The age of consent is the age at which a person can legallyconsent to have sexual intercourse.[1] This is also the minimum age of the other person legally permitted to engage in sexual activity. Having sex with a person who is younger than the age of consent (but who agrees to have sex) is called statutory rape. The person below the minimum age is regarded as a victim, and their sex partner as the offender. Different countries have different laws regarding the age of consent. Some are as low as 12 or as high as 21.[2] Most countries have ages set between 14 and 16. But worldwide, the average age of consent is 16 years of age.[3][4] Often, there are exceptions, so that two people who are about the same age, can still have sex.