Statutory rape laws assume that a person is not capable of consenting sex. Even if a person consents the law of sex assume that they do not have the capacity to consent. statutory rape is different from child molestation as there is not force. Marriage is excluded from the law as an older individual is able to marry someone who is under age as long they obtain consent from their parents. Andre clark discussion of california’s statutory rape laws demonstrates the distinctions made for marriage in the law as statutory rape is described as an ‘’act of sexual intercourse intercourse accomplished with a female not the wife of the perpetrator, where the female in under the age of 18 years’’ (P.1933). Statutory rape laws can also serve to protect those who are mentally incapacitated and be may be at a developmental age lower than their actual age however this can be difficult to prove. While statutory rape laws are currently in place to protect minors
Statutory rape refers to sexual relations involving someone below the age of consent. Also, people below the age of consent cannot legally consent to have sex. Furthermore, statutory rape law is intended to protect minors from engaging in behavior that is not forceful, but might be harmful for them in the future. In the year 1996, federal welfare reform law that was created by some groups of people with a common goal to assist in reducing adolescent pregnancy rate by introducing a law called statutory rape, which is now been enforce on both state and local level. Nonetheless, this law differs from state to state like Maryland, New York, and Los Vegas.
University of Tennessee Knoxville was recently involved in a lawsuit for enabling athletes to sexually assault women by silencing the victims and failing to provide disciplinary actions or even investigation onto the accused. While this is a recent case, this is not the first time this sort of behavior involving a school has been brought into light. One in four women will be sexually assaulted by the end of their undergraduate career (Posluszny). Sexual assault happens throughout society no matter what the gender or age, seeming to be in increasing epidemic over the last few years. While the idea of sexual assault is largely met with public hostility in theory, actions often contradict this. This contradiction lies heavily in a culture that is unwelcoming to the victims and often leads to the perpetrators being tolerated. The existence of rape culture in western society occurs due to the preservation of violent media, patriarchal standards, and the state of the criminal justice system. This culture cannot be improved until we confront each of these problems to their roots.
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
Jack and Jill went up the hill to have some sex with each other. Jill said yes, but her dad found out.. Now Jack’s serving time in prison. Should a person who commits a consensual sexual act be punished with prison time? Because of Statutory Rape Laws, he/she can be. These laws criminalize any person who performs sexual acts with a person under the age of consent (which is usually between 16 and 18) even if the act was consensual. In the eyes of the law, a person cannot consent to any sexual act until they have reached the age of consent. A person charged with Statutory Rape serves a mandatory sentence ranging from one to fifty years - in some cases life - in prison. This depends on the age of the defendant and the “victim” at the time the
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
I think that society persecutes young people on the topic of sex and who they choose to have it with for the very fact they are teens. There are many excuses as to why, but I feel the most valid reason may be that we aren’t fully developed and teens are much more hormonal than adults are since they are more than likely going through puberty. Romeo and Juliet laws are defined as “young adults or teenagers who are a few years apart and have willingly had sexual relations. These provisions relate to state and federal laws regarding statutory rape or sexual assault,” ( ). I personally believe that Romeo & Juliet laws are a flawed good. The example in the article had an eighteen-year-old male and a fourteen-year-old female. Personally, I find this to be odd as the age gap is bigger than I would personally go for at either of these ages. However, there are many adults who have a much bigger age gap between them that isn’t looked down upon. Also, I feel as if the biggest flaw in the system is the fact that the parent can press charges without the consent of their child. If the sex is consensual then the sex is consensual, end of story; the parent should not be allowed to dictate in a very public way whether what happened was ok or not. I believe since teenagers are hormonal, the law believes it should be allowed for a parent to do such a thing. People react negatively to the evidence children have sexual feelings because they believe that children should be innocent and not try to grow up so fast, but at the end of the day I think people forget what it was like to be a teen after time. Also, people may remember their mistakes they made at that age and try to prevent our youth from making the same mistakes, but these mistakes allow a person to grow. I believe that a parent should deal with the matter privately between them, their kid, and their partner.
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
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?
“Among undergraduate students, 23.1% of females and 5.4% of males experience rape or sexual assault” (RAINN). Rape is a threat virtually anywhere people go, but no place has a higher risk for sexual assault than college campuses. However, many of these occurrences go without penalties against the attacker, and even more are not reported at all. The lack of consequences for the accused indirectly suggests that rape and other forms of sexual assault are allowable and create further problems for the victims of the horrendous actions. Harsher punishments need to be given out for sexual assault on campus, as the current rulings are biased and immoral.
The case I have chosen to examine is the teen pregnancy/statutory rape case presented in class by group four. The relevant facts in this case are Daniella is legally an adult at 19 and her boyfriend is a minor at 16 years old. The young couple has only been in a relationship together for one year. Daniella was under the impression she was in a private setting and would in essence have the right to privacy. Joel overheard Daniella by accident stating she was pregnant and was contemplating an abortion. Joel and Damien’s parents are conservative pro-lifers and would not condone an abortion because it’s against their beliefs. Joel could not go to college become his parents are low income. Damien is currently being scouted giving him
Sexual assault and rape are on-going issues plaguing college campuses all across the nation. In part, I believe this is due to a lack of education on what sexual assault actually is. All too often, victims are leaving these situations feeling confused about something that they will forever deem "a weird night". It often isn't until much later that they realize what happened to them was a violation of their body and of their rights.
“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
As teens and young adults, many people throughout Pennsylvania experience love for the first time. If they decide to act on their feelings, however, what should be a special time and experience may result in serious criminal charges. Depending on a couple’s ages, getting intimate with a partner could be considered statutory sexual assault.
It isn’t a family, it’s a felony. Parents who are in custody battles use cases of abuse and neglect to win, so why are rape custody cases so different? There are 19 states that automatically terminate parental rights to attackers that impregnated woman through rape. But what happens if your attacker wasn’t convicted? What if he was found not guilty? Then you have to provide “clear and convincing evidence” that the child was conceived through rape. Does that even make sense? Shouldn’t it be common sense to take away any sort of right to seeing the child if he/she was conceived through forced sex? Things like this make it that much harder for victims to come forward about their assault.