Age of consent in Brazil - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The age of consent in Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

is 14, regardless of gender

Gender

Gender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...

or sexual orientation

Sexual orientation

Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...

, with a close-in-age exception that allows those aged 12 and 13 to engage in sexual activity with partners who are less than 5 years older. The age at which there are no restrictions for sexual activities is 18. In any case, only individuals aged 18 or older can be legally charged, as this is the Brazilian age of criminal responsibility according to the Constitution of Brazil

Constitution of Brazil

During its independent political history, Brazil has had seven constitutions. The most recent was ratified on October 5, 1988.-Imperial Constitution :Background...

.

Sexual acts with children younger than 14 are strictly illegal, and equivalent to statutory rape

Statutory rape

The phrase statutory rape is a term used in some legal jurisdictions to describe sexual activities where one participant is below the age required to legally consent to the behavior...

, and are legally defined by Article 217-A of the Brazilian

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

Penal Code as the "rape

Rape

Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...

of a vulnerable person," with a penalty of 8 to 15 years in prison

Prison

A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...

.

The prostitution of minors

Prostitution of children

Prostitution of children or child prostitution is the commercial sexual exploitation of children in which a child performs the services of prostitution, for financial benefit. The term normally refers to prostitution by a minor, or person under the local age of majority...

, under 18, is punished by Brazilian law

Brazilian law

Brazilian law derives from Portuguese Civil law and is based on statutes and, partly and more recently, súmula vinculante . The Federal Constitution, in force since October 5, 1988, is the supreme law of the country and is the characterized by its rigid written form...

and is prosecuted by the State, according to the Statute of Child and Youth of 1990 (Article 244-A), as well as according to the Penal Code of the country in the Articles 218-B, 227, 230, 231 and 231-A.

The law makes no distinctions between sexual orientation

Sexual orientation

cases. As such, both heterosexual and homosexual activity between an adult older than 18 and a minor aged 14 or older, between an adult aged 18 and an adolescente aged 13, or between two adolescents aged 12 and 17, are completely legal, if the older partner does not play an authority role over the minor.

See also