Statutory Rape Laws Should Be Enforced

Statutory Rape Laws Should Be Enforced Teenage Sexuality "Society has a duty to protect underage girls from sexual exploitation by enforcing the laws against rape and statutory rape." In the following two-part viewpoint, Kathleen Sylvester, Jonathan O'Connell, and Dale O'Leary argue that society must protect underage teens by enforcing statutory rape laws on the books in all fifty states. In Part I Sylvester and O'Connell argue that too many teens are having sex too soon and that many of these cases constitute statutory rape. They suggest that if statutory rape laws were vigorously enforced, the number of unwed teen pregnancies might be reduced. In Part II O'Leary maintains that anyone protecting underage girls who have sex with older men should be prosecuted along with the men. Sullivan is director of and O'Connell is policy associate with the Social Policy Action Network, a conservative think tank. O'Leary is a conservative writer, educator, and pro-family activist. As you read, consider the following questions: 1. What percent of girls under 14, according to Sylvester and O'Connell, have had sex with partners three or more years older? 2. In O'Leary's view, what negative experiences are underage girls who have sex with older men more likely to experience? Part I: A recent startling report indicated that one out of every five children has sex before reaching age 15. The report, produced by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, also found that among sexually experienced 14-year-old girls, one in seven has been pregnant. The report prompted worrisome newspaper headlines across the country, renewing the public debate about whether too many young people are having sex too soon. But how should society respond? A closer look at the numbers reveals a troubling reality about the sexual activity of some adolescent girls: Their relationships are with older male partners. The report found that 11 percent of girls under 14 have had relationships with partners three or more years older. Among minorities the numbers double: More than one-quarter of black and Hispanic girls between ages 12 and 14 reported sexual relationships with partners three or more years older. In many cases, the relationships are criminal; they constitute statutory rape. In Maryland, a person cannot legally consent to sex until age 16. Unfortunately, laws against statutory rape are rarely enforced. As a result, adult males take sexual advantage of teens and pre-teens every day in America, usually in plain sight, because the laws are not enforced. The girls often do not appear to be victims—they look and flirt like grown women, and many receive gifts or money. They think they know what they're getting themselves into. But they don't. At the least, "acting out" sexually is a sign of low self-esteem and a hunger for attention. For many troubled girls, however, sexual risk-taking is the consequence of early sexual initiation or child sexual abuse, a cause-and-effect pattern that must be recognized if they are to get the care they need. Poverty is a factor in many statutory rape cases. The risk factors that often accompany poverty, from fragile family structure to diminished expectations and life goals, make poor girls especially vulnerable to both risky sexual behavior and exploitation in the form of unwanted sex. Despite changing sexual values, "promiscuous girls" are still the object of derision and apathy not only from peers but also from educators and parents—the very adults who could protect them. All too often, the only adults who take notice of these girls are ones who would exploit their sexuality. In a 1998 study from Family Planning Perspectives, 25 percent of girls reported that while their first experience with sex was not forced, it was unwanted. The younger a woman was at the age of her first sexual intercourse, the more likely she was to report it as unwanted. Relationships between 12-, 13- and 14-year-old girls and sexually mature men are inherently unequal, often coercive and almost always damaging. In addition to the roughly 80,000 teen pregnancies resulting from these illegal relationships each year, young girls in these relationships are more likely to drop out of school, suffer from low self-esteem, become depressed, engage in delinquent or criminal behavior and become addicted to drugs or alcohol. While most communities have ignored the problem of statutory rape because it seems too complicated to solve, some have tried to address the problem. They have developed prosecution guidelines that take into account such factors as the age gap between partners and the use of alcohol or drugs to coerce sex. Some states use federal welfare funds to educate officials about the nature of the problem and strategies for helping young girls cope with the aftermath of these relationships. States also are trying to increase communication and trust between the social service providers who report cases and law enforcement officials who prosecute offenders. And public awareness campaigns, including Michigan's hard-hitting "Rob the Cradle and Get Yourself a Brand New Crib" slogan, have been common in recent times. These strategies have put some men in jail and helped many young girls heal. If we wish to reduce sexual activity and pregnancy among our teen-agers, especially minority teens, we must start by acknowledging that the sexual activity in question is often a crime—and should be treated like one. Part II: As I was waiting for the clerk to ring up my purchase my eyes fell on the "We Card" sign. I thought how far this country has come in protecting children from the dangers of smoking. When I was in high school, my school set up a "smoking area" so that students who smoked wouldn't do so in the lavatories. Brain scans now prove what parents have long known, the brains of adolescents are going through physical changes, which impair teenagers' ability to understand the consequences of their actions. Society has therefore put age restrictions on high risk activities—such as drinking, driving, smoking and sex. For example, in most states sex with a girl before her 16th birthday is a felony, even if she is willing. In December of 2004 the National Center for Health Statistics released its report on teenage sexuality. According to the study, 26.8 percent of girls had their first sexual intercourse before age 16; for 5.7 percent of these first intercourse occurred before age 14 and of these 18.1 percent said the intercourse was not voluntary and 36.5 percent of their first male partners were 4 or more years older. Underage girls who have sex with older men are more likely to experience negative outcomes. They are more likely to become pregnant, to drop out of school, to abuse drugs or alcohol, to be lured into prostitution, to end up on welfare, to be victims of domestic violence, or attempt suicide. They also have more sexual partners over time, which exposes them to a greater risk of contracting an STD [sexually transmitted disease]. We are currently in the midst of a pandemic of sexually transmitted diseases. In 2000, 9 million cases of STDs were reported among persons 15-24. While condoms are touted as the solution, they provide little or no protection against cancer-causing human papilloma virus, incurable herpes or infertility-causing gonorrhea. Society has a duty to protect underage girls from sexual exploitation by enforcing the laws against rape and statutory rape. The goal of such enforcement would not be to fill the jails, but put fear into the hearts of males who see underage girls as easy targets. The [perpetrator] should not be rewarded because his seduction was successful. Unwillingness on the part of the girl to testify because she thinks she's "in love" should not prevent prosecution. DNA evidence can determine the perp's identity. Current sex education programs focus on teaching girls to say "no" or, worse, negotiate "safe sex." Prosecuting statutory rape would send a strong message to every male; even if he can seduce an underage girl into saying "yes," he can be charged with a felony. Nor should the perp get off by claiming the girl initiated the activity. Men need to understand that if a girl has not reached the age of consent, it doesn't matter what she does or says, legally she cannot consent. Men should be so afraid of being prosecuted for rape or statutory rape that they start demanding to see a woman's ID before they engage in any sexual activity—a sexual "I card" policy. But prosecuting the men is not enough. We also need to go after those who cover up the crime—doctors, school counselors and, most of all, abortion providers. If an underage girl is pregnant or infected with an STD, a crime has been committed. To treat that girl without reporting the crime and send her back into the same situation constitutes conspiracy with the felon and should be against the law. And what about the attorneys who help underage girls get a judge's approval of an abortion without parental notification? These lawyers and these judges should be forced to turn the evidence over to the police and the police should be forced to investigate and prosecute. Some jurisdictions are attempting to protect girls. Against this, however, the abortion advocates are fighting to protect their business. When Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline sought records from abortion clinics in order to enforce Kansas laws against sex with girls under 14, the abortion clinics got an injunction to prevent him from looking at the files of underage girls who had abortions. Mark Crutcher of Life Dynamics tested 800 abortion providers to see how they would react when a girl called, claiming to be 13 and pregnant by a 21 year old man, and asked if her abortion would be secret. In the vast majority of cases the person at the abortion clinic answering the phone informed the girl that her "boyfriend" was at risk for being arrested and then gave her instructions on how to conceal her and his age when she came in for her abortion. If half as much energy went into preventing the sexual victimization of underage girls as presently goes into preventing smoking, we would see dramatic changes in the physical and emotional health of our most vulnerable young women. But this won't happen until the public becomes outraged.