent acts comprising or including sexual penetration of the body is liable to a term of imprisonment of not more than eight years or a fine of the fifth category.|sign=|source=Dutch Criminal Code, Art 245<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wetten.overheid.nl/cgi-bin/deeplink/law1/title=WETBOEK%20VAN%20STRAFRECHT/article=245/ |title=wetten.nl - Wet- en regelgeving - Wetboek van Strafrecht - BWBR0001854 |language=nl |publisher=Wetten.overheid.nl |access-date=2014-05-17 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>}}{{Blockquote|text=A person who, with a person whom he knows to be unconscious or physically unable to resist or to be suffering from such a degree of mental defect or mental disease that he is incapable or not sufficiently capable of exercising or expressing his will in the matter or of offering resistance, performs indecent acts, or who, with a person who has not yet reached the age of sixteen (16) years, out of wedlock, performs indecent acts, or by whom the latter is enticed into performing, or submitting to such acts, out of wedlock, with a third party, is liable to a term of imprisonment of not more than six years or a fine of the fourth category.|sign=|source=Dutch Criminal Code, Art 247<ref>{{cite web |url=http://wetten.overheid.nl/cgi-bin/deeplink/law1/title=WETBOEK%20VAN%20STRAFRECHT/article=247/ |title=wetten.nl - Wet- en regelgeving - Wetboek van Strafrecht - BWBR0001854 |language=nl |publisher=Wetten.overheid.nl |access-date=2014-05-17 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>}} Close-in-age exceptions (for consensual acts between adolescents close in age, within "social-ethical norms") are at the discretion of the prosecution. Acts such as a ménage-a-trois, or an unequal relationship, e.g. the perpetrator{{clarify|date=November 2017}} (17) was not in love, while the victim{{clarify|date=November 2017}} (15) was, can also be considered outside "social-ethical norms".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.juridischkennisportaal.nl/wiki/strafrecht/ontucht-cq-feitelijke-aanranding/jurisprudentie-ontucht-leeftijdsverschil.htm |title=Jurisprudentie ontucht - leeftijdsverschil - Juridisch kennisportaal |publisher=Juridischkennisportaal.nl |access-date=17 May 2014 |archive-date=17 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517185932/http://www.juridischkennisportaal.nl/wiki/strafrecht/ontucht-cq-feitelijke-aanranding/jurisprudentie-ontucht-leeftijdsverschil.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>
===History===
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Sexual relations between two women was never explicitly criminalized, but have been prosecuted under the general indecency law of the Civil Penal Code of 1842.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.apollon.uio.no/bokanmeldelser/2000/homoseksualitet.html |title=Homoseksualitet mellom fortielse og straff |language=no |publisher=Apollon |access-date=17 May 2014}}</ref>
In 1951, a Norwegian ministry of justice white paper recommended de-criminalization of homosexual acts in the 1903 Civil Penal Code §213, but this was rejected by the Norwegian Parliament (Stortinget). The ban on sex between men, which also outlawed cohabitation<ref>[[:no:Konkubinatparagrafen]]</ref>{{Better source needed|date=February 2014}} as well as sex with animals, was repealed in 1972<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lovdata.no/all/tl-19020522-010-023.html#196/00_Norway_Penal%20Code.asp |title=Lovdata - Sender deg til riktig side |publisher=Lovdata.no |date=22 May 1902 |access-date=17 May 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ub.uio.no/ujur/ulovdata/lov-19020522-010-eng.pdf|title=Quotations taken from the Ministry of Justice's (unofficial translation), though updated with current (September 2012) changes in the code |publisher=Ub.uio.no}}</ref> ([[Zoophilia|bestiality]] having been recriminalized in 2008<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.regjeringen.no/en/archive/Stoltenbergs-2nd-Government/Ministry-of-Agriculture-and-Food/Nyheter-og-pressemeldinger/nyheter/2009/new-animal-welfare-act-.html?id=562543 |title=New Animal Welfare Act |work=regjeringen.no |date=15 May 2009 |access-date=13 July 2014}}</ref>).
The Penal Code of 2005, replaced the 1902 General Civil Penal Code, and was entered into force on 1 October 2005.
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===History===
For a very long time, the age of consent in Romania was 14. The Penal Code of 1864, which followed shortly after the [[United
The late 1990s and the early 21st century saw major modifications to the criminal code, in an effort to modify what was seen as outdated provisions, especially as Romania prepared to enter the EU. As such, homosexuality was decriminalized, the text of several criminal offences was modified by making it gender-neutral, the age of consent was lifted to 15 (applicable to both girls and boys), punishments for several sexual crimes were increased, and the stipulation that a rapist could avoid punishment after rape if he married his victim was abolished. Changes were made through Law no. 140/1996, Law No. 197/2000, Emergency Ordinance no. 89/2001, and Emergency Ordinance no. 143/2002. Nevertheless, the rapid adoption of numerous laws led to poorly drafted and contradictory texts, which have caused difficulty among the jurisprudence and doctrine, and several cases ended to the [[High Court of Cassation and Justice]] in order to clarify the interpretation of the law.{{Citation needed|date=June 2018}} Finally, a new criminal code entered into force on 1 February 2014, which set the age of consent at 15.
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==Ukraine==
The age of consent in Ukraine is set at '''16''' since 2018, regardless of gender and/or sexual orientation.<ref>{{cite web
Article 155 states that sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 16 committed by a person over the age of 18 shall be punishable. Additionally, according to Article 152 (since January 2019) sexual intercourse with a person under the age of 14 (regardless of his/her voluntary consent) is a rape. The law no longer makes reference to the concept of "sexual maturity", which existed in the former legislative framework.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://ukrainepravo.com/ukrainian_law/legal-news-in-ukraine-amendments-to-the-criminal-code-judges-qualification-assessment-model-decision/|title=Legal news in Ukraine: amendments to the Criminal Code, judges' qualification assessment, model decision of the Supreme Court, new procedure of the lawyer's examination, recalculation of pensions for state employees|date=20 April 2018|website=Українське право - інформаційно-правовий портал|access-date=28 March 2019|archive-date=13 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220413151234/https://ukrainepravo.com/ukrainian_law/legal-news-in-ukraine-amendments-to-the-criminal-code-judges-qualification-assessment-model-decision/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==United Kingdom and Crown dependencies==
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The age of consent in [[Scotland]] is '''16''', regardless of [[sexual orientation]] or [[gender]].<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.scotsman.com/politics/Sex-crimes-law--.5463821.jp |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140518083608/http://www.scotsman.com/news/sex-crimes-law-gets-go-ahead-1-760359 |archive-date=18 May 2014 | location=Edinburgh | work=The Scotsman | title=Sex crimes law gets go-ahead | date=16 July 2009 |url-status=unfit}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.theinformationdaily.com/2009/07/16/royal-assent-for-sexual-offences-bill |title=Royal Assent for Sexual Offences Bill |publisher=The Information Daily.com |access-date=17 May 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517213011/http://www.theinformationdaily.com/2009/07/16/royal-assent-for-sexual-offences-bill |archive-date=17 May 2014}}</ref>
However, consensual sex with a girl aged between 13 and
====History====
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===Jersey===
The age of consent in the Bailiwick of [[Jersey]], a Crown Dependency, is '''16'''
====History====
Prior to 1990, sodomy was illegal<ref>{{cite web |url=
==Vatican City==
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