NCJ Number
153591
Journal
Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology Volume: 85 Issue: 1 Dated: (Summer 1994) Pages: 15-79
Date Published
1994
Length
65 pages
Annotation
Modern statutory rape laws are based on the assumption that adolescent girls are mature enough to make autonomous decisions regarding sexuality and sexual behavior.
Abstract
This article challenges those assumptions by contrasting them with other legal paradigms governing adolescents and with the current psychosocial literature on adolescence. The first section analyzes modern statutory rape law and documents the decriminalization of sexual activity involving minor girls. The second section explores the treatment of minors in other areas of the law, specifically in decisionmaking involving contracts and medical treatment, and finds an inconsistent approach in the State's mandate to protect minors. The third section describes current research on adolescent development and argues that girls' capacity to consent in sexual interactions is limited. The final section recommends that, given girls' vulnerability to coercion, lawmakers must reconfigure the crime of statutory rape. 346 notes