Age, consent and legal boundaries: A cross-national analysis of close-in-age provisions in canada and india

Abstract

This paper compares state-driven protective approaches and adolescent autonomy in regulating sexuality, focusing on close-in-age provisions in canada and india. It analyzes how each jurisdiction conceptualises consent, balances adolescent agency with child-protection goals, and addresses misuse of statutory-rape laws. Canada’s criminal framework adopts a pragmatic model, using “wherein” And close-in-age exceptions that recognise adolescents’ evolving capacities while preventing exploitation. In contrast, indian law under the ipc, pocso, and later the bhartiya nyaya sanhita maintains a rigid regime that criminalises all sexual activity under eighteen, leading to disproportionate consequences, including misuse by families, policing of inter-caste and inter-religious relationships, judicial backlog, and stigma. Drawing on statutory analysis, case law, feminist theory, and international human rights norms (udhr, iccpr, cedaw, uncrc), the paper argues that canada’s proportional approach better aligns with the uncrc’s “evolving capacities” Doctrine and recommends reforms to introduce close-in-age exceptions and greater judicial discretion in india.