BLueRibbon wrote: Mon Jul 08, 2024 3:57 am
What do you propose as an alternative to a flat AoC of 16 or 18? Or do you agree with the current system?
I actually don't like blanket bans for much if anything for a number of reasons:
- They are impossible to nuance about in court, destroying any kind of presumption of innocence. Even in the (rare) case a youth rapes an adult, the adult is punishable for having had sex with the youth (against their will) because of the blanket ban.
- They are discriminatory against youths: When a couple (or more!) of adults decide on sexual interaction, they only have to have consent from each other for the "abuse" label to be rightfully eliminated. When an adult and a youth have sex with each other, however, the government stepped in with the blanket ban and thusly in the best case, they will have to wait a couple of years before their first time. Without close in age exceptions, this even applies between youths.
- They drive youths seeking youth-adult sexual relationships out of the pool of law-abiding adults who seek such relationships, effectively leading to them being far more likely to come into contact with a potential abuser.
- They stigmatize general talk about youth-adult sex, including cases of actual CSA, because if such is spoken out about, the youth may be seen as 'irresponsible". Similarly, if a positive experience is talked about, parents/other adults still have ground to have the adult the youth had a relationship with arrested, effectively ending the relationship.
However, for the moment, given society's structures of parenting and education which are inherently coercive, one cannot assume that a youth of any age is truly able to say 'no' against an offer from an adult (they've been "trained" to obey adults every single day). Thusly, before I would almost abolish the age of consent, coercion of youths should in general be strictly forbidden under strict penalties which may range from extremely high
minimum fines to life imprisonment if such is deemed necessary for the protection of the youth's liberties. Only if that happens can the age of consent be effectively abolished as a blanket ban. This can also generally ease the debate about the age of consent. Thusly, I would propose the following set of rules instead of the blanket ban:
- As a transition measure, sex between adults and youths under a certain age (like 12) is only allowed if the youth requests such or takes the initiative;
- Where roles lead to an inherent power imbalance (like caretaker-offspring or doctor-client), sex is absolutely forbidden for anyone of any age except if the subordinate role requests such or takes the initiative (this does not include a mentorship or a 'live-in caretaker' that the youth voluntarily accepted);
However, it is still very much possible to state an age below which youths are commonly unable to say 'yes' or 'no', which is commonly known to be the age of 2 (remember the 'terrible twos'? They're when a kid learns to say no and resist authority). If an age of consent is essential to passing this proposal, it should be no higher than this age.