The government and opposition have yet to officially pronounce themselves on a  change in the age of sexual consent but former Health Minister Godfrey Farrugia believes there will be a general consensus to reduce it to 16.

The issue is currently one of the subjects being debated in the parliamentary standing committee on health, social and family affairs, which will be making recommendations on the way forward.

Proceedings so far have brought out a plethora of inconsistencies in Maltese law.

At present, teens under 18 must visit the GU clinic accompanied by their parents, pharmacists cannot not sell condoms to such youngsters and 16-year-olds can marry but not engage in sexual activities.

“Maltese law is like a room which has had its corners painted orange while the rest has been left yellow,” committee chairman chairman Etienne Grech said. “One should ensure that different laws do not overlap.”

Dr Farrugia said a law to reduce the age of consent could be on the statute book by next year.

He said this had to be coupled with a corresponding change to the age of consent to medical treatment, a more robust personal and social development framework in schools among other issues.  

Dr Farrugia said he expects any arguments against lowering the age of consent to centre on a perceived rise in single mothers, “acting as an advertisement for casual sex and notions presenting the body as a temple of the Holy Spirit”.

However, he noted, statistics showed  that 32 per cent of single mothers were under 18 while 41 per cent of teens aged between 16 and 18 had had sexual intercourse.

“In France, we have seen that when the age of consent was lowered, there was no change in the rate of teenage single mothers,” he said.

If one had to compare youths in 2015 to those back in 1960, there was a noticeable decline in the age of psychosexual and psychophysical maturity, Dr Farrugia added.

Lowering the age of consent to 16 was ideal because it was also the cut-off year for children’s allowance and compulsory schooling and the age at which people could work, vote in local council elections, marry, operate a bank account and, according to the proposed Organ Donation Bill, donate body parts.

An age banding system also had to be introduced, he added, protecting against criminal proceedings in the case of a 16- or 17-year-old who participated in consensual sexual activities with an adult who was five years older.