Unfair Statutory Rape Laws For Teenagers Common sense seems to dictate that statutory rape laws are too tough on teenagers. Most people in our society do not realize that they break the law everyday. It is often said that statutory rape is committed a lot more than the people hear about. Teens that go to the same school as their younger mate, are getting arresting for the consensual interactions that they are doing. Statutory rape is when someone underage is sexually active with an “adult” meaning 17 or older. It has become more serious in some cases more than others. Teenagers between the ages of 14 and 18 go to high school together; therefore, some will get involved with one another depending on their feelings. The law of statutory rape is impacting our society by the law arresting teenagers and charging them like they are adults, when it is not their fault; they go to school with the minors. After looking at all the research, it seems as if they charge teens more than they charge the actual adults (of ages 20 and older). Law officials should think twice before arresting teens who are still in high school and have not done anything truly wrong; they should start putting more fault on the actual adults that know better. Some Americans believe the law needs to be tougher on teenagers; since teens nowadays feel that they should be treated as adults by their peers and their parents. Parents of underage children sometimes take it above and beyond to charge 18 and older of statutory rape. Parents and the law officials, think that the teens should not have any ease off the statutory rape law. Why should teens still be considered “children” when they always rub and throw in peoples face how they are adults. If wanting to be treated like... ... middle of paper ... ...e ninth grade girl is still kind of clueless that these things can not just happen. The older man should have gotten more consequences than he received (4 years in jail). Teens who are tied up in their education do not have time for unnecessary court dates when they have a test once a week or so. Education is too important to mess around with, so why would they even trouble these are hard school working teens with this. Teenagers still should have the chance to grow up and to experience “love” and relationships without their life being jepordized by other parents because they are unhappy about their children's relationship. In other words, they should not be considered an “adult” because they really do not understand the law or what is actually going on in life. Twenty years of age would be more of an appropriate age that people can actually be considered an adult.
In today's society juveniles are being tried in adult courts, given the death penalty, and sent to prison. Should fourteen-year olds accused of murder or rape automatically be tried as adults? Should six-teen year olds and seven-teen year olds tried in adult courts be forced to serve time in adult prisons, where they are more likely to be sexually assaulted and to become repeat offenders. How much discretion should a judge have in deciding the fate of a juvenile accused of a crime - serious, violent, or otherwise? The juvenile crime rate that was so alarming a few years ago has begun to fall - juvenile felony arrest rates in California have declined by more than forty percent in the last twenty years. While California's juvenile population rose by a half a million since the middle and late 1970's, juveniles made up less than fifth-teen percent of California's felony arrests in 1998, compared to thirty percent in 1978; according to the Justice Policy Institute. The juvenile arrests have dropped back, even as the population of kids between ages of ten and eight-teen has continued to grow, and the number of kids confined in the California Youth Authority (CYA) has fallen. With all the progress our society has made in cutting back in juvenile crimes there is still a very serious problem. But if locking kids up is the best way to address it, how do we explain a drop in crime when there are more teens in California and fewer in custody? First we must look at the economy around us. With so many job opportunities available more and more teenagers find honest ways to keep busy and make money. Our generation has a brighter future than the generation a decade ago. Next we look at successful crime prevention efforts: after-school programs, mentoring, teen outreach programs, truancy abatement, anti-gang programs, family resource centers. There is evidence that these programs are beginning to pay off. Sending more, and younger teens through the adult court system has been a trend across the country in reaction to crimes, such as school shootings and violent rapes. Yet evidence shows that treating youth as adults does not reduce crime. In Florida, where probability wise more kids are tried as adults then in any other state, studies found that youth sent through the adult court system are twice as likely to commit more crimes when they're release...
Although some would argue that juveniles undergo a series of brain development in which they lose brain cells that control their impulses, risk taking, and self-control (Thompson 46). However this lost during development does not excuse juvenile from their accountability, instead they should acquire special attention, proper nurturing and guidance during development in order to help them make better decisions. Thus teenagers accused of violent crimes should be tried and sentenced justly, regardless of age, to ensure the law's equality and educate juveniles regarding the potential severity of their actions' consequences. That is how we'll be able prevent future acts of violence and crimes from occurring in society.
Society’s role in criminalizing statutory rape cases play a big part on how people look at the different cases. In society everyone expects for a younger girl to be with an older guy, so people may not see a priority in statutory rape laws. “Considering that it is customary for women to date and marry slightly older men” (M.W., 1998). Since it is not abnormal for younger girls and older guys to be together most people do not see an age gap of about three years that big of a deal. But if these people do not report a case of statutory rape then they are technically endangering a minor. Males in society do not see male statutory rape victims as victims. These men look at it as a pat on the back to the young boys who were sexually active with adult women. The men also make comments saying that they wish they could have been in that position when they were young. Some people in today’s society do not understand the priority of really enforcing statutory rape cases unless there is a huge age difference or the victim was a young girl instead of a boy. The media has a big part in which cases will be recognized. The media tends to show female victims and adult male offenders more than they would male victims and adult female offenders. Female offenders should be broadcasted just as much as the men and should not get privileges just because they are women.
Serious crimes such as murder, burglary and rape have raised questions as to whether the young offenders should face severe punitive treatment or the normal punitive measures in juvenile courts. Many would prefer the juveniles given harsh punishment in order to discourage other young people from engaging in similar activities and to serve as a lesson to these particular offenders. However, results from previous studies indicate such punitive measures were neither successful nor morally acceptable. Instead, the solutions achieved have unfairly treated the youths and compromised the society status (Kristin, page 1).
Multiple surveys have proven that 65% of the most ridiculous mistakes made by an adult were made in their teenage years. Adolescents are known to make mistakes, but when punished correctly, instead of repeating, they learn. Most people believe the harsher the punishment the less likely a child will act out again, but through research and analysis of the brain this was proven to not be true. When a teenager goes as far as committing a crime, judgement should still be based on the fact that he or she is still a minor. As a juvenile, doing something wrong , no matter the severity, should be resulted in a punishment that requires them to learn from their mistakes. Charging them as an adult does not have the same effect as sending away an adult to do jail time.
Sexual assault is defined as a type of behaviour that occurs without explicit consent from the recipient and under sexual assault come various categories such as sexual activities as forces sexual intercourse, incest, fondling, attempted rape and more (Justice.gov. 2017). People often become victims of sexual assault by someone they know and trust (Mason & Lodrick, 2013) which is conflicting to the public’s perception and beliefs that offenders are strangers. Women are the main victims for sexual assault and are 5 times more likely to have been a victim of sexual assault from a male (Wright, 2017, p. 93). Men are victims of sexual assault however only 0.7% of men, compared to 3.2% of women, experience some form of sexual assault which highlights how vulnerable women are compared to men. Sexual assault is publicised and exposed in the media, however is often
The statutory rape law states that having sexual intercourse or being involved sexually in any form with a child below the age of sixteen is unlawful and could have charges pressed against as well as face imprisonment in a state prison or correctional facility. The law also states that one gender isn’t recognized more than the other; under the law children should be protected equally. Statutory rape is sex that occurs between an adult and a minor; an adult eighteen years or older and a minor is considered sixteen years or younger. The underlying principle behind the statutory rape law is the fact that children below the age of sixteen are incapable of giving their consent on sexual activities. Although the law states that all children are treated equally under the law, in several cases the court has chosen one gender over the other and the majority of the time the boys are the one who is faced with charges rather than girls (Oberman, 1994)
once the minor has committed a violent crime, they are no longer a kid. The minor had the ability to know right from wrong, but he still chose to commit the heinous crime anyway. Choosing to commit this violent crime means that the minor chose to act as an adult and must be held accountable. Once the minor has made the decision to act as an adult, they must be treated as an adult. If we do not teach minors that what they did has consequences they will never learn. Arguments can be made that minors should not be treated as adults and while these arguments do have merit, they are not my beliefs. In my opinion, minors who commit violent crimes need to be tried as adults. Justice does not discriminate when it comes to age. Right is right, and wrong is wrong and the wrong should be punished equally.
Teenagers do not have what we call “adult” rights therefore they should not be sentenced as one. For example in the Article “Kids Are Kids - Until They Commit Crimes” by Marjie Lundstrom she said “It’s a glaring inconsistency that’s getting more glaring by the hour as children as
In today’s society it is not who or whom it is what. Juvenile offenders are now facing a two court system, not only can they be tried in juvenile court for a crime committed. They are now being charged as adults in adult court. Charging a juvenile as an adult has stirred up ...
crimes are committed. In 2008, seventy-three thousand of these violent crimes were committed by juveniles. When you hear about murderers, rapists, and other criminals, automatically, your mind set wants these criminals sentenced to prison for a very long time. There is no second guessing when it comes to these extreme criminals, they should be punished for the severe crimes committed. Now, lets say the criminal was a fifteen year old, suddenly people begin to question if giving them the same sentencing as an “adult” would be appropriate. Many will say it is wrong to try a juvenile as an adult for various reasons, but by committing these violent crimes they stopped being children and should be tried as adults. Regardless of the age, criminals are criminals and they should all be tried the same, age does not define adulthood. Juvenile crimes are no different from adult crimes, teens know the difference between wrong and right, ignorance and foolishness are two different things, if the criminal has the ability to plan out the crime then they will be prepared to do the time.
Today?s court system is left with many difficult decisions. One of the most controversial being whether to try juveniles as adults or not. With the number of children in adult prisons and jails rising rapidly, questions are being asked as to why children have been committing such heinous crimes and how will they be stopped. The fact of the matter is that it is not always the children's fault for their poor choices and actions; they are merely a victim of their environment or their parents. Another question asked is how young is too young. Children who are too young to see an R rated film unaccompanied are being sent to adult prisons. The only boundaries that seem to matter when it comes to being an adult are laws that restrain kids from things such as alcohol, pornography, and other materials seen as unethical. Children that are sent to adult prison are going to be subjected to even more unprincipled ideas and scenes. When children can be sent to jail for something as minor as a smash and grab burglary, the judicial system has errors. The laws that send juveniles to adult prisons are inhumane, immoral, and unjust. Kids are often incompetent, which leads to unfair trials. Adult prisons are also very dangerous for minors, and in many cases this leads to more juvenile crimes.
Others who disagree with statutory rape laws claim that the problem arises when young legal aged men, are sentenced to jail for statutory rape based solely on the age difference between him and his partner. These convicted young men state that once the parents of their younger partner find out about the two having sex, the parents just wanted to punish the men. The argument for the opponents of statutory rape laws declared that some teenagers mature faster than others. Consequently, people no matter the age should able to make their own decisions regarding sex, so long as sex remains consensual by both parties. But then again, how can one prove that the younger teenager is more mature than that of their average age?
It is necessary in some cases to send the juvenile to adult court for prosecution. But it is really hard to keep kids safe in an adult jail. Also by not giving youth their own separate facility they are not getting the proper education that they need to survive if they are ever released from prison (Gerdes 118-122). The Prison Rape Elimination Act had to be passed because so many juveniles were being raped wile in an adult prison. Also being isolated for a long period of time has shown to cause mental health problems more in juveniles than in adults (Ryan 3 of 5). Even when the adult offenders and the youth offenders are separated, youth offenders are isolated. This means that they are locked down for 23 hours a day, no human contact, and never seeing the sunlight. This can cause mental health disorders, depression, and an increase in suicide rates (Gerdes 121-122). By trying juveniles in an adult court, research shows that they were rearrested faster and more frequently than those tried in Juvenile court. Nine out of fifty states are allowing the release of juvenile court records without as many restrictions as before (Edgar 15 of 37). “Developmental studies have shown that youths are ill prepared to participate in adult court proceeding and are unable to adequately recognize the long term consequences of their legal decisions” (Ryan 1 of 5). After the age of 17 the Supreme Court says that it is legal to be t...
Even though it is not possible for someone other than the two people who were in the situation to know what really happened, the penalties for statutory rape should be dependent upon the individual case because it would protect the kids’ futures and help keep a balance between the serious and the less invasive crimes.