Download Teen sex laws - Google Sites

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>.