Page:Geldenhuys v NDPP.djvu/14

Rh connection to a legitimate government purpose; otherwise the differentiation is in violation of section 9(1) of the Constitution.

Further, if the differentiation is on a ground specified in section 9(3) of the Constitution, unfairness is presumed. Absent a rebuttal of the presumption, unfair discrimination is established, resulting in a violation of section 9(3) of the Constitution. The final step is to determine whether the violation is justified under the general limitations provision in section 36 of the Constitution.

Section 14(1)(a) sets the age of consent for sexual intercourse between an adult man and a girl at 16 years for the girl. Read with section 14(1)(a), section 14(1)(b) provides, in the case of what are termed indecent acts between an adult man and a girl, an age of consent of 16 years for the girl but 19 years for a boy, if the acts are between an adult man and the boy.

{{np|32}Similarly, in the case of sexual intercourse between an adult woman and a boy, the age of consent for the boy is set at 16 years in section 14(3)(a). However, read with section 14(3)(a), section 14(3)(b) determines that the age of consent for what are termed indecent acts between an adult woman and a boy is 16 years for the boy. But when the acts are between an adult woman and a girl, the age of consent for the girl is set at 19 years. Rh