Lawyer calls for ‘Romeo and Juliet’ clause for consensual teen sex

Lawyer A Srimurugan has proposed amending Malaysia's statutory rape law to allow for a "Romeo and Juliet" clause, which would exempt consensual sexual relationships between teenagers close in age from being prosecuted as rape. The current law, as outlined in Section 375(g) of the Penal Code, treats sexual intercourse with a girl under 16 as rape, regardless of consent, and could result in a teenage boy being prosecuted for rape even if both parties are minors and the relationship is consensual.

Srimurugan argued that the current legal framework fails to distinguish between exploitative acts and consensual adolescent behaviour, particularly in cases where parents report such relationships to the police. He proposed introducing a close-in-age exception to the law, which would prevent criminal prosecution where adolescents engage in consensual sexual activity without coercion, manipulation, or force.

The exception would not apply if the male held a position of trust, power, or authority over the younger person. Srimurugan emphasized that decriminalising consensual sexual activity between adolescents would not encourage teenage sex and proposed replacing criminal punishment with counselling and rehabilitation for both teenagers.

Brief written by urgent.news from Free Malaysia Today's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.