Government to consider raising age of consent to 18

The government has signalled that it will consider raising Antigua and Barbuda’s age of sexual consent from 16 to 18 following calls in Parliament for the law to be reviewed as part of wider efforts to protect children from sexual abuse.
The issue emerged during Monday’s debate on the Sexual Offences Amendment Bill 2026, when Opposition Leader Jamale Pringle argued that the current age of consent should be brought into line with other legal thresholds that take effect at 18.
Pringle said it was inconsistent for a young person to be legally able to consent to sex at 16 while still being unable to vote or exercise certain other adult rights.
“I believe the time has come … for us to move this age of sixteen with consent to eighteen,” he told the House.
He argued that parents remain responsible for young people well beyond the age of 16 and questioned whether teenagers at that age should be considered sufficiently mature to make decisions that could have significant emotional and social consequences.
The current Sexual Offences Act treats 16 as the key threshold for consensual sexual activity, with specific offences applying to sexual conduct involving people below that age.
The proposal received support from several government members during the debate.
Daryll Matthew, the St John’s Rural South MP, said the country should begin a national conversation about raising the age to 18, pointing out that young people cannot vote or obtain a full driver’s licence at 16 but can legally consent to sexual activity.
Attorney General Steadroy Benjamin later acknowledged that there was “some merit” in the proposal and said the government would examine both the possibility of increasing the age and the wider legal implications of doing so.
“Perhaps the time has in fact really come … to look at whether or not we should raise the age to 18,” Benjamin told Parliament.
He said the matter would have to be considered alongside other age-related laws governing employment, contracts, voting and other areas.
The discussion came as Parliament passed amendments significantly increasing penalties for a range of sexual offences involving minors.
The Sexual Offences Amendment Bill 2026 passed all stages of the House on Monday without amendment.
The legislation itself did not raise the age of consent to 18, meaning the existing threshold remains in place unless Parliament approves a separate change to the law.
However, Monday’s debate represents one of the clearest indications yet that the issue could be formally reviewed as the government continues its wider overhaul of sexual-offence legislation.