Exactly, we live in an age where people are finally realizing how long it takes the human brain to mature into what could be considered "an adult" and starting to respect that. Without the advent of modern psychology I doubt that society would have come to such an understanding.
Even the idea of consent being necessary at all is fairly novel in human society. A female's virginity was basically the property of the father. Rape only existed as a crime if the victim was a virgin and actually physically resisted, and the crime wasn't against the virgin, but in devaluing the daughter for marriage.
Not that I'm suggesting doing away with any of these modern ethical qualms. We have only had vaccinations for a couple hundred years, too, and they're well worth keeping.