In general, there are no laws that say when a young person can start dating another person but there are laws about doing sexual activity with another person, which we explain below! However, there are laws about people especially adults communicating with a young person who is under 17 years old so that they can sexually abuse that young person, or showing a young person who is under 17 sexual material like a film or a picture.
There is a defence where the communication is between two young people who are of a similar age. If you are worried about a relationship with an adult including an online relationship , or communications you are receiving, you can contact us for free and confidential advice.
A sexual act can include many different types of activities, such as:. Consent is required for any sexual act, not just those involving penetration. There are also special laws applying to recording a sexual activity with another person or sending or receiving sexual pictures or videos showing a young person who is under For more information about these laws please see our pages on sexting and image-based abuse.
It is useful to think of consent as an enthusiastic yes! It is never okay for someone to assume you have given consent or to force you to keep going if you want to stop. You can also change your mind or withdraw your consent at any time.
Consent is really important, and we recommend you check out our page on consent if you are thinking of having sex or doing something sexual with another person. The age of consent is the age at which the law says a person can agree to do a sexual activity with another person. If you are under this age, the law says that you cannot legally consent to a sexual act, and any person who does a sexual act with you has broken the law.
