Thursday, May 26, 2011
Study: Underage teen boys more likely than girls to be prosecuted for having consensual sex with underage partners
The Crime Victims' Institute at Sam Houston State University has completed a study called "Adolescent Sexual Behavior and the Law" after examining various state laws that have been adopted to protect minors from sexual abuse by adults or peers. The study found that underage teens having consensual, close-in-age relationships are being processed through the courts and as a result often are labeled as sex offenders. Many states have so-called "Romeo and Juliet" laws that decriminalize close-in-age adolescent sexual behavior, but many states do not.
The study also found a disturbing gender bias when teens having sex are legally both the victim and both the offender: "In some states a gender bias in prosecuting offenders is especially prominent when both partners of a sex act are under the age of consent. . . . . it is more common to see the prosecution of only the male." (Adolescent Sexual Behavior and the Law at page 13.)
For example, the study cites an Arizona case where a 13 year old boy was convicted of having consensual sex with his older, 15 year old girlfriend.
http://www.crimevictimsinstitute.org/documents/Adolescent_Behavior_3.1.11.pdf
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For example, the study cites an Arizona case where a 13 year old boy was convicted of having consensual sex with his older, 15 year old girlfriend.
That's proper, because girls mature earlier than boys.
...and the radfems/'poor-me' females still continue to proclaim that society is in all areas biased against females.
off topic:
i know of someone in law enforcement who was accused of sexual assault. he was cleared easily because records indicate that he was on duty at the time. the woman who accused him was about 12+ years older. as an underage teen he had an ongoing sexual affair with her; she was an adult then too in her late 20s or early 30s. of course, no prosecution of her has ever occurred.
atlas
This isn't just in sexual matters - it's in all matters.
A boy and girl set a building on fire playing with matches.
Only one gets prosecuted. Guess which one?
Married couple get "caught" having sex in the park. One gets prosecuted. Guess which one?
Boys are bad, girls are good.
What rock are YOU living under?
That's proper, because girls mature earlier than boys.
Huh?? The whole point of laws such as this is to punish the supposed exploitation of someone who is less mature, right? So, if the girl has matured earlier, doesn't make more sense to prosecute girls rather than boys, especially if the boy is younger?
Not that I support any sort of meddling of this nature by the government, but I'm trying to understand your logic.
Not that I support any sort of meddling of this nature by the government, but I'm trying to understand your logic.
There was no logic, it was sarcasm.
I'm not even convinced girls actually do mature faster than boys, unless by "mature" you mean "like a girl", which is exactly what many feminists mean by the phrase.
From the recent Male Studies conference, Dr. Marianne Legato, MD, spoke on adolescent boys. She is the founder and director of Columbia College of Medicine’s Partnership for Gender-Specific Medicine, editor of the first text on gender medicine, and founder of the journal, Gender Medicine. Her most recent book is Why Men Die First.
"The problem with the adolescent male navigating that difficult transition from puberty to young adulthood is a disconnect in the timing of an abrupt increase in gonadal hormones that occurs in both sexes at the time of puberty, but which for boys produces intense emotional lability, and high intensity feelings, while the part of the brain that develops risk assessment and emotional control and stability, lags well behind. Girls do not have a similar retardation of that center of the brain and therefore are much less likely to incur the kinds of disasters that face adolescent boys until they are 20."
We also know that girls hit puberty earlier than boys. Girls mature faster, not only physically but emotionally. Therefore it is ridiculous to criminalize adolescent males having sex with adolescent females, when females are more in control of themselves. Recall that adolescence is defined as the period between puberty and roughly the age of 20.
For example, the study cites an Arizona case where a 13 year old boy was convicted of having consensual sex with his older, 15 year old girlfriend.
Must be down in Sheriff Arpaio's, the hanging sheriff,(whether you're guilty or innocent) territory.
And btw, in Shakespeare's play we know that Juliet was 13 but he doesn't give Romeo's age and he may have been 30.Every time I've seen that play since I was a kid and it was performed by real professional actors, Romeo never looked like a teenager but always like some guy in his 30's while Juliet was still young looking. Now, why wouldn't they get some teenage actor for the part? Hmm
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