With the recent case involving Russell Brand it is painfully obvious that The UK’s current age of consent laws do not clearly protect 16- and 17-year-olds from significantly older partners. This can lead to situations where young people are vulnerable to pressure or exploitation, while the law fails to properly distinguish between these cases and healthy relationships between peers of a similar age. 
Research shows that people in their mid-teens are still developing mentally and emotionally, particularly in areas related to decision-making and understanding risk. This makes it harder for them to recognise or respond to pressure from older individuals. Public discussions and examples involving large age gaps highlight how normalised these situations can become, despite the potential harm. Clearer laws are needed to better reflect modern understanding of development and to protect young people while allowing age-appropriate relationships.