UK Minister for Employment and Pensions Pat McFadden has announced that the country will discuss the issue of introducing a tiered age of consent for sexual relations, the BBC reports.
This comes amid calls for the government to change the law following the trial of comedian Russell Brand. A woman who says she was raped by comedian Brand (who is currently imprisoned) when she was 16 is now campaigning for a change in the law. She wants relationships between adults and 16–17-year-olds to be deemed illegal.
According to McFadden, the issue of a tiered age of consent “has been raised, and it will be discussed”.
“I can’t say what conclusion we will reach, but the events of the past week have certainly brought close attention to this topic,” he said.
Under current UK law, adults of any age can legally have sexual relations with 16–17-year-olds.
Mia Lutter, who has waived her right to anonymity, told the Sunday Times that she supports introducing a tiered age of consent.
Lutter is one of six women who in 2023 made allegations against Brand as part of an investigation carried out by The Times, the Sunday Times and Channel 4 (the Dispatches programme).
On Monday, Brand was sentenced to 10 and a half years in prison at Southwark Crown Court. He was found guilty of one count of rape and three counts of sexual assault committed between 2004 and 2009 involving four women. He was acquitted of two counts of rape and one count of attempted sexual assault.
Lutter said she was 16 when she met the comedian, who was 30 at the time. She told the Sunday Times: “I think my story struck people so strongly because of the age difference and the obvious imbalance.”
“I don’t want to criminalise sexual relationships between teenagers. If you’re 16 to 18, it’s perfectly natural that you might date each other — teenagers will do it anyway. But... if you’re 30, 40 or 50 and you’re trying to have a relationship with someone who isn’t yet 18, that should be treated as a criminal offence,” the young woman said.
Leila Stone, founder of the Close the Consent Gap campaign, said introducing a tiered age of consent is intended to address the “power imbalance” in relationships between 16–17-year-olds and adults. She urged government ministers to commit to making such changes.