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Research - Young Males and Rape

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Out of all the different criminal acts of the world, statutory rape seems to be one of the most important according to recorded statistics. Over 683,000 women are raped per year (National Woman’s). Out of all women who reported being raped, 54% were under the age of 18 (National Woman’s). All rape victims deserve peace and tranquility. The perpetrators deserve to pay their time. My concerns are with the judicial system and the biased part of the Statutory rape law. The statutory rape law is biased in that there are not many women that are reported or sued for statutory rape. According to (Russell 507), the statutory rape laws does not hold similar penalty for both sexes. Russell states that the statutory rape law favors women. His claim rests on his assumption that very few females have actually been prosecuted for allegedly insulting minor males sexually. Any person under the age of sixteen that is involved in any sexual engages other than a kiss is considered a victim and their offenders can be prosecuted. Blacks Law Dictionary 1288 (8th ed.2004). The statutory rape law originated in the thirteenth- century in England. It was first developed to prohibit sexual activity between adults and girls under the age of twelve. It only restricts male’s sexual relations with a young female. Meaning, it was not yet a crime for an older women to have sexual relations with a young male. This law also helped the father to restrict his daughter and keep her chastity. A non-virgin female was not as popular as a virgin Female, after awhile many states decided to rise their consent age to protect young girls. Some states rose their legal consent age to twenty-one. In the 1970s, some feminists argued that the Statutory rape law should not be gender specific. Finally, they said it should protect all juveniles. A juvenile is anyone under the legal consent age. In California, an appellate court upheld an order (San Luis Obispo Count y v. Nathan J., 1996) forcing a 15- year old boy to pay child support to his rapist after she became pregnant and gave birth. In the state of California, a minor is anyone under the legal age of eighteen. Unlawful sexual intercourse is an act of sexual

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