The Joint Meeting of the Social Affairs Committee, the Health Committee and the Family Affairs Committee are discussing the age of sexual consent and the possibility of reducing it.
The current age of sexual consent in Malta is 18, however recently PL Whip Godfrey Farrugia has expressed his wish for the age to be reduced to 16, where he argued that aside from Malta, the only other European country with an age of consent above 16 is Cyprus.
PL MP Etienne Grech said that Turkey also has the age of consent set at 18. Lawyers told him that the age of criminal prosecution is 14 and that 17 year olds can drink alcohol. He also said that that a youth also has the ability to emancipate themselves, can smoke and drive by the age of 18.
"When asking the everyday joe about the age of sexual consent, very few would know".
PL Whip Godfrey Farrugia said that prior to the local council elections, this topic had been quite a hot potato. He mentioned that there was a lack of youth representation at this discussion and hopes that in the next meeting, youth organisations would also be present. "If we really want to hear the voice of the youth on the topic, they must speak".
Senior lecturer for Youth and Audio-visual studies Joanna Cassar told the MPs that a survey on sexual knowledge attitudes and behaviour was conducted in 2012 and from 329 youths aged 16-18, 41% said they were sexual active, with the majority saying they became sexually active by age 15.
“They also said that once having experienced sex it was hard to stop and not have sex again. When asked why they had sexual relations, the majority said ‘they were in love’ thus meaning that they had positive intentions”.
MPs then argued over love, with one stating that they might not know what love is and in response, MP Deo Debattista argued that it does not need to be lifelong love. “It all starts with a crush”.
They were asked whether they should be in love before having sexual intercourse, and over 80% agreed. Of those who had sex, 36% said they did not use any form of protection and 21% of these were under the affects of alcohol. It also showed that around 70% showed that they were comfortable on speaking about contraception with their partners.
She explained that a link between STIs and early ages of sexual activity. exists
She said that 60% are not sexually active by the age of 18, adding that the law must cater for all the youths with all the current diversity. The youths had said that the majority of information on sex was gathered through their families. Sexual education is part of PSD and not a specific subject taught on its own, she said, adding that it is just a small part of the PSD curriculum. She recommends that there be a specific course for youths on sexual education.
Ssexual education currently delays sexual activities, she said, referring to studies, adding that "the more they learn the longer they will wait, again stressing that there is not enough education on the subject in Malta. Remember certain topics are still taboo, such as discussions surrounding contraception, which they find hard".
PL MP Deborah Schembri said that a previous study showed that Maltese youths were among the lowest to speak with their children. In response, the University lecturer stressed that studies can show opposing results, due to sample size etc, but that this also shows the complexity of the topic.
Consent is also an issue as not every youth knows that they have a right to say no, she stressed. PL MP Etienne Grech then argued that if this is the case then imagine how few would actually know they are having sex illegally.
Dr Cassar said that studies show youths don't in general, plan to have sex and that it just happens. She added that peer pressure plays a part, "as those hearing about their friends having sex tend to also want to experience it".
She explained that there are not many studies done on this subject in Malta, adding that they are quite hard to conduct.
Because a number of youths said that "it feels right" I believe that for them it is something normal and is not a big issue for them to have sex. I think that these kind of youths, to criminalise them, is inappropriate, as they feel they are not doing anything wrong.
Another issue arose when "they are victims of exploitation and obviously, they are at risk since they are minors".
Another issue rises when there is a significant age difference, for example if one is thirty and one is 16. "Just because one is older doesn't mean he or she would be promiscuous, however statistics do show that this does increase the risk of pregnancy".
In Canada, she explained, they are considering raising the age of sexual consent from 14 to 16.
PL MP Godfrey Farrugia asked about information and stated that youths cannot receive information without parental consent and for example, cannot buy a contraceptive according to law. The only way for a doctor to have access to a youth without parents is during an emergency. A professional, for example a sexual therapist, would be in the red for advising a youth without parental consent. Deborah Schembri had said that in a Committee it was said that by age 16, youths can go and ask for information.
Dr Farrugia asked her how low she believed the age should drop. In response, the lecturer said 16, however she said that more support and help must be offered as well as more provisions within the law.
MP Deborah Schembri said that the Bio-ethics consultative Committee has nothing, in principle, against reducing the age of consent to 16, however stressed that they did not have enough time to see how it would affect other laws for example relating to pornography etc.
Clinical Psychologist Amanda Grech also spoke of the development process in adolescence, adding that the most important thing for them is the process of development in order for them to find their unique identity. “This means that they would want to leave their mark, and this is where we see them start to create a gap between themselves and their parents”.
She explained that developmental shifts take place during this period. “during puberty, we begin to see a rapid increase in growth, both physical and cognitive, as well as emotional. At 16-years-of-age I see youths begin to realise their intimacy levels and become aware of their social development. We begin to see a stronger drive in emotional development and it seems to be linked with puberty”.
16-year-olds, are motivated to start a romantic development and are inclined to take more risks she explained, adding that in sexual development of LGBTI persons its relatively the same, bar the fact that they would go through a period of confusion.
PL MP Deborah Schembri asked if at that age, they can evaluate consequences. In response, Dr Grech said that the more education and information they are given, the percentage chance of them making the right decision rises.
"It is important for parents to monitor their children during this period as well as give them a space to grow". Friends, during this period, become more important to the youth than at any other point during their lives, as they need to feel as though they belong however cannot remain as close to their families. This leads to peer-pressure as they give a lot of value to what their peers say".
She said that research shows woman seem to have more negative sexual outcomes than men, even more so when they are young. "We must consider this when considering sexual development programmes. Giving information on contraceptives is not enough. When under pressure, even if they would want to abstain from sex, when push comes to shove they might not be strong enough to stick by their convictions".
She explained that sexual script theory explains that men are under more pressure to have sexual relations at a younger age.
She said that in Malta statistics show sexual experimentation begins below 18%, adding that Malta has the highest rate of teenage pregnancies in the EU.
She added that the average age of marriage has been reducing. "My recommendation is that the age of sexual consent must care for those in vulnerable situations however should not criminalise teenage sexual activity. She said that she is not worried when a relationship involves someone who is a few months older that someone below the age of consent, however situations involving a 16 and 20 year old then the vulnerability of the younger person must be looked after", she stated.
Dr Vincent Galea mentioned that to marry, under the age of 18, permission from the parents is required however even though, the criminal code does not mention any permission for any sexual act. If I marry, at 16, a 16 year old girl, then her parents can take me to court for having sex with my wife. Then yes its true she can say she didn't want it taken to court. Such a case could also be taken to court by the grandparents.
He said that in certain articles of the law, when the police move someone before the courts, the Magistrate has the discretion to interpret the law, however many a time is subjective to the Magistrate, so what is immoral for the magistrate might be normal for me, and so we see this quite often. If taking into consideration the reduction of the age of consent, then these things must be taken into consideration, he added.
He stressed that every comma changed in one law affects another. "There are laws which deal with prostitution of those under age, while another one speaks of the abduction of an underage person in order to marry, and one speaks of underage pornography. When one comes to reduce the age of sexual consent, one would need to see how it would affect a situation where a woman has sex with his girlfriend who is under 18, whether he would be considered a paedophile, and whether taking a naked photo of someone would be considered underage pornography".
He stressed if a blanket provision is made stating that the age of consent is 16-years-old, then there would be nothing wrong with a 50-year-old having sexual relations with a 16-year-old, adding that other countries take into account such vulnerability.
Dr George Buttigieg argued that the solution is not linked with reducing the age of sexual consent, but through age banding. He said - "what if, after the reduction, we find a 15 year old couple having sexual relations?"
The anomaly of taking a couple who are underage to courts would best be served through age-banding. He recommends that if the age is reduced, then a law built on age-banding should also be made where, for example, sexual activity under a certain age would only be legal between a certain age-group.
He said that he doubts youths would care about the age of consent to begin with. He said that legally, technically, the gynaecologists can't see an underage girl without parental consent,"but morally would they?" On matters relating to the pill, "ethically I feel I should give her the pill".
He said he doesn't believe reducing the age would result in more pregnancies as in reality "they don't care in this regard. My fear is that we are opening the doors for those vulnerable people as those who will have sex will do it either way".
He stressed that the situation, as is written in the law, is that doctors cannot give contraceptives to underage persons without parental consent. "If the sexual age is reduced to 16 and this law is not changed than this will be problematic".
He said that reducing the age of consent would mean that they would be allowed to have sex, but not be able to go for contraception without a parent present. He argued if one wants to reduce it one must also allow doctors to grant contraceptives and treatment for related issues without parents present.