MAP Forum

Hi I don’t know about many of you, but I find Romeo and Juliet laws (close in age exception) to be dehumanising, discriminatory and have negative impacts on MAP’s, youth Lib and AAM’s for these reasons.

• 1. It implies that sexual/romantic relationships between teenagers and adults/people much older than the teenager are always abusive, exploitive, manipulative and harmful when sources like Consenting Juveniles shows it not always the case.
  • 2. I find it very dehumanising because your made to feel those who are more closer to your age have more priority or are more entitled to be with you than someone who is from a different age group. I do not like being treated like I am a property or a possession of people who are similar to my age. My body, my choice.
    3 it incredibly discriminatory towards age because it implies adults/people who are much older than the teenager has bad intentions and people who are similar age to the minor doesn’t when testimonies from ‘everyone’s invited’ proves that sometimes children can have bad intentions.
    4. I believe people should be free to hang out with whoever they like and love whoever they like regardless of age or gender etc. So what if a teenager is dating someone who is much older than them; if they are happy, they respect each other and treat each other well and there is no abuse etc. that is all that should matter. I feel Romeo and Juliet laws/close in age exceptions conflict human rights and freedom.
    5. I think with these Romeo and Juliet laws/close in age exceptions, there is a possibility that some MAP’s (particularly pro-c) may be tempted to act on their urges just to prove that age gap relationships between minors and adults can be positive, mutual and harmless and are no different than relationships between two minors: obviously everyone is an individual and all relationships would be different and unique.

I agree.

If the issue is informed consent then they make no sense whatsoever. If you're too young to understand sex, then you're too young regardless of your partner's age.

I get that they're intended to stop young people from going to prison. But why? If it's harmful and traumatic to have sex too young then why is it only adult partners that should be punished for that?

Agreed. Close in age exemptions don't just violate young people's freedom of association, but are also completely arbitrary.

It's sad that it is seen as an "enlightened" position in the mainstream compared to the pedophobia being currently peddled.