Age of Consent
Sex Education Required by State
Sex Education Type
Medically Accurate Content Required
LGBTQ+ Inclusive
Consent Education Taught
Adult Entertainment
Rhode Island's age of consent is 16. There is a close-in-age exemption: sexual activity with a person aged 14 or 15 is not a felony if the defendant is less than three years older, under Rhode Island General Laws Section 11-37-6.
Rhode Island requires comprehensive sex education that is medically accurate and inclusive of LGBTQ+ topics. Consent education is a required component. The state's mandate is strong for its size, and Rhode Island has been among the Northeast states actively updating its sex education requirements to reflect current inclusive standards.
Rhode Island has a distinctive adult entertainment legal history. From 2003 to 2009, indoor prostitution was effectively decriminalized as a result of a 1980 statutory revision that inadvertently removed indoor commercial sex work from the criminal code. During that six-year window, indoor prostitution operated legally in the state. The legislature closed the loophole in 2009. Rhode Island's brief period of legal indoor prostitution remains a well-known anomaly in U.S. legal history.
Comprehensive sex ed mandate. Rhode Island decriminalized prostitution indoors briefly (2003-2009) — now illegal again.
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More on Rhode Island
Discussions
- Age of consent by state : r/MapPorn
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- Age of consent needs to change : r/offmychest
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- What are some laws for your state or city that are probably ...
- What should the age of consent be? : r/AskReddit
- RI governor poised to sign ban on marriage under age 18
- Maybe if 15 is too young to consent to sex, it's ...
In the News
- State Laws on Gender-Affirming Care - FindLawMar 12
- Former gym teacher accused of sexually harassing student - The Providence JournalMar 2
- State Policy Trends 2023: In the First Full Year Since Roe Fell, a Tumultuous Year for Abortion and Other Reproductive Health Care - Guttmacher InstituteDec 19
- Reproductive Health: Supporting Contraception Access and Comprehensive Sex Education - astho.orgDec 12
- Sex Education Standards Across the States - Center for American ProgressMay 9
Full Rhode Island profile
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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.