Sexual relations are allowed from the age of 16. This age is the same for both heterosexual and homosexual relations. Freedom of sexual choice is important – the free will to choose your partner and the way you communicate with them.
The following relationships are punishable:
Sex between an adult and a person under the age of 16;
Sexual relations with minors with the offer, provision or promise of monetary or other consideration;
Sexual relations between a father, mother, guardian, custodian or other legal representative of the child and a minor;
Sex that you didn’t want but were forced to have.
IN RELATIONSHIPS, "NO" ALWAYS MEANS "NO"
Once you’ve decided that sex is interesting to you, agreeing to have sex is where any relationship should start. Consent is the basis for a safe and mutually pleasurable relationship and is needed not only when having sex, but also when kissing, touching or caressing someone you want to be more than friends with. Consent implies that both people want to have sex, engage in it freely and agree on mutually acceptable ways of having sexual intercourse. In other words, if you initiate it, make sure that your partner wants it as much as you do.
The best way to know if you and the other person want the same thing is just to ask directly. This consent must be freely given, i.e. if your partner has to be persuaded or threatened, the relationship becomes coercive.
Remember that if you say yes, you can also say no. You always have the right to change your mind, no matter how far you and your partner have gone during sex. “You can say ‘no’ not only to sex in general, but also to any action during sex. The fact that you want and agree to do certain things does not oblige you to agree to do whatever your partner wants. Similarly, if you agree to make love once or to do something that your partner wanted, you are not obliged to do the same thing again.
Consent is only valid for that situation at that particular time and for that particular sexual act. Consent cannot be automatically transferred to another encounter, as the feelings, mood, desire and feelings of the person you like may be different in each case. And so will your own! So ask every time, even if you’ve had sexual contact with that person before.
If you are told “no”, you must stop. The “no means yes” jokes don’t apply here. “No” always means “no” in sexual relations.
Remember that sex is between two people. If the person you like is unconscious, under the influence of alcohol or drugs, he/she cannot give consent. Even if you have previously agreed to have sex, if your partner is unconscious, asleep or intoxicated, the agreement is no longer valid. Any sexual activity towards him/her is not an expression of love but a crime.
Remember that the rules on consent to sexual relations apply to everyone, so if you see someone not following them at a party or in another situation (for example, trying to have sex with someone who is unconscious or intoxicated), don’t just be a bystander, prevent the situation from developing on your own or get help. Forced sex is physically and emotionally damaging to the person who has experienced it.
