Strongly object to decriminalising consensual sex between minors

THE EDITOR, Madam:

I wish to register my strong objection to the suggestion that consensual sex between minors should not be treated as a criminal matter in Jamaica.

Whatever the legal intention behind this proposal, it is fundamentally incompatible with the social values of the Jamaican people and dangerously out of step with the realities currently facing our children.

Jamaica is, by and large, a socially conservative society. Our values are shaped by family, community, and faith, with churches playing a central role in reinforcing moral boundaries and the responsibility of adults to protect children.

At a time when young girls are being molested, groomed, kidnapped, and sexually exploited with frightening regularity, it is difficult to understand how weakening legal protections around underage sexual activity could be seen as progress.

The problem is not theoretical. Predatory older men already manipulate vulnerable girls through coercion, gifts, fear, and emotional pressure, often disguising abuse as “consent”. Any suggestion that the law should step back from criminalising underage sexual activity risks creating dangerous grey areas that predators will inevitably exploit. In practice, this would make it easier for abusers to justify their actions and harder for the State to protect victims.

Laws do more than regulate behaviour; they signal what a society considers acceptable and unacceptable. To suggest that minors can meaningfully consent to sexual activity undermines the very principle of childhood protection and weakens parental authority. Most Jamaicans do not believe that children possess the emotional, psychological, or moral maturity to make such decisions, and the law should reflect that reality.

This is not a call for the harsh punishment of children. Jamaica already has diversion programmes, counselling, and educational interventions that can deal sensitively with peer-related cases without dismantling essential safeguards. Reform should strengthen child protection, not dilute it.

At this critical moment, Jamaica must be unequivocal: the safety and well-being of our children must come first. Any proposal that risks making young girls more vulnerable to exploitation should be firmly rejected.

NOIGER WILKS