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What Is the Age of Consent in the UK? A Guide to Sexual Offences Law and Legal Consequences

What Is Consent in UK Law?

The principle of consent is when all people involved in any kind of sexual activity agree by choice to take part, and the people involved, have the freedom and capacity to make that choice.

What Is the Age of Consent in the UK?

In the UK the age of consent is widely understood to be 16 years old. The principle is that at 16 years old you have the maturity and capacity to make the choice to consent to sexual activity.

What Happens If Someone Does Not Consent?

If a person involved does not give consent than that sexual activity is a criminal offence. The most serious sexual offence is rape. Rape is a form of sexual violence when a person puts their penis in another person’s vagina, anus or mouth, without consent. It might be obvious that a person does not consent, for example the person saying no! But sometimes it is less obvious especially when dealing with young people. The question is whether a young person is able to give consent.

Can Children Under 13 Give Consent?

Under no circumstances can a person under the age of 13 years give legal consent to any form of sexual activity. This means any sexual activity with a person under the age of 13 year is a criminal offence. A person under the age of 13 years does not have the maturity and capacity to make the choice to consent to sexual activity.

Sexual Activity Between Ages 13 and 18 – What Does the Law Say?

The difficulty arises when a person between the ages of 13 years and 18 years appears to give consent.

Is It Illegal to Have Sex Under 16 in the UK?

Even if consent is given it is still a criminal offence to have any sexual activity with a young person under the age of 16 years. For example, a 17-year-old boy who has sexual relations with a consenting 15-year-old girl is still committing a criminal offence.

Positions of Trust and the Law

If an adult is in a position of trust, such as being a teacher or coach, then a young person under 18 years old cannot consent to any sexual activity with that adult. For example, a football coach who has sexual relations with a consenting 17-year-old is still committing a criminal offence.

Why you might be worried

Sexual offences are amongst the most serious of offences. The offence of rape carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. But even in scenarios where consent appears to be given a person might still be committing a criminal offence by engaging in sexual activity. The offence of sexual activity with a person under 16 years old has a maximum sentence of 14 years imprisonment.

Accused of a Sexual Offence? Get Legal Advice Early

This is a complicated area of law and if allegations of this nature are reported to the police it is important to obtain legal advice.

What we can do to help

If allegations of sexual offences have been reported to the police, it is likely that the police will wish to interview the suspect. The suspect might be arrested and taken to the police station, or the police might invite the suspect to attend the police station for a voluntary interview.

Free Legal Advice at the Police Station

At the police station you are entitled to free initial legal advice and representation under the Legal Aid Advice and Assistance at the Police Station Scheme. We have a team of Solicitors and Police Station Representatives that can assist you at the police station. Please speak to us to find out more information.

How Our Criminal Defence Solicitors Can Help

At Elliot Mather, our dedicated Criminal team offer friendly and professional advice. We understand that going through the criminal procedure is distressing for all concerned.

Our team are experienced in representing clients who have been alleged to have committed a broad range of crimes. It is vital that you contact us as soon as possible to discuss your circumstances

Contact Our Criminal Defence Team

Location

Our Solicitors are able to provide expert advice across the country with a network of offices based in: Derby, Nottingham, Chesterfield, and Mansfield.

How to get in touch

Our team are on hand to help you and can assist wherever you are based. Please call us on 0330 333 2613 for a no-obligation, initial discussion or email enquiries@elliotmather.co.uk and we will call or email you back.

24/7 Emergency Legal Advice

We operate a call out system, meaning that representation from our expert criminal law team can be requested at any time of the day or night. The police will contact a call centre who will then telephone us immediately.

If you require assistance from one of our criminal defence solicitors when out of our normal office hours, it is vital that you call us on:

Derby: 07776 240 152
Nottingham: 07741 592 301
Chesterfield: 07717 802 850
Mansfield: 07741 592 301

Rhianna McLennan

Solicitor

Rhianna joined Elliot Mather in April 2024 as a qualified solicitor in the Crime Department.

Rhianna completed her law degree at Bristol University in 2018. After graduating she worked for Amicus, an organisation fighting against those facing the death sentence in the USA. Following this Rhianna joined a high street firm in Derby working in the Care Department and completed her Master of Law LPC with a distinction at Nottingham Law School in 2023. Rhianna completed her training contract at a high street firm in Nottingham in the Crime Department focusing on Crown Court Litigation.

Rhianna is based at our Derby Office. She provides representation to those appearing in the Magistrates’ Court for a range of offences and provides advice to both legally aided and private paying clients. Rhianna also has experience in assisting with Crown Court litigation.

Rhianna has recently completed her Court Duty qualification and is now a member of the Duty Solicitor Scheme. Rhianna is part of our dedicated team providing advice and assistance to clients at the police station 24 hours a day seven days a week.