Peter Tatchell: the age of consent and his comments on pedophilia

[Peter Tatchell (gay rights activist):] The famous film maker Derek Jarman who sadly has died; he told me when he was about fifty, that he had had sex with a young man, when he was nine years old. He said it was his choice. He said he wasn't pressured or manipulated. He said he had no regrets about that sexual experience. So my view is: that's what he is saying. It's his personal view as an adult mature man looking back on his childhood. If he says that, who am I or you to dispute it? I accept that most sex involving young people is abusive and wrong. His view is [.?.] exceptional. But it's not a view that should be dismissed or denied. If an adult person looks back on an early sexual experience and says they consented to it, they were not pressured, they were not harmed, they have no regrets or complaints, I think we should do the honest thing and accept their viewpoint.

source: 'Peter Tatchell: the Age of Consent and his comments on pedophilia'; www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekrR1e6JyOU; Youtube; 9 December 2015