Statutory Rape A Legal Matter - 2047 Words

Statutory rape is a legal matter in which an individual has sexual intercourse with a minor. Although the statutory rape law is to protect any individual from being sexually abused by an older individual sexual assault is mainly geared towards protecting women. Even though having sex with a minor is illegal it is possible in some states to have sex with a minor with valid consent. If an individual is caught having sexual intercourse with a minor the penalties may result in serving time in a state penitentiary or a correctional facility. Statutory rape is patronizing to girls and recriminating to boys because, many individuals believe that girls do not have the mental composite to consent to sexual activities, but boys have uncontrollable†¦show more content†¦The law also protects children under the age of 12, which would result in the defendant being charged with rape. â€Å"The number of men serving within prisons for statutory rape has a big difference between the amount of women serving prison time for statutory rape. There are hardly any women reported or sued for the same crime. The law does hold the same penalty for both sexes for statutory rape† (Russell 507). Basically, the majority of individuals argue that the statutory rape laws are patronizing to the girls and discriminatory to the boys. There have been many reasons proving this may be true. Although statutory rape laws are not only to protect women, but also men from sexual abuse, there have been many times that boys have been sexually abused by females and it has been ignored. This shows that statutory rape laws discriminate towards boys. Most times statutory rape cases are charged against young teens which means that young teens should be taught at an early age that sexual activity is not only wrong, but also illegal because, Instead of charging these young teenagers with a statutory rape crime they should be provided with counseling rather than imprisonment or being labeled as a sex offender for the rest of their lives. Although the laws for statutory rape are discriminating towards boys and patronizing towards girls it may not always be the boys fault because,