Age of Consent Laws, Sexual Rights, and Adolescent Well-being in India: The Case for Close-in-Age Exemptions

Age of consent laws are central to child protection, but may also criminalise consensual adolescent sexuality, creating tensions between protection, sexual rights, and psychological evidence on development. This article presents an interdisciplinary review, synthesising evidence from neuroscience, developmental and social psychology, sexual rights, and legal scholarship on age‑of‑consent laws and close‑in‑age exemptions. Drawing on empirical and theoretical literature together with case law and statutory materials from different countries, it examines India’s Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for alignment with established evidence and principles. It is shown that mid‑ to late‑adolescents often have context‑dependent decision‑making capacities comparable to adults, while remaining vulnerable in relationships with significant power asymmetries. Criminalising consensual peer relationships can also dilute attention to genuinely exploitative cases. Close‑in‑age exemptions and constitutional or prosecutorial limits on criminalisation can better safeguard healthy personality development while protecting minors against abuse. Hence blanket criminalisation of all under‑18 sexual activity is misaligned with existing evidence and sexual‑rights principles and risks iatrogenic harm to adolescents. Based on the evidence, the article provides specific recommendations for introducing close‑in‑age exemptions with minimum age thresholds and exclusions for relationships involving power disparities, alongside comprehensive sexuality education and confidential adolescent‑friendly sexual and reproductive health services, to align Indian age‑of‑consent law toward both protection and recognition of evolving capacities.