Age of Consent
Sex Education Required by State
Sex Education Type
Medically Accurate Content Required
LGBTQ+ Inclusive
Consent Education Taught
Adult Entertainment
New York's age of consent is 17. There is a close-in-age exemption under New York Penal Law Section 130.20: consensual sexual activity between a person aged 14 or 15 and a partner less than five years older is treated as a misdemeanor rather than a felony.
New York has no statewide sex education mandate, but New York City has its own comprehensive mandate applicable to its 1.1 million students. State guidelines call for comprehensive, medically accurate, LGBTQ+ inclusive instruction with consent education when sex ed is offered. New York legalized women's toplessness statewide in 1992 following People v. Santorelli, a Court of Appeals ruling that toplessness is not indecent exposure under state law.
New York's adult entertainment environment is among the most permissive in the country. New York City has one of the largest adult entertainment industries in the world. The state regulates adult businesses primarily through municipal zoning. Strip clubs, adult theaters, and adult bookstores operate across the state under local licensing regimes.
No statewide mandate (NYC has its own), but NYS guidance is comprehensive. Women's toplessness legal statewide since 1992.
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Discussions
- New York state raises age of legal consent to 18, banning ...
- Age of consent by state : r/MapPorn
- Sex Ed/reproductive health services laws for all the girls ...
- It breaks my heart that age of consent is 16 in most US states
- If I am the age of consent, can I date/have sex with ...
- Age of Consent is Not The Age of Majority : r/codyko
- Why is the age of consent different in the various states ...
- Anyone else think it's strange that the US has different ages ...
- When did modern age of consent laws become a thing?
- In 1880, the average ages of consent in the US were set at ...
In the News
- Rising to the Historical Moment: A New York Civil Rights Agenda for 2026 - NYCLUJan 15
- Adolescents Deserve Better: What the Biden-Harris Administration and Congress Can Do to Bolster Young People’s Sexual and Reproductive Health - Guttmacher InstituteFeb 8
- Moving the Ball Forward on Comprehensive Sex Education - American Civil Liberties UnionJan 7
- Foster Care’s Missing Policies For Sexual and Reproductive Health - The ImprintMay 9
- A Letter to Our Activists: PPGNY Action Fund's 2023 Legislative Summary - Planned Parenthood Action FundJun 23
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Sources: NCSL, Guttmacher Institute, SIECUS State Profiles, Wikipedia "Ages of consent in the United States". Laws change — verify current status with official sources.