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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 14 JUNE 2015 News 13 MARTINA BORG A somewhat dormant discussion was reignited over the past week, with the age of consent taking cen- tre stage at the joint meeting of the health, the social affairs and the family affairs committees. With opinions ranging from Commissioner for Children Helen D'Amato personally against the proposal to lower the age of con- sent from 18 to 16, to the Medical Council's favourable position, the debate is seeing moral conserva- tives once again on the defensive. But the reality of Malta's sexual- ised youth is already apparent to the medical community. Clinical psychologist and trainee sexologist Nicholas Briffa says he has come across people who had become sexually active at the age of 11. Although some of these cas- es hailed from particularly chal- lenging backgrounds, it was a re- ality also reflected in a 2012 study by the department of health pro- motion that revealed a substantial 40% of Maltese aged 16-18 were sexually active. "According to research, when the age of consent was lowered and combined with a serious and early, even family-based sex education, the age at which young people en- gaged in sexual activity also went up," Briffa said, quoting the Neth- erlands as an example. But he stressed that it was diffi- cult to foresee the effects of such a move. "It is essential to remember that in order for this to be a positive change it needs to be integrated with a deeply ingrained and early sexual education starting from before children started school, as well as a promotion of stable and strong family relationships. "Ultimately this would strip away the taboo aspect of things, and lead to teens being even more ma- ture about their decisions. If you remove the shade of the illicit, you remove some of the thrill and nor- malize it," Briffa said. He even pointed out that lower- ing the age of consent could also ultimately mean that young people have better access to health and medical services and contracep- tion. Away from the fear of judge- ment, young people would actually seek help from doctors for both STDs and pregnancies. The Malta Paediatric Association also admitted that despite current legislation, local statistics indicat- ed that the age of sexual debut is on average around 15 years of age. "The association's main concern is that the wellbeing of adolescents is safeguarded at all stages… We need to safeguard young people's sexual health and teach them to avoid sexually transmitted infec- tions and unwanted teenage preg- nancies," the MPA said. Labour MP and chair of the social and family affairs committees De- borah Schembri said that a move towards better sex education was essential, irrespective of the deci- sion whether or not to lower the age of consent. "Young people have not and will not let a law decide whether or not they have sex with each other," Schembri told MaltaToday. Her main concern was with an- cillary laws. "We need to make sure that if we lower the age of consent, other issues like pornog- raphy or defilement of minors re- tain the same standards," she ex- plained, adding that it was possible to introduce age banding systems on the issue. "The idea is that people with a certain age gap, which has not yet been decided, would be able to engage with each other sexually if they wish, without any fear of legal repercussions, but if the age gap is greater, say between a 40-year-old and a 16-year-old, then it would be considered as an aggression." Schembri however said she was personally against this idea. "If we lower the age of consent on the grounds that a 16-year-old can make an informed and intel- ligent decision to engage in sexual relations, why should we assume that this mental capacity is dimin- ished when we are concerned with different age groups?" ACCESS TO EMPLOYMENT – REMOVING BARRIERS TO EMPLOYMENT – We think you'll like what's coming, because we've changed the rules and made it easier than ever before to qualify for Employment Aid: You open your job doors to those who are more challenged and we will pay you a subsidy of €85 per week per new recruit for 26 weeks or for 52 weeks or for 104 weeks, or a subsidy of €125 per week for as many as 156 weeks in the case of registered disabled persons. Contact us on telephone number 2220 1399 or email address a2e.etc@gov.mt GRANTS TO PROMOTE NEW EMPLOYMENT FOR REGISTERED DISABLED PERSONS: AS FROM 1ST JUNE, 2015. FOR OTHER GROUPS: COMING SOON www.etc.gov.mt Age of consent in Europe: an overview 13: Spain 14: Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Montenegro, Portugal, San Marino, Serbia 15: Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Greece, Iceland, Monaco, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden 16: Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Finland, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Netherlands, Northern Cyprus, Norway, Russia, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Kingdom 17: Cyprus, Ireland 18: Malta, Turkey, Vatican City Malta's limitations for adolescents 9 years old Criminal responsibility 15 years old Work 16 years old Marriage, Voting for local councils 18 years old Smoking, voting at a national level, driving and sex Debate on age of consent is reality-check for Malta