Stachatory Rape Laws; are they fair?

Question

Should a 18 year old go to jail for having sex with a 16 year old? How old should you have to be before you can decide if you wanna have sex or not. I just think it's unfair that when ur 18 you can go with a 50 year old, but when ur 16 you can't go with a 19 year old legally.

Answer 1

Well, I say, "Don't do anything you can't spell."

Answer 2

Here's a thought, when you're 18, you can legally purchase cigarettes and participate in activities you couldn't do before reaching the age of majority. Why, as a newfounded adult, would you want to be boffing teeny boppers? The few years between 16 and 18 are filled with maturity, wisdom, and experience (hopefully!) and while it may not seem like much, those few years make a big difference. At 18, you're looking forward to your adult life, at 16, you're dying to date that cute guy and convince grandma to buy you a car.

See the difference?

Anyhoo, Statutory (correct spelling) rape laws are there to protect CHILDREN, as in anyone under 18, because, they are still CHILDREN.

Answer 3

The intent of statutory rape laws is to protect children who are too young to give consent to sex.

The biggest problem isn't the 18-16 split, and many states and countries already have exceptions where the people are close together in age.

The biggest problem is the strict liability -- a person can be held criminally liable even if the under-aged person LIED about their age and showed false ID to indicate they were above the age of consent.

Very few jurisdictions have a "good faith" exception for people who do their best to follow the laws, and are deceived by the younger person. That needs to change.

Answer 4

Its called Age of Concent, and if you don't like the laws where you live move, its not the same age everywhere.