Dublin
In its rush to pass a statutory rape law this week, the Irish legislature accidentally criminalized sex between consenting 16-year-olds. It all started last week, when the Irish Supreme Court struck down the country’s statutory rape law, which automatically classified sex between an adult and a child younger than 15 as rape. The court freed a 41-year-old who was convicted of rape after admitting that he got a 12-year-old girl drunk and had sex with her. It ruled that the rape law was unconstitutional because it didn’t allow the man to plead ignorance of the girl’s age. Appalled at the release, the Irish legislature passed a new law that allows such a defense, and the man was re-arrested. But the new law, which raised the age of consent to 17, was worded in such a manner that high school sweethearts can now be arrested for getting too intimate.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Alchemised: how Harry Potter fanfic went mainstreamIn The Spotlight Traditional publishers are signing up fan fiction authors to rewrite their ‘explosively popular’ romances for the mass market
-
Crossword: October 6, 2025The Week's daily crossword
-
Codeword: October 6, 2025The Week's daily codeword puzzle
