Youth council suggests raising legal marriage age, free condoms in Paceville

The National Youth Council (KNZ) has called for the legal age of marriage to be raised from 16 to 18, claiming that the current law enables parents to push their children into getting married.

“We believe that marriage should be the adult’s own decision, and marriage at a young age would hinder the development of the young person involved,” the KNZ said in a report on sexual health and the age of sexual consent.

The council also recommended a pilot project to distribute free condoms in Paceville and other places popular with local youth, and cited a World Health Organisation survey amongst Maltese youth that showed that 71% of sexually active 13-15 year old males do not use contraception.

Elsewhere, the youths said that a sexual health clinics should be set up in Gozo, as well as one in each post-secondary school.

They also suggested the provision of courses to help parents start having conversations with their children on sexual health, as well as the provision of scholarships to people keen on specializing in sexual health.

They focused heavily on the need for a revamp in sexual health education - suggesting that education about the body be taught prior to puberty, that education on sexual harassment start from a young age, and that pornography and the Internet be slotted into the curriculum. 

86% of surveyed 11-15 year olds want age of consent reduced

At 18 years, Malta’s age of sexual consent is – along with the Vatican City - the highest in Europe, followed by Cyprus and Ireland at 17. In all other European countries, the age of consent ranges between 14 and 16.

Labour whip Godfrey Farrugia said in January that Malta should “move ahead with the times” and reduce the age of consent to 16 so as to “provide social justice to 16 and 17 year olds who are suffering as a result of this law”. His proposal was backed by other parliamentarians, including health parliamentary secretary Chris Fearne and Labour MP Deo Debattista, and a joint meeting of the parliamentary committees on health, social affairs and family affairs earlier this month recommended lowering the age of consent to 16.

While the KNZ did not explicitly propose reducing the age of consent, they argued in their report that the current Maltese sexual health policy law is “out-dated” and that the law “should not seek to protect minors’ innocence at the age of 16”.

Moreover, an online questionnaire by the council revealed that a whopping 86% of the 101 surveyed 11-15 year olds were in favour of having the age of consent set at 16. Out of the total 676 respondents – whose ages varied from 11 to 36 – the rate of approval of a reduction stood at a more modest 57.5%.

The most common reason given for approval was that youths would be properly informed by 16, marked 344 (53.1%) of participants, and that young people would have developed the ability to say no by the time they have reached that age, with 327 (60.6%). 282 (43.5%) respondents also claimed that young people would be mature by that age.