Statutory Rape : A Legal Matter

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.

Every part of our research statement has been defined now, and the purpose of defining each aspect ourselves was to not be over or under inclusive. The reason we have narrowed down the definition of sexual assault to just forced intercourse is because among a crime that is not often reported, rape is the aspect that females will most commonly report to authorities. We chose seventeen as our minimum age because it is the legal age of consent in Texas, and any female older than seventeen is also at risk of being raped on a campus. It may seem over inclusive to add every age over seventeen, but all sexual assault crimes, regardless of age, are reported in the Clery Act. Just studying females is important because they are the most likely population to be victims of sexual assault. Finally, public campuses are the only Universities we are using because data is more readily available and representative of actual crime rates.

“Feminism has not prepared them for this,” states Camille Paglia in her essay “Rape: A Bigger Danger than Feminists Know.” The “them” in Paglia’s statement is referring to women, and she is discussing the topic of date rape. Susan Jacoby, on the other hand, writes in her article “Common Decency,” that feminism is not responsible for the rising cases of date rape, but that it is the men who are at fault. Paglia’s argument is insightful and accurate, but Jacoby’s writing is flawed and not well-researched. Paglia includes all rhetorical appeals and persuasive techniques, while Jacoby lacks in some departments of persuasiveness and fills the gap with logical fallacies. Comparing both of these papers will help the reader see why

It’s time to separate the child sex offender from the children being accused of sex offending unreasonably. There are many stories of teenagers 15, 16, 17, just trying on young love for the first time. What should be happy memories can be turned to shame, and they don’t even have to have actual intercourse for it to be called a “sex offense.” Here are some examples of needed changes to our laws:

Can we take a moment to think about how there are so many double standards when it comes to sex and I’m not just talking about the typical guys can have casual sex with multiple people and get praised for it but when a woman does it she gets slut-shamed? I’m talking about the double standards with statutory rape, for example, a 17-year-old boy was sentenced 10 years in prison for having consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old. I’m wondering so is the 15-year-old girl going to jail too? So let's start from the beginning statutory rape refers to having sexual relations under the age of consent which is different in states but typically is between the ages of 16-18 here in the US. Now statutory rape and child molester is not the same thing, statutory

If the governing body requested that I set up a give an account of statutory assault due to the developing number of underage young ladies who have been impregnated by grown-up men. Examines uncover that numerous high school pregnancies result from undertakings that underage young ladies have with more established men, with age crevices running from 7 to 10 years. For instance, the regular relationship arraigned in California includes a 13-year-old young lady and a 22-year-old male accomplice. Some insulted guardians resolvedly bolster a law that will give state stipends to provinces to indict statutory assault. These awards would permit more overwhelming implementation of the law and could bring about the conviction of more than 1,500 wrongdoers

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

According to the California Law, statutory rape is having sexual relations with a “child” or “minor” anyone who is below the age of consent. Committing this crime can result in imprisonment and cause the defendant to be charged with a felony even if they weren 't previously aware of the age of the victim at the time in which the act was done. When a statutory rape case is being evaluated, the victim must be under the age of 18 or under the age of consent and the one presenting the case must have proof that sexual intercourse occurred. The reason why this law was put into play was because in the eyes of the government it is believed that unless one is over the age of consent, they are physically and mentally incapable of giving consent to any sexual activities. Although the amendment states that all men are created equal, there is still an existing gender bias favoring women when it comes down to who commits the crime.

Rape is a crime in which one person forces another person with threats, physical force or deception to have sex or sexual contact. In many cases rape is often through penetration, but victims are submitted to rape under different circumstances, such as oral sex, therefore rape has many muddled definitions. The various definitions of rape is a consequence of different cultural backgrounds and stereotypes. Sexual assaults have an effect on everyone either directly or indirectly, especially when victim blaming. Rape is not biased, for it can occur to any person despite their age, gender, religion, education level, sexual orientation or ethnicity. “According to the Department of Justice the average number of rape cases reported annually is approximately 89,000, but many victims are fearful to report their case to the police, for they do not want to be blamed for their assault.” (The Offender 's) Victim blaming in rape cases is a direct correlation to stereotypes. Some stereotypes that affect victim blaming is sexual orientation, promiscuity, gender roles, and race. “These contributing factors are stemmed from the much larger problem of society 's idea of gender and race stereotypes.” (Gill)

A significant difference in the means for sentence length exists between men and women for the offenses rape, child sexual assault, and forcible sodomy. In each of these offense categories, men are, on average, sentenced to longer, or harsher, prison terms. It is interesting to note here, too, that the offense that had the most even ratio of men to women and the largest number of offenders, sexual assault, showed no significant differences in sentence length between men and women…Rape, as it typically manifests itself in a violent manner, would demonstrate the most egregious break in gender roles. However, the data suggest men receive harsher penalties, evidenced by a higher mean sentence length. In addition,

Statutory rape refers to sexual relations involving a minor. People below the age of consent cannot legally consent to having sex. This means that sex with a minor violates the law. Statutory rapists do not have to use force, with the victim being so young it substitutes for force. The age of consent can very on the state.

This offence is commonly referred to as ‘statutory rape’ and comes under section 5 of the SOA 2003 which states that a person will be criminalised as long as he is over the age of criminal responsibility (10 years old) and may face a maximum sentence of life imprisonment if he uses his penis to intentionally penetrate the vagina, anus or mouth of another person who is under the age of 13. The elements of this section are the same as rape i.e. section 1, except that the victims consent or no-consent is irrelevant. This can be seen in the case of G (2008) where the defendant aged 15 had sexual intercourse with the victim who was 12. V had consented to it, and D reasonably believed that V was over 13. D was charged with a section 5 offence to which he appealed, his appeal was dismissed by the House of Lords as the issues of consent and D’s belief in V’s age are irrelevant to the offence.

     Sexual assault is a term that is used interchangeably with the word rape. The decision on whether or not to use the term rape or sexual assault is made by a state’s jurisdiction. Sexual assault is more readily used in an attempt to be more gender neutral (National Victim Center). Sexual assault can be most easily described as forced or unconsentual sexual intercourse. The individual that is performing these acts on the victim may either be a stranger or an acquaintance. In 1994, 64.2 percent of all rapes were committed by someone the offender had previously known (Ringel, 1997). Regardless, this type of crime can have extreme effects on the victim.

Rape is an extremely controversial issue and this notion is supported based on the fact that basic definitions and explanations of rape usually directly correlate with a state's lawful definition of rape. This proves problematic as many people's explanations and definitions of rape are quite different to that of the law. Social science theorists argue that rape is a learned action with which society plays a crucial role, Ellis (1989). Based on this theory it seems only logical to propose that there

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.