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The age of consent has been 16 in the UK since 1885 when it was raised to fight against child prostitution.

But the debate has picked up again after France said it would revisit it. So what are the ages of consent around the world and why could it change?

Why are being talking about it?

France talked about plans to set it at 15 after two cases involving girls aged 11. Sexual acts with a minor can be prosecuted as sexual offences under current laws but the prosecutor must prove it was non-consensual, The Week reports.

The law is understood to put responsibility on the adult to prove the minor gave consent - rather than the victim.

A 29-year-old was acquitted of raping a 11-year-old because there was no evidence of her being coerced. Hence why France wanted a change.

What is the age of consent in the UK?

The age of consent is 16 regardless of gender or sexual orientation according to Sexual Offences Act 2003"It is an offence for anyone to have any sexual activity with a person under the age of 16," it says.

Could it be lowered?

There have been debates about lowering this before - last under David Cameron as prime minister, but no changes were made.

In 2013 Professor John Ashton said there was an argument for lowering the age from 16 in an effort to "draw a line in the sand" against sex at 14 or younger.

He said society gives out "confused" signals about when sex is permitted, and that many 15-year-olds are unsure of where to turn for support.

Downing Street said the current age protected children and there "are no plans to change it".

What is the age of consent around the world?

But is Britain unusual in maintaining the age of consent at 16, and how does we compare to the rest of the world?

In Europe, countries who have the age of consent set at 16 include Cyprus, Finland, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, and Switzerland.

For Austria, Germany, Portugal and Italy it is 14, and in France, the Czech Republic, Denmark, and Greece it is 15.

Spain did have one of the lowest ages of consent on the continent at just 13, but recently agreed to raise this to 16.

Throughout the rest of the world, there are big variations.

In Bahrain, it is set at 21 for women who want to marry without their father's consent, while in nearby Saudi Arabia, all sex outside of marriage is illegal but there are no laws limiting the age at which you can get married.

In China, the age of consent is 14, in Iraq it is 18, while in Japan it is five years lower at 13.

The likes of Brazil, Peru, Paraguay, Ecuador and Colombia all have it set at 14.

And in some countries - such as Chile - the minimum age of consent is 14, but there are legal restrictions on sexual activities up to the age of 18, and homosexual sex is illegal before that age.

Australia's age of consent varies between 16 and 17 depending on which territory you are in, and the same goes for America where it ranges from 16 to 18 between different states.

In Angola, the age of consent is just 12.