One sided cost-benefit analysis

[Outis]

The cost benefit analysis is fundamentally flawed in numerous ways.

Firstly, it is written based on a set of assumptions with no data provided. When doing a CBA you need to be able to evidence to a degree the costs and benefits that are being set out otherwise it's just a marketing document. There's no data, no citations, it's just a series of assumptions which is typically the case when a CBA starts with a conclusion and works backwards.

It would be an interesting exercise to carry out a real CBA on the subject. Bring together some realiable data sets, consider broad costs and benefits and carry out an analysis. I would be fine with a CBA that did that and concluded that the costs are high and the benefits minimal because that would be insightful. But this CBA is far from that, it's clearly written to build a case for a conclusion with no real CBA conducted.

There could be many costs and benefits. An indicator of a good CBA is where there are costs and benefits for both sides since it's extremely rare for any situation to be without any benefit, that's naive in the extreme. There could be benefits from experience leading to reduced fear and anxierty in adulthood around sex just like how binge drinking is generally lower in countries where families drink wine at home when younger. There could be bonding benefits, the act could give young people increased confidence, improved self image, reduces stress from school, more open dialogue with adults about actual abusive situations. There could be many many other benefits. The power of a good CBA is that it collects data and delves deep into all these aspects and lists out real costs and benefits because there will be real costs and benefits, there always is.

I think this would be a great exercise for a small group of researchers here and if data and evidence backed it could feed into academia.