Sex with an underage persons classified as rape...?

Question

I believe it is stupid that having sex with a person underage is always and immediatly classified as 'rape'. I'm not implying that underage sex shouldn't be taken seriously but find it extremely unfair that regardless of the situation the burden is always placed upon the person of age and therefore they are labeled a rapist ....Agree or disagree?
Please feel free to express your thoughts.

I'm not talking about 40 yr olds with 15 yr olds... i'm talking about say 14/15 yr old with a 16/17/18 yr old..... what happens if they are a girflriend and boyfriend i mean really you suddenly mature over night once you turn 17 do you? if you have tell me coz you the only person i know whos done it.

Answer 1

I agree, it is stupid that teenagers are not supposed to have sex, and it's unfair to call it rape if they do when they choose to, and are ready to. Heck, the hormones are raging, the bodies are perfect, teenagers are designed to have sex, its a biological imperative. Making them wait is cruel and inhuman punishment.
That's why the federal law states that, as long as the younger person is 12 or older, then as long as the older person is not more than 4 years older, it is not rape. that's called commensurate age, or something like that. The age of consent in most places is 16, but that is for sex with adults. With other teens it's with others near their own age.
That rule takes care of the problem of older people taking advantage of their power over kids.
The reason I agree with you is that when I started having sex with the man who I eventually married, I seduced him, even though he was older than me. but if the law had objected, it would have been him that got in trouble.

Answer 2

Most first-world countries have a "close-in-age" rule where if one sex partner is under the age of consent (18, 16, whatever) and the other one is within say 5 years of age of the underage partner then it is considered entirely legitimate consensual sex. So for example if the age of consent is 18, one partner is 16 and the other partner is 21 then it is not considered rape, but if the older partner is 22 then yes it is considered statutory rape. I feel that these kinds of laws are far more reasonable and in-touch with the realities of healthy, normal human sexuality. Canada has something like this where age of consent is 16, but for 12-15 year olds they can give consent if their partner is within 3 or 5 years, I can't remember which. Probably 3. So 12 could be with up to 15. 13 and 16. 14 and 17. 15 and 18. These are normal ages for teenagers to be dating each other as well, within 1 or 2 grades of each other (like grade 7's and 9's, grade 10's and grade 12's). Far more reasonable. America has some dumb laws when it comes to age of consent. Lots of people in jail for no reason.

Answer 3

I could be wrong, but...
I think the correct term is "statutory rape", sometimes called "corruption of a minor". The law is written and enforced to protect children and minors. The first line of protection for these kids is, of course, parents. Parents and kids need to talk about these type things in a candid way. Kids should take these talks seriously, and realize that any someone could end up in jail for a long time as a result of any wrongdoings. It is NO JOKE!

I agree that the burden should ALWAYS be placed upon the older person. Having sex is not a light-hearted matter, and as soon as a person is old enough to have sex (12? 13?) they should be counseled by their parents about the responsibilities of having sex, and all things that come with it.

If anything is unfair, then place that blame upon your parents for not teaching you properly!

You may not agree with the laws, but the laws are not always easy to make. The lawmakers must consider many things that you don't know about. Before you criticize, why don't you first read up a little bit online, then you might understand more what goes into making a law. It's not an easy matter.

The bottom line is: The law is there to protect the kids. Don't break them, and don't abuse them. It'll only get you in trouble, so why not just practice restraint and patience and just stay out of trouble? Makes sense, don't it? Of course it does!!

EDIT: No one said that anyone suddenly matures at 17. It's silly to think that's what the law means. Cuz no matter what, you have to set the age limit somewhere, right? So let's say you set the age limit at 25. Oh, wow, so you suddenly mature at age 25? See what I mean when I say it's silly to think that way?

This is what I meant when I said when you're obviously not going to agree with the laws and how they're written. You just proved my point.

Let me ask you something that I often ask of people like you who wonder about laws like this.
How would you change the law? You obviously don't agree with it, so this is your chance to not only complain about it, but also change it. So let's see how you would change it. I have an even better idea. Introduce it in another question, then ask for feedback. PERFECT!

Sometimes when I ask that question, people say "well, I don't get paid to do that", or "I have more important things to do". See, people will complain about things, but when you put them to the task, they suddenly lose interest.

Answer 4

The thing is this, once you are legally an adult, you get a whole lot of adult rights, but you also get the responsibilities and obligations that go with them.

One of those obligations is to ebsure that you do not behave in a way that is in conflict with the law.

As the adult, you are expected to know the law and to obey it, even if that means that sometimes you have to not do things you want to!

Having sex with an underage person is a good case in point.

If a person is underage, the law says they cannot make certain decisions for themsleves. Their parents or guardians are responsible for them, and they are treated more leniently in many cases than older people would be.

One of the decisions underage people are not allowed to make is whether or not to have sex. They also can't sign valid contracts.

These things are designed to protect the underage person from being exploited by someone older and more experienced.

Is it always fair? very likely not. Many people who are close to legal age are quite mature, and probably capable of deciding for themselves.

But the law cannot work to make a law on a person by person basis ... imagine how difficult it would be if everyone had a different set of rules which applied to them and them alone!!!

Therefore, the responsibility rests with the legal adult to ensure they do not behave in a way which would break the law. If this means taking the trouble to ensure the person you are having sex with is legally able to consent, or maybe waiting until they are, well that is one of the things that being an adult is about ~ being able to control one's actions and behaviours.

Cheers :-)

Answer 5

I understand the reasoning behind such laws. The government believes that underage people do not have the capacity to fully understand sex, the feelings it provokes, the consequences it has, etc. I also think that, depending on the situation, the underage person can hold full responsibility. I had an instance when I was 15, where I guess you could say I date-raped someone... He was not any older than I was, but who is responsible in that case? We were both underage at the time. I think a lot of investigation needs to be done in order to place blame and responsibility on someone and I think that because law enforcement does not have the time to deal with such things, they automatically blame the older person involved. It is truly unfair, but what are you going to do about it?

Answer 6

I believe it has more to do with an "adult" taking advantage of a person society deems as not capable of making an educated/informed decision.

Although age limits for statutory rape differ state to state, I believe 18 is the legal limit for most states.

I'm fairly comfortable with that.

Now if we are talking about an 18 year old and a 16 or 17 year old different story altogether, and I think most states recognize this, and look at each case based on it's own circumstances.

Answer 7

in va. a 'minor' is under 15 and 'underage' is under 18. 3 years isn't very much chronologically , but mentally, it's a world of difference.
'rape' would be of someone between the ages of 15 and 18; under 15 is 'child molestation'.

now, i can see if 2 young people between 15 and 18 get together , but a 50 year old man with a 16 year old girl (even 17 or 18) is a bit 'off color' for me. but it's not always 'illegal'.

Answer 8

I agree with you. I heard there was a kid 17 that was charged with rape of his 16 year old girlfriend, which is stupid as hell. I mean, I'm not encouraging people like 45 years old to go and have sex with 16 year olds, but with that, it's completely different. The 45 year old would be experienced and should know better... but in the 16-17 year old situation, both are teens growing up and experimenting together at the same generation.

Matter of fact, this is a good topic. I think I'm going to write about it in my sex blog at http://datcurious.com hope you check it out sometime...

OurBS.com
http://datcurious.com

Answer 9

There needs to be some law in place. I think that a difference of 3 years should be the law. So if someone is 15... then 17 is legal. If they are 16... then 18 is legal. Once your 18 do whatever you want.

Answer 10

I see what your saying but the truth of the matter is that it is rape and the person of age should know this,it's the law for heaven sakes and they should know the consequences and the label it carries if he/she should get caught doing so regardless of what the under aged person believes or not.Yes there are a some under aged people having sex,willing with older people but again that doesn't mean that they understand the severity of it all,they are just kids and it's clear in that kind of relationship that neither the older or younger person understands what love really is and it speaks volumes about the older persons character.You have to ask yourself, why would an older man/woman want to have a sexual relationship with a child.

Answer 11

Since a minor really isn't mature enough to make a decision using their head and not their heart, it is the adults responsibility to do so. As said above, the law is the law and sometimes the law is not fair but it's also not fair to take advantage of a minor. They are too vulnerable and besides everyone knows boys who are between the ages of 16-18 have the fantasy of being with an older woman. That's where the term milf comes into play. lol.