Age of Consent
Sex Education Required by State
Sex Education Type
Medically Accurate Content Required
LGBTQ+ Inclusive
Consent Education Taught
Adult Entertainment
Virginia's age of consent is 18. There is a close-in-age provision: under Virginia Code Section 18.2-371, sexual activity with a 15-, 16-, or 17-year-old is a Class 1 misdemeanor rather than a felony if the defendant is less than three years older.
Sex education is required in Virginia schools. Instruction must emphasize abstinence, though contraception may be discussed in some districts. There is no requirement for medical accuracy in the comprehensive sense, and the state has not mandated LGBTQ+ inclusion in sex education. Virginia's political environment has been shifting toward more progressive policies in recent years, particularly in Northern Virginia, but the sex education curriculum remains more conservative than neighboring Maryland and Delaware.
Virginia's adult entertainment environment is moderate. Northern Virginia and Richmond have adult entertainment businesses regulated through local licensing. The state has not pursued aggressive restriction campaigns. Virginia's regulatory posture reflects its political transition from a reliably conservative Southern state to a more divided one, with Northern Virginia pulling toward permissiveness and rural Virginia maintaining conservative social norms.
Age 18. Sex ed required but quality varies. State moving more progressive but curriculum still emphasizes abstinence.
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In the News
- Spanberger Signs ‘Momnibus’ Bills as Abortion Opponents Hit the Streets in Virginia March for Life - Rewire News GroupApr 27
- What to watch as Virginia’s 2026 General Assembly returns to Richmond - Virginia MercuryJan 12
- So-Called “Parental Rights” Bills and Their Threats to Reproductive Justice - Physicians for Reproductive HealthJul 11
- Virginia’s New Sweeping Reproductive and Sexual Health Privacy Law May Affect All Companies Doing Business in the State - QuarlesApr 2
- Reproductive Health: Supporting Contraception Access and Comprehensive Sex Education - Association of State and Territorial Health Officials | ASTHODec 12
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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.