Are there cases of statutory rape that are merely "youthful exuberance?" Of course. And I have problems with lifetime labeling of kids for status offenses.
But there are plenty of "consensual" statutory rape cases that are anything but innocent. An 18 or 20 year old having sex with a 13 year old? Even if they're "in love", it's not a healthy relationship, and the younger person lacks the maturity to know what's going on.
I think we are having a big problem defining maturity levels in our no longer children, but far from being adult offspring.
There is on the one hand the deliberate attempt to keep them in the dark.
There is no meaningful sex-ed, or other facts off life. The world they are allowed to see is rose colored. Bad things don't happen.
On the other hand there is also a trend to 'treat them like adults' when they commit 'adult crimes'
So you say a 13 year old has not the maturity....I say that it depends. I think I was pretty mature at 13, my kid is far from it (but I don't mind)
(and then of course the kids not mature enough to have sex, drink, smoke, drive or vote are all over sudden mature enough to go to the big house...)
I think the ultimate responsibility should lay with the parents to give the kids the tools to decide weather or not sex is appropriate.
you can't do that when visible skin (or bush) is taboo all the time, the body parts are 'down there' and some weird ober ego structure makes it only ok when married to make children. It does not jive with the biological blueprint, once the time trigger is activated the body knows how to put those parts to work.
No I do not condone anybody having sex with a 13 year old. But I don't see any real value in lumping 13 yo in the same heap with 16 year olds.
I think the outlines need to be broadened. There needs to be more discretion given in whether or not it actually is a crime.
There is too much of the puritan spirit in that law that is infringing on the personal rights of the involved people. At one point parents have to hope they taught their values and hope for the best, but they can't enforce them any more.
(on a side note, many times those that aim for the very young sex partner do not have any maturity of their own, the child is more their equal than a partner of their own age. Not to excuse it, but as a point to understand the mechanism)
In the US we are sending mixed messages to our girls (or maybe to the boys, about the girls as well)
We do gussy them up to look like little women. I remember a few years back, when I just had become aware of 'Hannah Montana' somebody who I had to assume was at least 18ish, probably older, telling me that - not sure if there was a distinction between the actress and the character - Hannah was hawt...this particular person might have led me on (pull my leg, etc) but in general speaking, there is a tendency to spiff teenies up to look much older than they are (Miley Cyrus was maybe 14 at the time...)
A constant diet of L@@K, but don't dare touch?
I think - and that won't change any time soon - that there is a scary disconnect between the carnal world and the public world. The US, inventors of the Playboy and Hustler, home of the last Puritans...have a much higher incident of teen pregnancy than those liberal places in Europe, that basically thrust pictures of boobies at you at every corner.
Sex is what mature people do. You get more than the 'just say no' to deal with the urges.
And the kids tend to handle the responsibilities well...(in the 9 years at 'high school', averaging totaling 700 students on average I only heard of one girl getting knocked up: not believing in birth control for religious reason...the extra curricular activity, well....you see the point...)
The kids need not more protection, but more exposure. And no, not the media type. but honest to goodness
mature exposure.
Now where did this start?
You can't protect the youth by adding more laws.
