![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/russell-brand-accuser-sparks-debate-about-staggered-age-of-consent/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/131229506_gettyimages-153149684-1.jpg&description=Image source, Getty Images At 16, you can't legally drink alcohol, place a bet or vote in a general election - but you can consent to sex. It has been this way since 1885 in the UK, when the age of consent was raised from 13. For gay and bisexual men, the age of consent was reduced from 18 to 16 in a law change in 2000, after a long campaign for equality. But now, people are debating if consent laws should be changed again. This time, discussion has been triggered by allegations made against Russell Brand - in particular, those made by one alleged victim, "Alice", who says she had a relationship with Brand when he was in his 30s and she was 16. Alice told the Sunday Times and Channel 4's Dispatches that Brand sexually assaulted her, and that, looking back, she feels she was groomed by him during their relationship. Brand denies her allegations. Due to the fact she was over the age of sexual consent at the time, Alice says it would have been difficult for anyone to raise concerns about their relationship to the police. But Alice believes we should start considering a change to the law in the form of "staggered ages of consent", so that people over 18 would not be allowed to have sex with 16 and 17-year-olds. "There's a reasonable argument [that] individuals between the ages of 16 and 18 can have relations with people within that same age bracket," she told BBC Women's Hour. "You're allowed to make mistakes as a teenager, they should be with other people your own age." This view has been echoed by many people on social media, with some commentators floating ideas such as restricting those under 18 to sleeping with those under 21. But would a change in the law protect 16 and 17-year-olds from harm? And could it criminalise healthy relationships that happen to have an age gap? While sex involving one or more people under 16 is illegal, police use discretion to decide whether a prosecution is in the public interest. They take into account factors such as the relationship){kind=link}
At 16, you can’t legally drink alcohol, place a bet or vote in a general election – but you can consent to sex.
It has been this way since 1885 in the UK, when the age of consent was raised from 13. For gay and bisexual men, the age of consent was reduced from 18 to 16 in a law change in 2000, after a long campaign for equality.
But now, people are debating if consent laws should be changed again. This time, discussion has been triggered by allegations made against Russell Brand – in particular, those made by one alleged victim, “Alice”, who says she had a relationship with Brand when he was in his 30s and she was 16.
Alice told the Sunday Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches that Brand sexually assaulted her, and that, looking back, she feels she was groomed by him during their relationship. Brand denies her allegations.
Due to the fact she was over the age of sexual consent at the time, Alice says it would have been difficult for anyone to raise concerns about their relationship to the police.