Age of Consent
Sex Education Required by State
Sex Education Type
Medically Accurate Content Required
LGBTQ+ Inclusive
Consent Education Taught
Adult Entertainment
Delaware's age of consent is 18. There is a close-in-age exemption: consensual sexual contact between minors who are at least 12 and within four years of age of each other falls outside the primary criminal statute. Delaware Code Title 11, Section 770 governs unlawful sexual contact with a minor.
Delaware requires comprehensive sex education that is medically accurate, inclusive of LGBTQ+ relationships and identities, and includes consent education. The state's mandate is among the stronger ones on the East Coast. Schools are not permitted to substitute abstinence-only instruction for the required comprehensive content. Age-appropriate instruction begins in elementary school and continues through secondary grades.
Delaware's adult entertainment environment is permissive relative to similarly sized mid-Atlantic states. Wilmington and the Dover area have adult businesses operating under municipal licensing. There is no state-level campaign to restrict adult entertainment, and Delaware's legal culture generally reflects a non-interventionist posture on private conduct.
Age 18. Comprehensive, medically accurate, LGBTQ+ inclusive sex ed required.
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In the News
- State Laws on Gender-Affirming Care - FindLawMay 25
- Act on the Evidence: Policy Solutions to Protect and Advance Abortion and Contraception Access in the United States - Guttmacher InstituteNov 11
- Foster Care’s Missing Policies For Sexual and Reproductive Health - The ImprintMay 9
- Facing financial pinch, Planned Parenthood cuts some gender-affirming services in Delaware - Spotlight DelawareAug 27
- Sex Education Standards Across the States - Center for American ProgressMay 9
Full Delaware 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.