The Verkhovna Rada is preparing to lower the age of consent for sex to 14 years old — data from the new draft Criminal Code
11 February 13:11
ANALYSIS FROM 
The only article in draft law 14394 that allowed marriage with 14-year-old pregnant or already childbearing girls caused public outcry and indignation. The author of the draft law, Verkhovna Rada Speaker Ruslan Stefanchuk, promised that it would be removed from the new edition of the Civil Code (Private Law Code). However, promising is not the same as doing: the mechanism for change has already been set in motion, and the new edition of the Criminal Code proposes lowering the age of consent to sexual activity to 14, rather than 16 as was previously the case. Komersant investigated the implications of this.
They talked, but nothing changed
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief after Stefanchuk’s statement about removing the provision on marriage at 14 from the bill. But the provision did not disappear from the Verkhovna Rada after the statements. There is a procedure for this — the Regulations of the Verkhovna Rada, notes lawyer Oleg Leontiev.
Bill No. 14394 has registered status. In the text published on the parliament’s website, the provision on the possibility of marriage at 14 remains. There are only three legal ways to actually remove it:
Consideration by the relevant committee before the first reading with the adoption of an official decision to exclude the provision (Articles 93–96 of the Regulations of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine). No such meeting took place.
Withdrawal of the bill by the submitting entity and registration of a new document without this provision (Article 105 of the Regulations). This has not been done either.
Voting on the bill in its entirety during the first reading, after which amendments are submitted. Only then does the relevant committee draw up a comparative table, and the Verkhovna Rada can exclude individual provisions during the second reading (Articles 116–121 of the Regulations).
In other words, legally, we now have a very simple picture:
- the bill has been registered;
- it contains a pedophile norm;
- the committee has not considered it;
- the document has not been withdrawn;
- there has been no first reading.
There is only a public promise from the speaker of the Verkhovna Rada.
“The fact that the amendment on ’14 years’ is not accidental but systematic is evidenced by the fact that the draft of the new Criminal Code simultaneously proposes to lower the age of consent to 14 years. In this context, the ‘accidental’ nature of the Civil Code no longer seems accidental. It is a system!” says lawyer Oleg Leontiev.
Sex from the age of 14 by mutual consent
Indeed, Section 4.5 of the new Criminal Code, Criminal Offenses Against Sexual Freedom and Sexual Integrity of a Person, states that a person may voluntarily consent to “sexual acts being performed on them if that person has reached the age of 14 and is capable of understanding the nature and significance of the act.” But if it is not voluntary, if “a child between the ages of 14 and 18 is persuaded by an adult to engage in sexual activity with a third party,” this will be classified as a third-degree crime. The punishment for this is restriction of liberty for 3 to 4 years or imprisonment for the same term. The same punishment is provided for the sexual abuse of a child under the age of 14.
However, sexual harassment by an adult, unwanted by a person who has reached the age of 14, verbal, non-verbal, or physical sexual harassment, the purpose or consequence of which is to violate the dignity of a person by creating an intimidating, hostile, humiliating, or offensive environment, will only be considered a misdemeanor. And that’s just a fine.
A boon for pedophiles
As noted by lawyer Roman Simutin, these amendments are intended to lower the age of consent for sex to 14 years. In other words, what is currently a serious crime and corruption of minors is going to be made a “freedom of choice.”
“This is legalizing rape. In other words, they are going to allow adults to have intimate relations with a 14-year-old child without criminal liability… They threw us a bone with marriage at 14 so that they could sneak voluntary consent to sex from 14-year-olds into the criminal code,” the lawyer emphasizes.
Currently, the standard in the Criminal Code is 16 years old, which is the age limit beyond which any contact with a child is punishable by imprisonment. This is because a 14-15-year-old child cannot give informed consent to an adult for sex. But now there are plans to lower the bar from 16 to 14 years old. This means that any rapist can now say in court that she consented herself, that she was 14 years old, and that the law allows it.
“These are not European values—this is capitulation to pedophilia. For most offenses, criminal responsibility begins at age 16. Only for particularly serious offenses does it begin at age 14. This is because a child under the age of 16 is still a child who does not understand and is not fully aware of the consequences of their actions,” said lawyer Roman Simutin.
At 14, a child cannot buy beer, cannot vote, cannot sign a contract, but lawmakers believe that at 14, they can make decisions in bed with an adult. This is absurd and a direct violation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. As a result, those who were previously afraid of being prosecuted under Articles 155 and 156 of the Criminal Code will benefit.
To be fair, it should be noted that after criticism of bill 14394, two alternatives appeared. In the first, the provision on marriage at 14 in the event of pregnancy or childbirth disappeared altogether. In the second, matters concerning marriage before reaching the age of 18 must be decided by a court if there are valid reasons and with the free and informed consent of the person. But what to do now with the new additions to the Criminal Code, whether to remove them or not, remains an open question.
Author: Alla Dunina
