We are not talking about Somalia but other civilised Western countries such as Germany and France. And they have determined that these relations are acceptable. So it's valid to bring this up at least. Noone is denying that Johnson rightfully went to prison under UK law.
I disagree.
Firstly, I don't believe any country which decides a 15 year old is old enough to have sex with an adult is fully civilised.
But let's put that aside for a moment and pretend we do agree with their determination of what age is appropriate. That doesn't mean what is right for them should necessarily determine our own law making.
In Germany and France, young people often seem more mature far earlier than we did here in the UK and Ireland. They pick up languages far better than we do, they are able to travel abroad without embarrassing themselves in other cultures as is often the case with our teenagers or even 20/30 somethings. Look at their footballers who move abroad far more often and settle way more effectively than British footballers have done historically. It's entirely possible that the Germans and French are correct to believe their 14/15 year olds are emotionally mature enough for sexual relationships with adults because their parents and societies prepare them better than ours do.
What it boils down to for me, is a simple question of who are you creating the law to protect? Kids develop at different rates so do you write a law to protect the 30 year old bloke who fell for a particularly developed 15 year old who pretended she was 18, or do you create legislation to protect the slowly developing 15 year old who might be two or three years behind the physical or emotional development of her peers?
There is no reason any adult needs to be having sex with anyone under the age of 17/18. That couple of years will give the slow developers a buffer to catch up before being preyed upon by emotionally stunted men-children who lack the balls or character to develop proper relationships with adult women.