Commissioner for Children Helen d'Amato said this evening that she personally preferred if Malta's age of sexual consent remained 18 and was not lowered to 16, although her office has not taken a formal position on the matter.

Ms d'Amato was addressing a joint meeting of the Social Affairs Committee, the Health Commitee and the Family Affairs Committee, which is debating the age of consent. The vast majority of European countries set the age of consent between 14 and 16, and only Malta, Turkey and the Vatican set their age of consent at 18.

In her initial remarks, Ms d'Amato steered clear of stating whether she agreed or disagreed with lowering the age of consent, but it was clear that she had reservations about doing so. She later acknowledged that her personal preference was for the age of consent to remain as is as she answered questions by MPs.

The commissioner said that the issue presented questions which could not be answered with a simple yes or no, and pointed out that 16-year-olds could not be expected to be in a stable relationship as they were still experimenting and trying to find themselves and their sexuality.

She also noted that at that age, people may find it difficult to say no due to peer pressure, and said that this could lead to a power and control situation where older partners could coerce them into activities they would not normally consent to. She highlighted that the phenomenon of sexting largely boiled down to young people succumbing to such pressures, only to face blackmail and embarrassment when the relationship ends and the compromising pictures are distributed.

Her office's recommendations, she said, applied irrespective of whether the age of consent is lowered or not, and the main emphasis was education.

"Laws will not stop anyone from having sex, but education is crucial whatever happens," Ms d'Amato maintained.

She then added that sexual and relationship education should be compulsory in state, church and independent schools alike, starting from primary schooling to post-secondary education, and that parents should also be involved.

This education, Ms d'Amato maintained, should not be one-size-fits-all as people of the same age may have different maturity due to differing experiences. She added that there may be children who are streetwise, but this did not mean that they were not emotionally vulnerable.

The commissioner also recommended the decriminalisation of sexual activity between minors, with the exception of cases where exploitation such as pornography takes place. At the same time, she said, sexual activity between adults and children should continue to remain a criminal offence.

Ms d'Amato expressed caution about the concept of age banding - where sexual intercourse involving minors is legal as long as the age difference is small. She noted that in some age groups, the difference in maturity is much larger than the difference in age may suggest, noting that the difference between a 16-year-old and a 20-year-old was much greater than that between a 20-year-old and a 24-year-old.

The commissioner also said that healthcare professionals should be empowered to see minors on sexual health issues without the presence or consent of parents, but said that if treatment is to be given, the maturity of the minors concerned should be determined.

Her remarks urging caution to avoid having the law encourage abuse led to reactions by government whip Godfrey Farrugia and shadow health minister Claudette Buttigieg.

In response to a question by the latter, she highlighted that there was a difference between "two young people who get carried away," and abusive situations, where adults may get away with their action simply because the minor had turned 16.

Age of medical consent should also be lowered - Medical Council president

The next speakers were Medical Council president Ilona Debono and council member Doreen Cassar, with the former highlighting that if the age of sexual consent is lowered, so should the age of medical consent, which is presently also set at 18 save for a few exceptions.

In reply to a question by MP Deborah Schembri, she confirmed that a pregnant 16-year-old who goes to her family doctor must legally be asked to bring her parents, a fact confirmed by opposition MP and family doctor Michael Gonzi.

But earlier in the day, it had been highlighted that minors could seek treatment at the GU Clinic without the need of their parents' presence or consent, and Dr Cassar confirmed that this is the case, stating that the council had specifically allowed the clinic alone to do so.

Dr Gonzi, however, questioned what led to this decision, insisting that the latest research suggested that when it came to health matters, parents should be involved. But Dr Cassar noted that she did not form part of the council when the decision was taken, and no explicit reason was documented, although she observed that the aim was to ensure that the clinic functioned properly.

Dr Cassar also argued in favour of lowering the age of medical consent as she delivered a presentation on the issue, stating that the present situation was creating a health problem in the future. But she also said that this did not mean that doctors should not advise adolescents to speak to their parents.

She said that the council agreed with the concept of banding, though she stressed that it would not be comfortable with a permissible age gap of 5 years. For the council, she said, the close-in-age limits should be no more than three years.

Dr Cassar also said that the council felt that the age of consent could be lowered, but stressed that this should be backed by the appropriate support structures, including medical support.

After her presentation, Dr Schembri questioned the exception granted to the GU clinic to treat minors without their parents' consent, asking whether the council had recommended that the clinic should break the law. Dr Gonzi, on his part, said that the logical thing would have been to extend the same exception to family doctors, as they could help contribute to prevention.

Dr Cassar said that the decision was taken before any of the present members of the council was appointed, and said that she was not aware of it until Dr Farrugia wrote a letter to the council.

Dr Buttigieg then noted that the intention behind the move was a good one, and that if anything, one should regret that family doctors were not extended the same privileged. Dr Schembri, however, clarified that she was not opposed to the practice.

On his part, another family doctor - Deo Debattista - highlighted that in the case of teenage mothers, he faced a ridiculous situation of being able to treat a baby but not their parents.

Lowering consent age not opposed by Cana Movement

Cana Movement director Fr Joseph Mizzi did not oppose lowering the age of consent, but insisted that this change should not take place on its own.

He said that there should be a strong awareness campaign highlighting the "true values of sexuality," as well as the risks inherent to sexual behaviour.

Fr Mizzi also emphasised the need for a strong education campaign, noting that research by Maltese sexologist Matthew Bartolo showed that young people started having sex at a later age in countries where sexual matters are discussed more openly.

He said that in an ideal world, sex would only happen within a marriage - and highlighted that the law risked encouraging extramarital sex - but also said that one could not ignore present realities.