I study the impacts of raising the age of sexual consent, a legal framework designed to safeguard children from the risks associated with early sexual activity and exploitation. Using data from 20 Sub-Saharan African countries and an event study design, I find that increasing the age of consent significantly reduces sexual activity, pregnancy, and marriage among girls under the legal threshold, with effects persisting beyond the age of consent. These reductions are driven by behavioral adaptations, including temporary increases in contraceptive use, followed by sustained declines in sexual activity and a decrease in out-of-wedlock pregnancies linked to reductions in underage marriage. For boys, the reform leads to a reduction in sexual activity, but the effect is not persistent as they age. Notably, the law does not affect the rates of child sexual abuse, likely due to imperfect enforcement. I further argue that the gendered differences in the persistence of effects, along with heterogeneous responses to the laws, point to the role of legislation in reinforcing social norms surrounding children's sexuality.