Shaidar Haran wrote:An eleven year old child can't give meaningful consent. Hence if an adult did it, it is by definition rape whether he forced himself on her or not.
This is where I have a problem. It's sick to hear about adults messing around with kids, but what about when kids mess around with each other? Girls I knew growing up were consenting to their same-sage bf at 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15. For the most part these were the girls that went through puberty early and had nothing much else better to do. And what about us guys? I lost mine at 13 and I think I was perfectly able to consent--the girl sure as hell did.
If the inability to give consent is the operative reasion underlying statutory rape law, then why do we not apply the same standard to minors fucking around with minors? Does the fact that both (or more) parties are unable to grant consent free them of any responsibility for their action?
A better justification might hold that statutory rape laws exist to protect those who, for whatever reason, cannot reasonably consent to sex while recognizing that the state is not sufficiently surgical in its application of law to determine who can and can't give consent. At what age anyone would know whether or not it is the right time is, of course, a matter of debate--reflected in varying statutes in the US and around the world. I have a hard time believing that the distribution goes to one after a certain age--there are, after all, mentally ill people who may not understand the ramifications of sex and are therefore unable to reasonably consent to it.
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