Supreme Court judge nominee, Justice Dennis Dominic Adjei, has called for the age of sex consent in Ghana to be raised from 16 to 18 years before marriage, citing a legal inconsistency that he believes undermines efforts to protect children and uphold their rights.
Appearing before the Vetting Committee in Parliament, he noted that while Ghanaian law prohibits individuals under the age of 18 from entering into marriage, it paradoxically allows those as young as 16 to consent to sex.
He described this legal contradiction as both socially and legally untenable and called for immediate review and harmonisation of the relevant statutes.
A legal contradiction
Justice Adjei’s concerns centre on two key pieces of legislation: the Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) and the Children’s Act, 1998 (Act 560).
The Criminal Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) pegs the age of sexual consent at 16 years old.
The Children’s Act 1998 (Act 560), provides in section 14(2) that the minimum age for marriage is 18.
It also provides that children (defined as boys and girls below the age of 18) have a right to refuse betrothal and marriage under section 14(1).
Accordingly, the Children’s Act prohibits marriage involving boys and girls below the age of 18.
The minimum age of sexual consent is defined as the age at which a young person is deemed capable of consenting to sexual activity
The goal of establishing a minimum age of sexual consent is to protect adolescents from abuse and from consequences they may not be fully aware of when engaging in sexual activity.
Sexual activity with a person younger than the age of sexual consent is non-consensual and illegal.
This applies to both boys and girls.
The combined effect of the abovementioned provisions in the law and in practice, is that while it is illegal to marry a person below the age of 18 years old, it is completely legal for persons above the age of 16 years old to have sex consensually.
And so, while a 16-year-old boy is too young to get married, he is not too young to consent to sex.
And similarly, a 17-yearold girl cannot be married, she can have sex legally.
She is too young to be married, but old enough to consent to sex.
On one hand, the law on child protection and criminal law aim to protect children from predators who exploit children’s vulnerabilities.
The establishment of minimum ages in legislation is an obligation under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
“If a person is considered too young to commit to marriage, how can they be mature enough to consent to sexual activity, which may have equally serious consequences,?” Justice Adjei asked.
According to him, this contradiction weakens the country’s child protection regime and exposes minors to exploitation under the guise of legal consent.
Harmonising Legal Ages to Uphold Rights
Justice Adjei’s proposal is rooted in both legal logic and the principles of child protection enshrined in international treaties. The Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), to which Ghana is a signatory, urges member states to ensure that domestic laws protect children based on their evolving capacity and maturity. Article 4 of the CRC mandates states to take all appropriate legislative, administrative, and other measures for the implementation of the rights recognised in the Convention.
The CRC Committee has emphasized that legal minimum ages must reflect the understanding that persons under the age of 18 are not fully mature and require protection from premature exposure to adult responsibilities, including sexual activity and marriage.
In this light, Justice Adjei argued that it is only consistent to align the age of sexual consent with the legal age of adulthood—18 years.
Legal sex but illegal marriage
The current law creates what many legal analysts describe as a dangerous grey area.
A 16-year-old girl or boy may legally consent to sex but cannot legally marry for two more years.
While the rationale for separate ages may have originated from efforts to accommodate cultural or developmental realities, critics say it now sends conflicting messages.
A 17-year-old girl who becomes pregnant after consenting to sex may be seen as responsible for her sexual activity under the law—but not responsible enough to marry the father of her child.
This disjunction has real-life implications, especially in communities where teenage pregnancy is prevalent.
It also poses a challenge for law enforcement and judicial officials, who must navigate the contradictory legal frameworks when handling cases involving minors.
Balancing protection and reality
Advocates for raising the age of consent argue that sex, like marriage, comes with physical, emotional, and social consequences.
They say the law must acknowledge the impact of early sexual activity on education, health, and future prospects—particularly for girls.
Opponents of increasing the age of sexual consent, however, caution that setting it too high may lead to criminalising consensual relationships between adolescents, particularly those aged 16 and 17.
This, they argue, could result in harsh penalties, including imprisonment, for behaviour that is developmentally common among youth.
Calls for broader legal and social reform
Justice Adjei’s comments add to growing calls for a comprehensive review of Ghana’s child protection and sexual health laws.
Ghana has committed to ending child marriage by 2030 and has launched a number of social campaigns targeting harmful practices.
However, inconsistencies in the law continue to limit the effectiveness of these efforts.
Experts say any legal reform must be accompanied by robust public education and age-appropriate sexual and reproductive health education.
They also call for a nuanced legal framework that protects children from abuse without punishing them for exploratory behaviour.
Raising the age of consent to 18, as Justice Adjei suggests, would bring Ghana in line with other legal thresholds—such as voting, drinking alcohol, and signing contracts—all of which require a person to be legally recognized as an adult.
The road ahead
As Ghana continues to refine its laws to protect its youth and fulfil its international obligations, the debate over the age of sexual consent will likely intensify.
Justice Adjei’s vetting may have spotlighted a technical inconsistency, but at its core lies a deeper question about how society views adolescence, maturity, and accountability.
Whether Parliament will act on his recommendation remains to be seen.
But for now, his intervention has reignited an important national conversation on the rights and responsibilities of Ghana’s young people.
