<P> The age of consent is 18 regardless of sexual orientation and / or gender, under the new Sexual Offenses Act 2012 . </P> <P> Article 29 of the national constitution of Somalia defines a child as any individual under the age of 18, and stipulates that "every child has the right to be protected from mistreatment, neglect, abuse, or degradation ." This information, however, does not prove that there is an actual age of consent, thus making it difficult to draw a line . Homosexual sex is illegal . </P> <P> The age of consent in South Africa is 16, as specified by sections 15 and 16 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act, 2007 . Section 15 ("statutory rape") prohibits the commission of "an act of sexual penetration with a child who is 12 years of age or older but under the age of 16 years", while section 16 ("statutory sexual assault") prohibits the commission of "an act of sexual violation with a child who is 12 years of age or older but under the age of 16 years". The law includes a close - in - age exception, so that sexual acts between two children where both are between 12 and 16, or where one is under 16 and the other is less than two years older, are not criminal . Children under the age of 12 are conclusively presumed by the law to be incapable of consenting, so a sexual act with a child under that age constitutes rape or sexual assault . </P> <P> Under the Roman - Dutch common law there was a conclusive presumption that girls under the age of 12 were unable to consent to sexual intercourse . This presumption can be traced back to the "old authorities" of the seventeenth century . </P>

What age is statutory rape in south africa