The age of consent is a social middle ground due to differing rates of development of the human body vs mind. The female human body is capable of reproduction as first menstrual cycle. Doesn’t mean the individual’s mind is formed enough to function in the society and raise a child though. IIRC the average age the mind is fully developed is in 23-25 year old area. So you got about a almost 15 year gap between physically able to and sound minded enough to.
The age of consent is 15 in sweden and 18 in Somalia.
It is too simple to think of it as just being a factor of how modern a country is.
Views on sex in general, the rights of young people, the role of marriage in society, the influence of religion can all play a part, but the topic is pretty complex.
The key part is modern. Like it or not, it really requires around 12 years of basic education (generally speaking, there are many exceptions) to become a somewhat productive member of society. Many people aspire to 16 years of education for a basic college degree. Most modern societies have average lifespans into the 70s meaning at least 40 years of active economic participation.
There is a lot of value to society and to the individuals to foster a system that reduces early pregnancy/family.
A hundred and fifty years ago, average lifespans was probably in the late 40s. And education beyond basic literacy was not useful for most of the needed occupations (farming mostly) Also, children were considered mostly free labor. So starting families early and larger families benefited society and the individuals more.
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