The Balendra Shah govt in Nepal is planning to change its statutory rape law by introducing a “Romeo-Juliet” clause that would prevent consensual relationships between teenagers close in age from automatically becoming rape cases. The proposed reform, now under review, seeks to create a three-year age-gap exemption for adolescents aged between 16 and 18, while retaining strict punishment for sexual abuse, coercion and exploitation.
Nepal’s current law treats any sexual relationship involving a person below 18 as rape, regardless of consent, while the legal marriage age in the country is 20. Critics of the existing law said this had led to cases where teenage boys were jailed after consensual relationships, often following complaints by families opposed to the relationship, including inter-caste relationships or elopements. The debate has also come at a time when Nepal is debating whether to lower the legal marriage age to 18, a proposal that has drawn support in some quarters but concern from child-rights activists.
