person can also be charged with aggravated indecent assault and both a male and a female person can be charged with indecent assault (under section 67 of the Criminal Code). This gendered approach to sexual offences is an approach Zimbabwe inherited from English law. However, several countries that adopted a similar approach have since changed that position, removing the gendered approach to sexual offences. Namibia and South Africa, for instance, have since changed that position through amendments to their respective sexual offences penal laws.1 One may argue that the gendered distinction currently existing in our law is immaterial given that penalties are similar for both male and female perpetrator under each of the respective sections 65, 66, 67 and 70 of the Criminal Code. As similar as the penalties may be, nomenclature is a form of power, and has an undeniable effect on societal perception of justice. To the society, saying “rape” in respect of a child, and saying “indecent act” in respect of another, are two different things to which society may attach varying degrees of reprehensibility. The cliché “What’s in a name?” is apt here. The question is whether the gendered distinction of sexual offences in Zimbabwe serves any legitimate purpose, or passes the test of constitutionality given the non-discriminatory approach of the Constitution. The answer seems to be a “no” on both counts. 6. HOW DO OTHER COUNTRIES FARE WITH THE AGE OF CONSENT? While putting in place an age of consent is almost a universal approach, there is no global uniformity as to what the benchmark age is. The legal ages at which one is deemed capable of agreeing to sexual activities ranges from 11 to 21 years in different countries around the world. Generally, the age of consent to sexual activity is not clearly set out in law, but is inferred from criminal laws that criminalise sexual activity with individuals below a specific age.2 Below is an outline of the positions is some countries of the world: AGE (YEARS) 11 12 13 COUNTRY/COUNTRIES REGION(S) Nigeria Angola, Philippines Africa Africa Asia Japan, Burkina Faso, Comoros Islands, Niger, Sahrawi Arab Asia Democratic Republic Africa 1 See for Namibia the Combating of Rape Act 8 of 2000 and for South Africa the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act 32 of 2007. 2 SRHR Africa Trust (SAT) “Age of Consent: Global Legal Review” page 12. Available at https://www.trust.org/contentAsset/raw-data/b4e4a24b-f66d-4170-aa46-6713e038e139/file. See also https://www.ageofconsent.net/what-is-age-of-consent. 6