I mean, a further controversial opinion - the 18 year old cutoff is completely arbitrary. If we were somehow able to confer the ability to consent based on the maturity level of the individual, then the consent age of any given person might be lower, or might extend all the way to their death. In a small communal society where everyone has intimate knowledge of everyone else, this might be possible, and even preferred. But on the scale of nations, we need rules which are legible to courts, which means we say “the age of consent is X”, and assume it covers most cases decently enough.
I mean, a further controversial opinion - the 18 year old cutoff is completely arbitrary. If we were somehow able to confer the ability to consent based on the maturity level of the individual, then the consent age of any given person might be lower, or might extend all the way to their death. In a small communal society where everyone has intimate knowledge of everyone else, this might be possible, and even preferred. But on the scale of nations, we need rules which are legible to courts, which means we say “the age of consent is X”, and assume it covers most cases decently enough.