Age of Consent in the UK

From the Independent:

Calls have been made for laws around the age of sexual consent to be overhauled amid the allegations against Russell Brand.

Brand, a comedian turned conspiracy theorist, is accused of sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl when he was in his thirties.

While he has vehemently denied all allegations and insists his relationships were consensual, the claims have ignited a debate around not only the age of consent but also age gaps.

Brand’s alleged victim, known by the pseudonym Alice, told the Sunday Times she was in an emotionally abusive three-month relationship with him that began in 2006. The actor is accused of rape, assault and emotional abuse between 2006 and 2013, in the wake of a joint investigation by The Times, Sunday Times and Channel 4’s Dispatches.

Alice told BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour on Monday it is time to start to think about changing laws around the age of sexual consent.

Read more here.