ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Age of consent reform (UK)

Okay kiddo, let me tell you about age of consent reform in the UK. Age of consent is the age at which someone is considered capable of giving legal consent to engage in sexual activity. In the UK, the current age of consent is 16. This means that individuals under the age of 16 are not legally able to consent to sexual activities.

However, there are some people who think that the age of consent should be raised to 18. They believe that people under 18 are not mature enough to make informed decisions about sexual activity and that raising the age of consent would better protect them from exploitation.

On the other hand, some people think that a higher age of consent would harm young people's sexual expression and even have negative consequences, including potentially criminalizing teenagers themselves.

Ultimately, age of consent reform is a debate between protecting young people from exploitation and promoting their sexual autonomy. It is important to make sure that young people are well-informed about their options and are not pressured into sexual activities they are not comfortable with.