Given that the “International Convention on the Rights of Children and Adolescents” considers that children are below the age of fourteen, adolescents are between the ages of fourteen and eighteen, and adults are age eighteen and above.

The Convention states that children have no criminal liability, while adolescents have limited criminal liability. Most countries have incorporated those standards into their own national legislation. Including among others Paraguay and Germany.

In Germany that means, that any perpetrator younger than fourteen years of age is absolutely immune from criminal prosecution. Even for murder! A few months back, there was a very tragic case where two girls age 12 and 13 led their 12 year old “friend” and class-mate into a secluded forest and stabbed her to death, apparently out of jealousy over some kind of electronic gadget. Those girls can not be prosecuted because they are underage. But both they and their families got relocated by the authorities to a different location. And both the girls, as well as their parents, are subject to intense psychological counseling and monitoring until the girls reach adulthood at 18 by the local child protection agency “Jugendamt”. It is also likely that both girls might spend at least some time in a psychiatric institution or some kind of foster care. Even if they have no criminal record, they carry a psychological and social stigma and trauma.

Another case that made headlines not to long ago, was a youth gang with migrant or refugee background. The ring-leaders aged 14 to 16 would recruit children as young a 9 to do the break-ins and steal electronic gadgets. So even if they get caught by the police, because of their age they are immune from criminal prosecution. Given the migrant background, with many parents just barely able to communicate in German and often having a disregard for the social contract and values of western democracies, it is difficult to nearly impossible to get parental cooperation for corrective educational measures.

Given how easy even young children have almost full access to the internet and entertainment media, and how violent crimes get committed by progressively younger adolescents and children, there is a call to analyze if the age for limited criminal liability should be lowered and by how much. Educators, social workers and psychologists are asked to find a consensus recommendation for a change of law.

So if children can have a limited criminal liability starting at a certain age, then starting from that same age they should also have the [limited] right to self-determination and access to gender affirming care.