Zimbabwe revises sexual age of consent to 18 years

President of Zimbabwe Emmerson Mnangagwa made official the new age of consent for sexual relations in the country as 18 on January 12, according to local newspaper The Herald.

Level 12 fines which is $2,000 or a maximum of 10 years in prison are the penalties. According to the legislation, having sex with a person under the age of 12 is considered rape in the case of a female child or aggravated indecent assault in the case of a boy, with much harsher penalties and often long prison sentences.

The only legal defence for someone who engages in sexual activity with a person under the age of 18 is the ability to demonstrate that the person had reasonable grounds to assume the other person was older which does not include physical or sexual maturity.

The Constitutional Court of Zimbabwe confirmed that the minimum age for marriage, which is set at 18 in the nation’s constitution also applied to the sexual age of consent, therefore raising the age of consent for sexual relations from 16 to 18, The Herald reported.

In other African countries like Ghana, Senegal and Zambia the sexual age of consent remains at 16.