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divdiv class=story-body readability=20 span class=story-date#13; span class=date16 November 2013/span#13;span class=time-textLast updated at /spanspan class=time20:16 ET/span#13; #13;/span#13;#13; #13;#13;#13; #13; #13; #13; #13; p class=introduction id=story_continues_1Lowering the age of consent for sex to 15 should be considered by ministers, a leading public health expert has urged./p#13; pFaculty of Public Health president Prof John Ashton said the move would make it easier for 15-year-olds to get sexual health advice from the NHS./p#13; pSpeaking to the Sunday Times, Prof Ashton called for a national debate on the issue./p#13; pChildren's charity the NSPCC said it wanted to see the evidence for Prof Ashton's claims before any discussion./p#13; pProf Ashton said society sent confused signals about when sex was permitted./p#13; pOfficial figures suggest that up to a third of teenagers have sex before the present age of consent of 16./p#13; pProf Ashton said lowering the age by a year could draw a line in the sand against sex at 14 or younger./p#13; span class=cross-head'Recognise the facts'/span#13; div class=story-feature narrow#13; a class=hidden href=#story_continues_2Continue reading the main story/a h2 class=quote“spanStart Quote/span/h2#13;blockquote readability=1p class=first-childIt's time the adults started talking about the situation to take these enormous pressures off children and young people from becoming sexually active too early”/p/blockquote#13;span class=endquoteEnd Quote/span#13; span class=quote-creditProf John Ashton/span#13; span class=quote-credit-titleFaculty of Public Health president/span#13;#13; /div p id=story_continues_2The professor said: We need a debate here. It's time the adults started talking about the situation to take these enormous pressures off children and young people from becoming sexually active too early./p#13; pAlso to recognise the facts of what's going on by the age of 14 or 15 so that we can respond helpfully to them and support them on this journey into adult life./p#13; pHe added: I suspect we might be better off with it at 15 because the teachers and people who are in contact with young people would feel on a firmer footing pointing them in the right direction where they can get advice and contraception to protect their physical health from disease and other problems./p#13; pThe Faculty of Public Health, part of the Royal Colleges of Physicians, gives independent advice to the government./p#13; pDavid Tucker, head of policy at the NSPCC, said it would be prepared engage in debate on the issue after considering Prof Ashton's arguments./p#13; pBut Mr Tucker added: Has there really been a significant change in the amount of young people having sex over the past 20 or 30 years? If it has changed, then is reducing the age of consent the most sensible way to deal with it?/p#13; div class=comment-introduction readability=-49#13; p class=introductionDo you agree the age of consent should be lowered? Please send us your comments using the form below./p#13; #13;/div#13; #13; #13; #13; #13; /div/divbrbrcentera href=http://www.wizardrss.comPowered By WizardRSS.com/a | a href=http://www.wizardrss.comFull Text RSS Feed/a | a href=http://www.amazon.com/RFID-Blocking-Cards-Identity-Protector/dp/B00CJHZLEWRFID/a | a href=http://www.wpzonbuilder.comAmazon Affiliate/a/center