Estonia approves law raising age of sexual consent to 16
The age of sexual consent in Estonia will be raised from 14 to 16 after the Riigikogu approved a draft law on Wednesday. The amendment aims to prevent minors from being sexually abused by adults.
Adults who have sex with a minor under the age of 16 will face a five-year jail sentence, if the minor is under 14 the sentence can be raised to eight years.
However, an exception exists for young people if the age gap is five years or less if the youngest person is older than 14.
Additionally, adults who buy sex from anyone under 18 will face a prison sentence of between five and eight years depending on the minor's age.
The law also restricts marriage for minors. The age a person can get married has risen from 15 to 18 years old.
Eighty members of the Riigikogu voted to adopt the law.
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Editor: Helen Wright
