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Prohibited Sexual Behavior and Sexual Violence
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Adult Sexual Contact with Children: Definitions
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The issue of sexual contact between adults and children is as controversial as it is complex. The problems already begin with the definitions of “sexual contact”, “adults”, and “children”. Many people use these terms with different meanings in different contexts and some tend to define them very broadly:
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- “Sexual contact” is any affectionate physical contact “out of the ordinary”.
- “Adults” are all sexually mature persons noticeably older than the “child”, and
- “Children” are all persons under the age of 18. (This definition is used by the United
Nations and the European Union)
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Others consider this arbitrary, unrealistic, impractical, and inconsistent and therefore use narrower definitions:
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- “Sexual contact” is physical or visual contact with the sex organs of at least one of
the participants for the purpose of sexual stimulation.
- “Adults” are persons of at least voting age (18 and older), and
- “Children” are females and males before puberty. (This definition is used in
psychiatric handbooks and in most national criminal codes.)
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