"13 years old" YES, is it real? June 29, 19:13

What kind of image do you have about "13 year old boys and girls"? In Japan, 13-year-old, first grade junior high school students have the ability to agree to sexual activity.

For this reason, boys and girls must explain specifically if your loved ones were threatened or resisted if they were sexually assaulted at the age of 13.

Nowadays, there is a movement in the world to raise the so-called age for consent. What kind of discussion was there?

Escape from the "world's lowest"

In May, Korea raised the age of consent for sexual intercourse from 13 to 16.

The trigger was the so-called “nth room incident”, which is also called “the worst digital sex crime in history” in South Korea.

In this case, obscene videos and images of women were shared in a chat room, a communication app that is said to be highly confidential.

Chat room operators use personal information obtained from women by inviting phrases such as "model bytes" and "getting high income" to threaten and sexually assault videos and make radical obscene videos. I had it.

We provided it to members of the chat room in exchange for crypto assets.

There were more than 70 victims of this incident, including minors who are considered to be junior high school students.

For this reason, the Korean government has made a number of amendments to the law on sex crimes, saying that "the cycle of sex crimes will be broken through a major shift in criminal justice policy."

One of them is raising the age of consent.

The age of consent is the age at which you can understand and decline the risk of pregnancy and infection. Korea was 13 years old. Along with Japan, it was the lowest age among the member countries of the OECD = Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

The Korean government has raised the age to 16 this time, and if an adult has sex with a boy or girl aged 13 to under 16, he or she will be punished as sexual assault regardless of consent. It was The amendments are based on the laws of Western countries.

A judgment that raised the momentum of raising

In Korea, there has been debate about raising the age of consent even before the "nth room incident."

Since 2010, there have been a number of cases in which sexual violence against boys and girls by distant adults was not found guilty, each time causing social controversy.

The most controversial was the 2014 Supreme Court decision. For the man in his 40s who was accused of sexually assaulting a junior high school girl, the Supreme Court abandoned the High Court's conviction that "there is a lover relationship".

As a result of this, the momentum for raising the age of consent increased.

According to the Korean Women's Bar Association, the court ruled between 2013 and 2014 that there were 1308 victims of minor sex crimes.

Of these, the ages of victims were "13 to 16 years old" at 40.6% and "16 to 19 years old" at 42.6%, which was almost the same.

The number of victims of junior high school students was higher than expected, and the female bar association has asked the government to raise the consent age, saying that it is “more unlikely that higher school students have the ability to protect themselves from sexual violence”.

Yun Suk-Hee, Chairman of the Korean Women's Bar Association,
“Free love is guaranteed by equal relationships. Even if you agree with sexual relations if there is a large difference in age, power, social experience between boys and girls and adults. I don't think it's due to true consent. I think raising the age of consent can also help prevent crime."

On the other hand, there were also dissenting opinions, such as "Do you blame your love for a serious age difference?" "Modern children do not need it because their bodies mature quickly."

In addition, human rights groups may guarantee what rights boys and girls have, because discussing only the age of consent leads to misunderstanding that sexual violence is a matter of age and individual judgment. He points out that we must discuss it together.

Promoting the spread of smartphones

Among the pros and cons, the biggest change was the change in the Internet environment.

In South Korea, there is a problem of “grooming” in which perpetrators contact boys and girls through SNS, provide royal gifts, praise and build relationships, and then add sexual violence.

The proliferation of smartphones increases the risk that minors will be exposed to sex crimes.

Experts in the field of support say that this increase in age reflects changes in the environment and trends in the world.

Deputy Director Kwon Hyung-Jung, a center supporting sexually-damaged minors
``Even if it seems that boys and girls aged 13 to 15 agreed to sexual activity by grooming, the perpetrators will be punished unlike before. It's important to be able to do that. In recent years, some countries in Europe have raised the consent age, and reaching 16 years old is also in the trend of the world."

France is "insufficient in law"

Then, what is the "age of consent for sex" around the world that Korea referred to?

Of these, even in France, where the age of consent was first decided, the sexual crime cases that occurred consecutively in 2017 shook public opinion.

A 31-year-old math teacher sexually assaulted a 14-year-old student and a 28-year-old man an 11-year-old girl.

However, none of them were able to prove that there was "assault, intimidation, coercion, or surprise attack" to inquire about the crime of rape (up to 15 years in prison), and they were charged with sexual infringement (up to 5 years in prison). I could only ask.

On the other hand, the dissatisfaction of the people increased suddenly because the sentence was too light, and there were few objections, and the law was enacted the following year.

It was believed that in France, if a victim who had been sexually assaulted was under the age of 18, he was accused of infringing the perpetrator, and that the law could protect boys and girls.

However, Professor Mana Shimaoka of Osaka University, who is familiar with French criminal law, points out that the series of incidents revealed that the laws up to that point were not sufficient.

Professor Shimaoka, Osaka University
"I found that the crime of sexual infringement was too light to protect my child, so I set the consent age to 15 years old. In France, I was at the age of entering high school. It is thought that the age at which consent can be given or rejected after careful examination of the meaning of sexual activity is possible, while below that, there are cases where it is assumed that consent has been given. It also leads to the control of potential people.''

Japan as "13 years old"

On the other hand, the consent age in Japan is "13 years old".

It remains established in the Meiji era. For this reason, if the victim is 13 years old or older, that is, in the first grade of junior high school or above, it is necessary to explain specifically that he or she has been sexually assaulted. (If you are under the age of 13, you will be punished regardless of whether you agree or not.) In

2017, although the criminal law for sex crimes was revised for the first time in 110 years, opinions regarding the consent age were split at the raised age. In addition, opinions such as those who are seriously in love with people who are distant from the age and whether boys and girls who are in love with puberty will be prosecuted, and they are sent off. It was. (※ However, if such parent "custodian" was a sexual assault in less than 18 years of age, be subject to punishment, regardless of the presence or absence of consent)

In addition, as shown in France of sexual infringement crimes, also in Japan There are child welfare laws and youth protection and ordinances that protect boys and girls. However, human rights groups and victims' groups have sought to raise the consent age to 16 years old after completing compulsory education, saying that they are insufficient because the penalties are lighter than the criminal law.

Misunderstanding that sex education adversely affects children

However, increasing the consent age does not mean that boys and girls who are victims of sexual violence will not disappear.

Professor Shimaoka of Osaka University believes that having children learn about sexual violence can help prevent it.

Prof. Shimaoka
"Sex education is usually done to prevent sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancy. In Japan, "If you tell a child you don't know anything about sex, you want to be sexual. Conservative lawmakers disagreed, and as a result, Japanese children who could not receive sex education could not determine what they were doing even if they were sexually affected. There's a problem"

In developed countries, sex education is conducted to protect children.

In France, I have the opportunity to learn about the physical structure from an elementary school, and at junior high school I teach the method of contraception and the importance of valuing the consent of the other person during sexual activity.

A chance not to be missed

Japan has finally begun to move.

This June, the government will instruct children not to show or touch the parts hidden in swimwear from their childhood, and to junior high and high school students, in order to prevent children from being injured. Even if it's a relationship, the other party doesn't hate. I hate what I don't like."

Since June, the Ministry of Justice Review Committee has been discussing the requirements of criminal law regarding sex crimes, including the age of consent.

Some have welcomed this move.

One of them is Jun Yamamoto, who is a representative of an organization that has been lobbying for a society where victims of sexual violence are more likely to live when they are 13 years old.

Jun Yamamoto:
Until now, I didn't tell a trusted adult when I was exposed to sexual violence, and I was not told that I should not engage in sexual activity without my consent. I think Japan is far behind in advanced countries. However, the awareness of human rights is gradually changing as "flower demonstration" protesting against sexual violence spread all over the country. I felt that the consent age of 13 years old was very low. I don't think it's an opportunity.''

This issue is not limited to those involved in law reform. I think it is necessary for each and every one of us to consider how to eliminate the damage of sexual violence to the children who will lead the future, rather than just discussing it.

International Department reporter
Hiroko Matsuzaki

International Department reporter
Ayano Shirai