Global Progress Towards Ending the Sexual Exploitation of Children
A global problem requires truly global solutions to address the sexual exploitation of children.
Indicators
Age of Consent
Partial
Age of sexual consent is 16 years. The national legislation provides for a five years close-in-age exemption.
Analysis of country legislation on age of sexual consent, 2024
Extraterritoriality & Extradition
Partial
Active extraterritoriality is provided for all offences under the Romanian Criminal Code punished with at least 10 years of imprisonment, or in instances where the double criminality requirement is fulfilled, under article 9 of the Criminal Code. Passive extraterritoriality is provided in all instances under article 10 of the Criminal Code. Double criminality is required for extraterritoriality in all instances except for offences punished under Romanian law with at least 10 years of imprisonment under article 9 of the Criminal Code.
Extraditable offences are those punished with at least one year of imprisonment that fulfil the double criminality principle, under articles 26 and 28 of the Law No. 302/2004 on International Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters. This includes all SEC offences including grooming, engaging in sexual activities with a child in prostitution and accessing CSAM, if punished with less than one year of imprisonment.
SEC offences are referred to as extraditable under the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) framework within the EU without requiring double criminality if the act is punishable by a maximum period of at least three years of imprisonment in the requesting State.
Romanian Criminal Code,
Law 302/2004 on International Judicial Cooperation in Criminal Matters, 2009 (status as of 2012), 2004
CSAM Definition
No Data
Background Check Required
No Data
National Commitments
No Data
Child Advocacy Centers
No Data
SEC Police Unit
No Data
Protection Standards Travel and Tourism
No Data
Public SEC Case Data
No Data
Age of Consent Law is Appropriate
The age of sexual consent for both males and females is 18 and a close in age exemption (up to 3 years) is provided for consensual sexual relationships between adolescents.
The age of sexual consent is the legally defined age at which a person is considered mature enough to agree to sexual activity. The age of sexual consent varies across jurisdictions around the world and there is no international legal instrument establishing it, however various forms of advocacy have encouraged States to establish a minimum age under which engaging in sexual contact is considered a criminal offence. This is intended to prevent sexual contact with children and to prevent argument that the child consented as a defence.
Often national provisions related to the age of sexual consent include an exception, known as a close-in-age exemption, making consensual sexual activities between young people lawful if the partners are of similar ages and the age difference is not higher than a certain number of years.
To ensure that cases of child sexual exploitation do not go unpunished, ECPAT advocates for the age of sexual consent to be set at 18 for both males and females with a close-in-age exemption of 2-3 years provided in order to ensure young people are not penalised for consensual sexual acts with peers. The age from which the exemption applies should be established by States but may begin for young people somewhere between 12 and 16 years of age.
Yes The national legislation explicitly indicates that the age of sexual consent unequivocally is 18 for both males and females, with a close-in-age exemption for sexual acts between peers (of up to 3 years) is provided by law.