How Old Is 15?

Have you ever wondered what Statutory Rape really is? It is sexual intercourse with a minor. In humbler terms it is when a male adult 18 years or older has sexual intercourse with a female who is 17 years old or younger without consent. The issue that I have seen arise a great deal of the time is that the laws in most states are sexually biased when it comes to an adult male and an underage female. In this essay I want to specifically focus on the State of North Carolina, being that I live in this state.

There are debates on whether or not the laws for statutory rape are strict enough. The age of consensual sex varies from state to state. In some states the age of consent is 16 while others start at the age of 17. Though many of these teens may be physically ready to engage in sex, many of them are not mentally prepared. In their article, “Enforce Statutory Rape Laws to Curb Teen Sex”, Kathleen Sylvester and Jonathan O’Connell talk about relationships between 12, 13 and 14 year old girls and sexually mature men who are inherently unequal, often coercive and almost always damaging. Many of these girls find themselves engaging in sexual activities with much older men. Until stricter laws are put into place, as well as parents explaining these

The perspective offered by such longitudinal data sheds remarkable light on the "problem" of statutory rape, identifying for us key markers, as well as key actors, in the history of the law's enforcement and helping us to understand their roles in constructing the meaning of this crime over successive generations. ... The statutory rape codes have been used at various times to reinforce fathers' interests in their daughters' marriageability, to protect young women's chastity from seductive men, to control promiscuous or disease-laden adolescent females, to enhance child support collection efforts, to reduce teenage pregnancy, and to identify and punish sexual exploitation of teenagers. ... Given the constant state of jockeying, compromise and

* Sexual Assault – this involves sexual contact with another without their consent. Even when consent has been given, sexual assault can also occur. If a person over 16 has intercourse with a person under 16 they can be charged with sexual assault (statutory rape). This also occurs if a person is drugged/drunk for the purpose of having sex with them. Aggravated sexual assault comes with a longer sentence, because of the use of force.

The legal age of consent in the state of Pennsylvania is 16-years-old. As such, state law defines statutory sexual assault as sexual intercourse that is not forced with someone under that age. Furthermore, the older partner must be at least four years older than the minor for sexual intercourse to qualify as this offense. According to the Pennsylvania Courts, the exception to the statutory sexual assault

Statutory rape refers to sexual relations involving someone below the "age of consent." People below the age of consent cannot legally consent to having sex. This means that sex with them, by definition, violates the law.

Statutory rape refers to the act of sexual intercourse in which one of the participants is below a certain age, as defined by law, at which they are deemed incapable of being able to consent to such behavior. The age of consent varies between states and has been altered over time and the history of such laws will be discussed later on. But this paper will know discuss the concept of sex being a social construct based upon rates of sexual activity in adolescents and behavioral problems that have resulted from sexual relationships. So what factors influence society’s perception of sex? Age, and age difference between partners is certainly a major component, being one of the most significant aspects of what is considered statutory rape. From the play, we know that Li’l Bit was 11 years old when she was first sexual assaulted by Peck, who is significantly older than she is. Harold

Statutory Rape is a very foggy law when it comes to the specifics and the crime can still be committed even if both people engaging in sexual acts are below the age of consent as well. “Statutory rape is a state sex crime that can be charged as a felony or misdemeanor offense and may be punishable by incarceration, fine, probation, and/or registry as a sex offender, depending on the state and circumstances of the incident” (Findlaw,1). 17-year old Alan Jepsen from Sheboygan, Wisconsin was at home playing videogames when the police barged in and handcuffed him

Statutory Rape is considered to be a relationship with a boy or girl that are under the age of eighteen, who are wrongfully having a sexual relationship with someone who is over the age of eighteen. “Statutory rape is used when the government considers people are under a certain age to be unable to give consent to sex and therefore consider sexual contact with them to be a rape. The age at which people are considered to give assent is known as the time of assent. The age of consent can ranging

Statutory rape is not an easy term to define. It seems that the definition would be simple and would include someone older having sex with someone younger than the legal age. That leads us to what is the legal age? What difference in age is acceptable? Is it really the age of the person that dictates whether or not an individual is capable of making rational decisions about having intercourse? Are there special circumstances when using the term?

Master of Professional Health Debra Hauser states that sexual education is an essential part of the development and growth of teenagers. In her article “Youth Health and Rights in Sex Education”, MPH Hauser provides a report of teenage pregnancies and STDs incidences, which points out that each year in the United States, about 750,000 teens become pregnant, with up to 82 percent of those pregnancies being unintended. Young people ages 15-24 account for 25 percent of all new HIV infections in the U.S (Hauser). According to Hauser, “sex education teaches young people the skills they need to protect themselves”, such as the ability to recognize patterns of a toxic relationships, learning to value and have control over their bodies, understanding

Statutory rape describes sexual activity where one participating party is below the age of consent to engage in the sexual conduct. The term usually refers to adults engaging in sexual activities with minors under the age of consent; however, only a handful of jurisdictions recognize the actual words "statutory rape" in its legal code. Statutory rape differs from forcible rape because imposed force or threat is not present during the sexual acts. However, the laws presume that adult coerced the minor into having sex because a minor or mentally challenged are unsuitable to make their own decisions, according to the courts. Statutory rape differs from "child molestation," which is typically treated as a far more severe crime.

Teens have difficulty grasping the consequences of unprotected sex for themselves, their parents, family members and possibly their unborn child. Unprotected sex among teenagers in El Paso has become an issue seeing as they are not receiving the right information they need to know about sex and how to prevent it, sexually transmitted diseases can be passed on through sexual contact in which can be harmful and be passed on from one person to another, and teen pregnancy and STD’s bring substantial social and economic costs through immediate and long-term impacts on teen parents and their children. Nowadays social media and technology seem to really take a toll on teenagers, the both has impacted teens in a way that it is all they are on. My proposal of fixing this solution is getting the message across through social media and doing presentations at different schools, this will impact teenagers mostly because this is the generation where social media has become a part of their lives. To those with low education about unprotected sex, will pay attention to what is being said, which will be no problem since Google and the internet are there to provide answers to their questions. Lastly, teens do not pay attention to adults in general, but if they listen to what a teen has to say then they will most likely understand, thus a presentation at their school will help them learn more.

Overall, hopefully teenagers are still getting the message to stay safe if they choose to become sexually active in the face of the media's negative influence regarding sex.

Students can now access any site on the internet that contains adult content or pornographic materials. That is why sex education should be implemented in schools. It is better for children to be informed earlier because they will still know about it when they grow up as they will be more exposed to it through their peers and the media (Cooper, n.d.). Through sex education, young people are able to communicate, listen, negotiate with others, ask for and identify sources of help and advice when it comes to sexual relationships. Through communication teenagers more confident and know better about the consequences of having sex before marriage.