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Canada Moves To Equalize Age Of Consent For Anal Sex

“Our society has evolved over the last few decades and our criminal justice system needs to evolve as well."

Canada is set to repeal a section of its criminal code, which marks the age of consent for anal sex at 18 as opposed to 16 for vaginal intercourse.

The move was announced Tuesday morning by Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould who said it was time to scrap the discriminatory and unconstitutional law.

“This section of the Criminal Code is discriminatory and the LGBTQ community has rightfully called for its repeal,” said Wilson-Raybould. “Our society has evolved over the last few decades and our criminal justice system needs to evolve as well. This legislation will help ensure that the system is keeping pace with societal change and continuing to meet expectations of Canadians.”

She added: “Diversity and inclusion have long been among the values Canadians embrace. Canadians expect their laws and their government to reflect these values."

As it stands currently, Section 159 of the criminal code reads: "Every person who engages in an act of anal intercourse is guilty of an indictable offense and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years, or is guilty of an offense punishable on summary conviction."

The exceptions to the rule are straight married couples and any two consenting adults over the age of 18. LGBT rights groups have long called the law discriminatory, since the age of consent for vaginal and oral sex is 16.

The Ontario Court of Appeal famously ruled that Section 159 was unconstitutional in 1995, saying it “arbitrarily disadvantages individuals.” However, the bill has remained on the books and has continued to be enforced across the country. National LGBT charity Egale recently reported that between 2014-2015, 69 individuals were charged under the law.

In addition to the repeal of Section 159, the Canadian government made another recent stride toward equality when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau appointed Randy Boissonnault as his new, special LGBT adviser. Together, the two will work to eliminate discrimination and empower LGBT Canadians.

h/t: Gay Star News

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