Statutory Rape Research Paper

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.

described as any sexual act that is unwanted by somebody else. These acts incompass penetration with genitals and/or objects without consent, rape, unwanted sexual acts such as oral sex and touching of somebody’s body without their permission and is all about “power and control” (Sexual Assault). It is important to note the misconception regarding rape. Rape falls under the category of sexual assault not every case is rape (Sexual Assault). Sexual assault on college campuses is a reoccurring problem and it seems as if colleges aren't doing much about it. These abusive incidents happen on a day to day basis and it is not getting the attention and awareness that

Our laws seem to have taken away the true threat to society, the grown adult that actually has sexual intercourse with children, the true predator. They are the true offenders and our young people are being grouped in with them and in many cases forcing our teenagers to live with them at times, consequently causing more emotional harm than has already been inflicted upon them.

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

Martha Kempner, author of the article “What’s Wrong With Our Age of Consent Laws”, states “Age of consent laws is meant to protect young people from exploitation by adults, but in too many instances they send 18-year-old boys to jail for having consensual sex with their 15-year-old girlfriends. The boys then end up on sex offender registries for life along side rapists and pedophiles. Should we really be legislating teen sex?” There are also many inconsistencies amongst state to state regarding these laws, differing between ages 16 and 18 as the legal consent age, causes much confusion for couples in relationships, such as one Kempner stated, as well as the opportunity for the exploitation of 16 year olds by adults who live in states in which the laws have been lowered. Now the age of 25 for sexual consent laws, is likely too drastic, however we propose that there should be at least an equal age amongst all states, to eliminate any further unnecessary confusion, embarrassment, and

The topic of sexual assault has always been a tough subject to discuss because it is a heinous crime that can and has happened to men, women, young and old. It is a topic that is disturbing and heart wrenching, especially when involving children. In the past few years, our media outlets have captured the images and stories on sexual assault, focusing mainly on College Institutions and how sexual assault cases have been handled within those institutions. Sexual assault is a very important topic to discuss, since this can happen to anyone you know, man or woman, adult or child, or yourself. This paper will touch on the different types of sexual assault, stigma of sexual assault, treatment of sexual assault, and understanding the perpetrator. There will be a brief discussion of the current social issue of college campus sexual assault. Sexual assault is such a wide topic with many areas to discuss, but this paper will outline the basic understanding of sexual assault and what can be done to overcome this stigma of sexual assault and how we can help the victims/survivors.

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.

Stories of sex offenders have been increasingly a focus of attention by the criminal justice system over the past years. By legal definition, a sex offender “is a person who is convicted of a sexual offense (Sex Offender Law & Legal Definition),” an act which is prohibited by the jurisdiction. What constitutes as a sex offense or normal/abnormal sexual behavior varies over time and place, meaning that it also varies by legal jurisdiction and culture. In the United States of America, for example, a person can be convicted of wide range of sexual behavior that includes prostitution, incest, sex with a minor, rape, and other sex offenses (Sex Offender Law & Legal Definition). As the nature of sex crimes have long held the

Laws regarding the age of consent in the United States have undergone multiple revisions, resulting from differing perspectives on how to regulate teenage sex and prevent statutory rape. As a result, the state laws have defined ages at which they deem adolescents to be capable of consenting to sexual intercourse. Today the breakdown of age consent laws in the United States is as follows: 28 states use 16, 15 states use 18, 6 states use 17, and 1 state uses 14. (Leitenberg & Saltzman) But it was a long road before this point, beginning with English common law in the colonies, which set the age of consent at around ages 10-12. According to Carolyn Cocca, age of consent restrictions were imposed at the time to “Preserve female virginity, which

The topic that we talked about in the class, Sex Crimes and the Law that really interested me was the topic of rape. After having the guest speaker that was a Temple student really bothered me and I thought about it for days. For starters, I think it is absolutely scary that she was rapped on Temple University’s campus, to be exact in Peabody hall and absolutely nothing was done to help her. This is bothering me the most because I am a Temple student, this happened in her own room, no one helped her, and her rapist is still out there. I feel horrible that no one even tried to help and most people even made it seem like it was her fault by saying things such as “you know you wanted it”. No one wants to be rapped and the victim should never be to blame. This poor girl tried to kill herself multiple times. I believe that no one should go through this trauma alone or even go through it at all. Since our guest speaker, I have gone on a binge of watching Law & Order: SVU and even through about becoming a special victim unit detective for my career. Another reason that the topic of rapped bothered me was because just recently one of my friends came out and said that she was raped by her boyfriend. No one even knew this happened until she made it public on Facebook. For the longest time she was drawn back and really did not hang out with the group and now I know why. The guest speaker really helped me to understand, just to be there for her. When she wants to talk she will and not

Misguided laws are compounded by media outlets use of the very words regarding sex offenses. I found an interesting study by the National Center For Reason

The definition of rape has changed since 1927, with the new nationwide definition from the FBI’s Uniform Crime Report (UCR), the Office of the Attorney General states that, “the penetration, no matter how slight, of the vagina or anus with body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of another person, without the consent of the victim.” The definition or rape has not changed since 1927. In 2012, under this new definition, it gives a larger definition as to what facilitates the nature of rape, this includes men as well as women; notwithstanding the victims age of being unable to consent, including the victim’s mental capacity, or being in an incapacitated state due to ingestion of drugs or alcohol (U.S. Department of Justice, 2014). According, to the 2015, Criminal Victimization Report, reports that the rate of

Sexual assault and rape has always been a social and public issue in the United States. A majority of the time, women become the victims, while men become the perpetrators. National surveys in the United States show that one in six women has experienced an attempted or completed rape. Consent appears to be a critical factor in determining whether assault or rape has taken place. Women have a higher chance of being raped by who they are acquainted with rather than strangers.

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.

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.