History of Feminism
In reply to the discussion: "Consensual sex" is just sex. [View all]Gravitycollapse
(8,155 posts)For instance, a couple may have one person prosecuted, and I have seen this, for being above age, while the other is underage. That legally constitutes rape. But it can still ethically constitute consensual sex.
Age of consent laws are not as black and white as other laws which define sexual assault. For instance, the act of forcing oneself upon another sexually is rape because that very clearly defines that the victim never gave any form of consent and may even have resisted.
With statutory rape, both parties had the potential to give some form of consent. The law simply does not recognize the consent of the minor. But that is an issue of cognitive capacity. Which cannot always be generalized from age alone.
Whereas we would all argue that a 10 year old could not give consent. What about a 15 year old? At that point, whether or not that person could give consent must be measured by a psychological profile. And what if they find that the person was capable of comprehending the consequences of consent? According to the law, that person was the victim of statutory rape. But by any other measure, it was consensual sex.