Age of consent: Why is teenage sex with consent illegal in India?

Indian sex passed a strict new law ten years ago to address cases of child sexual assault. Yet, because the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act makes any sexual behavior by a kid under the age of 18 a crime, many adolescent boys in consenting relationships find themselves in legal trouble. The "age of consent" is currently the subject of renewed debate, and there are increasing proposals to decriminalize underage sexual activity. I was taken to visit a 16-year-old who had supposedly been raped several years earlier while working on a report about police sending female beat constables to a Delhi neighborhood with a high crime rate to increase women's safety. The policewoman described her to us as a rape victim. The girl denied being raped when I pressed her for her story, though. She replied, "Main apni marzi se gayee thi (I went with him freely)". The policewoman motioned for me to go as her mother started yelling at her. She added that the ...