What Is The Legal Age For Dating In South Africa?

   
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What Is The Legal Age For Dating In South Africa?

What Is The Age Of Consent In South Africa?
What Is The Legal Age For Dating In South Africa?

South Africa is a multi-ethnic nation with about eleven official languages, various backgrounds, and belief systems. As a result, ideologies and entreaties differ considerably among different ethnic groups.

Ethnic Cultures In South Africa

Superior to the ethnic groups and their various modus operandi, however, is the legislative structures set in place by the governing body of the nation. Like many African countries, South Africa is rich in local culture and a traditionally established way of life. This way of life affects the area of dating and marriage as well. Some ethnic cultures in South Africa pre-established the norm of early marriages within their societies, and eradicating this practice has been quite challenging.

The Marriage Act In South Africa

The Marriage act of 1961 and the customary marriage act of 1998 are the statutory laws that govern marriage in South Africa. Under these laws, no boy under 18 years and no girl under 15 are legally permitted to be civilly wed except under particular conditions.

The Legal Age For Dating

There is no clear-cut, hard rule that states clearly and out rightly the legal age for dating, however, considering the possible implications of dating in the modern world, being a preface to either marriage or premarital sex, the proposed age ranges for sexual consent can be somewhat extrapolated to represent the legal age for dating. In South Africa, the legal age of consent is 17. The simple interpretation is that it is illegal to have sexual relations with someone below 17. Of course, in this current age, many teenagers and young adults enter into some form of relationship. The law cannot regulate such occurrences due to how unpredictable and frequent they are.

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