A UK barrister who specializes in reproductive rights is calling for the age of consent to be lowered to 13. The barrister, Barbara Hewson, was quoted as saying it was necessary to end the "persecution of old men."
In an interview with the online magazine Spiked, Hewson stated that additionally, complainants should no longer receive anonymity. Her statement comes in the wake of a number of high profile arrests over allegations of historical sexual offenses in the aftermath of the Jimmy Savile scandal.
Included among these cases is a former BBC broadcaster, Stuart Hall, who admitted to 14 charges of assaulting young girls, including one aged nine. Hewson views Hall's crimes as "low-level misdemeanours" which "ordinarily... would not be prosecuted".
"Touching a 17-year-old's breast, kissing a 13-year-old, or putting one's hand up a 16-year-old's skirt" are not crimes comparable to gang rapes and murders and "anyone suggesting otherwise has lost touch with reality," Hewson states.
"What we have here is the manipulation of the British criminal justice system to produce scapegoats on demand. It is a grotesque spectacle," she adds." It's time to end this prurient charade, which has nothing to do with justice or the public interest."
Hewson believes that in addition to a reduced age of consent, the country should also end complaint anonymity and enact a strict statute of limitations to prevent prosecutions after a certain amount of time has passed.
The NSPCC, a child abuse prevention organization in the UK, called her stance "outdated and simply ill-informed," and that to hear them "from a highly experienced barrister simply beggars belief".
The organization adds that Hall's crimes are "incredibly serious," and that "to minimise and trivialise the impact of these offences for victims in this way is all but denying that they have in fact suffered abuse at all."
"Any suggestion of lowering the age of consent could put more young people at risk from those who prey on vulnerable young people," they conclude.