SVG’s age of consent to increase

The age of consent in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, currently 15 for females and no defined age for males, will be increased.

Laverne Gibson-Velox, minister of family and gender affairs, persons with disabilities and labour and parliamentary representative for East St. George, commended the government for doing so while debating the 2026 Budget on Thursday.

“If you can’t vote and you can’t pay NIS (National Insurance Services), you’re not ready for adult activity or childbearing,” the minister said.

“Your education and your values are more important at this stage.”

The laws of St Vincent and the Grenadines state that the current age of consent for females is 15, with harsher penalties for people who engage in sexual activity with a female under 13. The laws do not indicate an age of consent for males.

It, however, remains uncertain for now what the new age of consent would be.

The declaration comes almost a year after Godwin Friday, then Leader of the Opposition, now Prime Minister, called for the  age of consent to be increased.

Friday made the call in Parliament last year when legislators amended the penalties for sex crimes.

“I know that’s a matter of concern to a lot of people as well. It would be good to have that as an input into the Bill,” he told Parliament then.

“This is only the beginning. I want to know that this blight, this scourge on our society, on life in our country, this threat to the well-being, particularly of young girls, that it is addressed urgently and effectively,” Friday continued.

He said that there were too many stories of heartache and heartbreak that could be avoided and he hoped that the publication of the increased penalties would have initiated a serious and urgent discussion.