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Skylar Bosco November 23, 2008 Mr. McClure Informative Paper Using Surprising Reversal The Real Teen Sex Laws As a teenager in high school, I’m aware that sex is somewhat of a common encounter between boys and girls. Sometimes I feel like the last one of my species, virgins being the thing of last year. Now it’s common for guys to be proud of their track record with getting girls clothes off or for girls to discuss openly how many guys they have made out with. Many wouldn’t be quite so open about their encounters if they understood what I’ve recently discovered. What I have found is that many of them are breaking the law. My friends have told me that it was legal to have sex with a guy who was their age. They also have told me that if their parents gave them permission, it was legal. “You could do ‘everything’ but sex and be fine,” they said. Some of the other misconceptions were that a person could only get charged with rape if he or she forced someone to have sex. They were wrong on all counts. Until both partners have reached the age of consent, it isn’t legal to have sex, no matter what the ages are. (Kanabus) Although the age of consent varies from state to state and even from country to country, the age of consent in Kansas is sixteen. (Understanding. . .) The age of consent for homosexuals even varies in some states and countries while some states completely ban sex between people of the same sex. (Kanabus) In some states that age of consent is as low as twelve and in others as high as nineteen. (“Understanding. . .”) The myth about parents saying it is ok makes it legal is not true. Parents don’t make the law. If you tried to tell a police officer that you stole from a convenience store because your parents said it was ok you would still get arrested. It’s the same with the age of consent laws. (Kanabus) Those who say a couple can do “everything” but sex and legal are also wrong. In an article in the Salina Journal, notes that lewd fondling in the state of Kansas is defined as touching with the intent to arouse or satisfy sexual desires. The article also said that lewd fondling, [what many people would refer to as “making out] could result in a felony charge of indecent liberties with a child or unlawful voluntary sexual relations for a teen older than 16 who is no more than four years older than his or her underage partner. Nonforcible sexual intercourse or sodomy with a fourteen or fifteen year old would result in felony charges of aggravated indecent liberties, involuntary sexual activities or criminal sodomy (Matthews). What the article is saying is that even if you don’t go all the way with your partner, if one or both of you are under the age of consent, the older one will be penalized with felony charges (Matthews). The other misconception was that you could only be charged with rape if you forced someone to have sex with you. Wrong again. You can be charged with statutory rape if you are over the age of consent and you have sex with someone who is under the age of consent. (Understanding. . .)) There are all kinds of names for this in other countries and states. Some call it “unlawful sexual penetration” or just “rape” (Kanabus). School counselors and teachers are required by law to report any underage sexual activity. Being charged with statutory rape would mean a felony charge on your permanent record. You would be required by law to tell this to all of your future employers and you would be put on sex offenders list, for all the public to see, for life. (Burrell) All of these misconceptions that teenagers have, led me to wonder how common sex is among teens and how many are breaking the law, the graph in figure 1 shows. . . Figure 1 About seven percent of high school students report having had sex before the age of thirteen. By ninth grade one third of high school students have engaged in sexual activity and by twelfth grade, two thirds (Kim). So why are so many teens doing it? There are a few factors that may be contributing to today’s booming underage sex rate. Students who watch a lot of TV featuring necking, flirting, discussions of sex and sex scenes are much more likely than their peers to have sex. (Stein) Another factor is that the sex boom has become such a big thing that people just assume everyone else is having sex. “You are 2.5 times more likely to have sex by the ninth grade if you think your friends are having sex.” (Calabbia) another factor that contributes to the sex explosion is parents who do communicate often send a missed mixed message. Only one in five young people do not have sex. Parents tell their children not to have sex then give them a condom just in case which sends a mixed signal to the teen telling them its ok to be sexually active (“Understanding. . .”). There are things we can do to slow down the boom in teen sex and thus reduce the likelihood that teens will break the age of consent. First we could improve sex education in schools. Male teens who have received sex education were twenty nine percent less likely to have intercourse before the age of fifteen and fifty nine percent of girls were less likely to have sex before fifteen. (Research Notes. . .) (See Figure 2) Parental values and disapproval of teen sex also seem to delay the onset of sexual activity. (Kim) Perceived parental disapproval may also reduce the risk of teen pregnancy. Health risks can also be reduced through communication within the family. (Calabbia) Figure 2 Sex is rare among very young teenagers, but common in the later teenage years.40 % who have had sexual intercourse at different ages, 1995 As you can see now, the existing teen sex laws create more problems than they solve. Given that over half the population of twelfth and eleventh graders are having sex and given that one in four teenage girls have an STD and probably don’t even know it, it would be wise to focus on the real problems of pregnancy and STDs rather than the trivialities that an archaic, arbitrary age of consent law creates. Works Cited Burrell, Jackie. "Teen, Sex and the Law." About.Com: Young Adults. 2008. ABOUT. 30 Nov 2008 <http://youngadults.about.com/od/legalissues/a/statutoryrape.htm>. Calabbia, Alison. "Teens and Sex." Psychology Today. September 26, 2008. Psychology Today. November 30, 2008 <http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/index.php?term=pto2139.html&fromMod-popular_parenting>. Kanabus, Peter. "Teens, Sex and the Law." AVERTing HIV and AIDS. September 01,2008. AVERT. 30 Nov 2008 <http://www.avert.org/teensex.htm>. Kim, Christine. "Teen Sex: The Parent Factor." Leadership of America. October 7, 2008. The Heritage Foundation. November 30, 2008 <http://www.heritage.org/research/family/bg2194.cfm>. Matthews, Erin. "Risky Business." Salina.com. April 02, 2008. Salina Journal. 30 Nov 2008 <http://www.saljournal.com/news/story/heart-10-21>. "Research Notes on Effects of Teen Sex Education." Wisdom Card. 2008. Organized Wisdom. 30 Nov 2008 <http://organizedwisdom.com/Effects_of_Teen_Sex_Education>. Stein, Rob. "Teen Sex and Television." Washington Post. November 3, 2008. Washington Post. November 30, 2008 <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wpdyn/content/discussion/2008/11/02/D12008110202018.html>. Torres, Janice. "Teen Sex and Pregnancy." Childbirth Solutions. 2008. Childbirth Solutions, Inc.. November 30, 2008 <http://www.childbirthsolutions.com/articles/pregnancy/teensex/index.php>. "Understanding the Age of Consent: At What Age is Sex Legal?." Teen Sex Q&A. April 27, 2004. ABOUT. 30 Nov 2008 <http://www.teenadivece.sbout.com/library/weekly/ganda/blageofconsent.htm>.