Minnesota bill seeks to raise age of consent to 18

MINNEAPOLIS — A conversation between a Lakeville mother and Minnesota state Sen. Erin Maye-Quade (DFL) may lead to the state finally raising the age of consent to 18 years old.

Several years ago, Maye-Quade said she spoke to the mother, who said she reported a sexual relationship between her 16-year-old daughter and a 35-year-old man, only to be told by police that no charges could be filed because it was legal under current Minnesota statute.

“I was stunned to learn that it is not illegal for a 35-year-old man to have sex with someone who is legally a child,” Maye-Quade said. "Until I spoke with that parent, I had thought that the state’s age of consent was 18."

In response, she introduced a bill last year, SF 1047, which would make it a crime for someone over 21 years old to have sex with someone under 18, though she said she’s open to changes to that age gap window.

Currently, the age of consent is 16 years old in Minnesota.

If passed, Minnesota would become the 14th state to raise its age of consent law to adulthood.

"Our society begins to sexualize girls when they are so young,” she added. "I was 10 the first time I remember an adult man making a sexual comment about me." 

These types of laws are commonly referred to as statutory rape laws, which makes it a crime to have sex with someone below a certain age, regardless if the person consented or not, according to University of Minnesota law professor Jill Hasday.

“In the early days of the Republic, the initial age of consent is 10,” Hasday said. “So historically, when states were talking about statutory rape, they’re from a modern perspective, they’re really talking about child sex abuse."

While exact numbers are hard to come by due to the stigma associated with rape, about 40% to 60% of all rape victims are under the age of 18, with most being adolescents, according to a study published by West Virginia University.

Another study found that over a quarter of 17-year-old girls surveyed reported some type of sexual abuse or sexual assault in their lifetime.

In yet another study, 24% of children sampled across 12 states said they experienced some type of statutory rape, with 16-year-old girls experiencing the highest rates at that age.

Hasday said there are several strong arguments for raising the age of consent, including the manipulation of children by adults, ending child marriage and that children do not have the mental capacity to consent to sex with an adult, much like the restrictions on children consenting to contracts.

In addition, statutory rape laws can act as a response to inadequate regular rape laws, Hasday said.

She cited 19th century feminists who sought to raise the age of consent to 21 years old.

“When you looked at their examples of why they were so eager to raise the age of consent, the examples of the women they wanted to protect are, what looked to me, like rape cases,” Hasday said. “You know, the housekeeper that’s being coerced into sex with her employer, etc.”

Since statutory rape laws do not require proving consent, it is much harder to avoid a conviction, according to Hasday.

As far as opposition to the bill goes, Maye-Quade said there isn’t any, unless you take a look at the far-right political spectrum, which includes attempts to downplay the horrific evidence in the Epstein files and advocating for abolishing the age of consent altogether.

"I would imagine most normal people are supportive of the bill,” she said.