Right Sidebar
Children and Sex
Child sexual exploitation and the age of consent
By Katherine Covell, Ph.D.
This is the third article in a continuing series exploring the rights of the
child. Dr. Covell is a professor of psychology at
Cape Breton University,
and the executive director of the CBU
Children's Rights Centre.
No one wants to see children and young people sexually exploited. Youth, law
enforcement officials, lawmakers and the public agree that all forms of sexual
abuse and commercial sexual exploitation of children are unacceptable. There is,
however, no such agreement on how best to protect children from sexual predators
or how to balance protection with age-appropriate freedom for consensual
activity between peers. The focus of disagreement has centered on Canada's age
of sexual consent law. More..