11th ILGA annual conference - Vienna, Austria
There was a discussion of laws that establish an age below which a child is considered incapable of giving consent to sex with an adult, so-called "age of consent" laws. It is unfair to have a higher age of consent for homosexual sex. Age of consent laws should be equalized for heterosexual and homosexual sex. The tactical value of agreeing on 12, 14 or 16 years of age as an acceptable "age of consent" was discussed. Others felt the elimination of all "age of consent" laws was a matter of principal that should not be compromised. Others drew attention to the inequality between "age of sexual consent" and "age of criminal responsibility", which demonstrates social hypocrisy when it comes to sex.
Should the Pedophile Workshop ask the scientific community to design unbiased research on consent, how it develops in children, and what cross cultural, educational, developmental, and sex differences exist in the ability to consent? These studies should include, but not be limited to, the study of ability to consent to sex. Some expressed distrust and contempt for the "scientific community" because of the tremendous damage it has done to the self-esteem of pedophiles and the political nature of research funding. It was not too long ago that the scientific community did much the same thing to the gay community. A female participant from the Mediterranean said the issue was the control of children and youth by denying them the information and experience they have a right to have when they are ready. [...]
Women/girl and women/boy love is a big taboo among many activist women. A woman asked that pedophile women who like girls and women who like boys be given a stronger voice in the Pedophile Workshop, and that information about the subject become available to promote sharing of these feelings by women.
source: '11th ILGA Annual Conference - Vienna, Austria'; Pedophilia 2 Workshop; Facilitators: Part I: Grada Schadee; Part II: Martin Burgess; Minute Taker: Ted Bernie; Participants: 15 persons (4 women and 11 men); 19 July 1989