A couple years ago I found out that some places in France and the U.S. had the legal marriage age set at about 14 years old. These are those remnant laws that used to be acceptable but weren't changed with the times, now the legislature is largely forgotten and the more common law that society has regarding the social practice is accepted and inforced. Maybe this is true regarding some of the rape laws (although the low age for consent in Asia doesn't surprise me, unfortunately)?

That's my point: Britain is fourth in the international kiddy-fiddler league tables, but our age of consent is reasonable and we do invest a lot of time and money going after them thanks to tabloid hysteria in recent years.

Monkey Dust summed it up very, very well with the Paedo Finder General: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCywGhHQMEw

Britain really is like that!

13 years old? That's some seriously sick shit. Paedophilia pure and simple in any civilised country.

I agree. I mean, how would they know? What about African countries? Really, it tells more about the investigative quality of the polices and number of reported cases than anything else. Possibly due to awareness.

By the way, in Japan (and most of Asia) the age of consent is thirteen - one of the issues I plan to mention in my thesis is exactly that: how the ages of consent differ across the countries and how what's considered child abuse in some isn't in others. As well as the legal complications deriving from such differences.

I don't think rape legislation mentions gender, so it's presumed to cover both. In fairness, saying that Britain is third in number of paedophile cases may be a reflection of the resources our authorites spend to go after them. Looking at the cultural norms, I would suspect Japan would be out in front by a mile if they spent time and money addressing the issue.

That's quite rigid indeed. Bit ironic, considering England is third (I think) in number of pedophilia cases, right after Germany (Brazil's fourth).

Does the British law differentiate between male and female rape? Here in Brazil we used to (it still existed, but had another name and slightly smaller sentences - rape - estupro in portuguese - was forcing vaginal sex only), but the law was changed to be gender-neutral.

Our laws are a bit more rigid in Britain; if a sixteen year old screws a fifteen year old, that is "statutary rape" - rape in law if not in fact. It's rare for them to prosecute cases like that, but it does happen.

Thanks for the link LRA. Will check.

Here in Brazil we've a slightly different system: sex with kids 14 and under is considered the same crime as 'rape of vulnerables' (loose, bad translation), which is basically rape of any person unable to defend themselves, that is: mentally ill, the crippled, unconscious/lowered awareness, such as drugged/drunk people, and children (note I say person - male or female doesn't matter). Between 14-16, bar those conditions of vulnerability, it's decided case-by-case, according to the minor's maturity, though it is, a priore, considered a crime. Of course, if there is violence or threats involved it's always rape regardless of age.

For pornography it is as far as 18.

I know it's wiki, but here you go (it's a place to start):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ages_of_consent_in_North_America#United_States

In the U.S. it varies state to state, but in mine (Iowa) it's 16 with a "close in age" exception for 14/15 year olds. I think it's 3-4 years, so a 14 and 16 year old or two 15 year olds having sex isn't illegal even though some of them are under the standard age of consent.

In Britain the age of consent for both heterosexual and homosexual sex is 16. You cannot, however, watch or take part in making pornography until 18 - so it would be perfectly legal for me to bed a sixteen year old, but if I filmed it I'd be guilty of producing child porn. There is a register of paedophiles here, and jail is a common punishment for offences.

... on pedophilia (it's a criminal law course). Basically I'm comparing legislations regarding pedophilia across the world, as well as studying how countries collaborate to investigate child pornography rings over the internet, among other things.

So: how does your neck of woods treats pedophilia and child pornography? Is there particular legislation? What is the age of consent over there?