[Mike F]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

I am just amazed at how long it took to change this law. Why wasn't this an issue years ago? And why have people put up with it for so long?

Bill C-22, An Act to amend the Criminal Code (protection of children and other vulnerable persons), was passed in 2005 (by a dastardly, do-nothing Liberal gov't IIRC) to address many of these issues.

A few overviews here and here.

Under this new prohibition, courts may infer that a relationship is exploitative of the young person based on its nature and circumstances, including the age of the young person, any difference of age, the evolution of the relationship, and the degree of control or influence exercised over the young person. These factors reflect the reality that there are different indicators of exploitation of a young person. While the chronological age of the young person is one such indicator there are others including a difference in age between the young person and the other person, as well as how the relationship developed (e.g., secretly over the Internet). This new offence focuses on the wrongful conduct of the exploiter rather than on the consent of the young person to that conduct.

. . . .

Bill C-2 provides increased protection against exploitative sexual activity. It creates a new offence against the sexual exploitation of youth under 18 years where the relationship is exploitative of the young person, as evidenced by the nature and circumstances of the relationship, including the age of the young person, the difference in age between the youth and the other person, how the relationship evolved, and the degree of control or influence exercised over the young person.

Accordingly, this new offence provides youth with better protection against sexual exploitation by focusing on the wrongful conduct of the other person who exploits their vulnerability and not on whether they “consented” to be exploited.