Emancipation
Submitted by F.O.D. on December 18 2000 08:26:34
In reply to Re: circular arguments, perhaps submitted by 194 on December 17 2000 07:40:56
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I've been trying to reason out this whole consent issue with myself. Seems to me the only real solution is a magnification or wider acceptance of the concept of "emancipation", where a child is awarded an adult's rights, is considered legally an adult. I mean, the real issue, or what ought to be the real issue, is keeping those kids from getting hurt who aren't capable of looking after themselves. So the statuatory-rape laws are intended to prevent someone from manipulating, intentionally or otherwise, a kid into having sex with him. The thing being that a kid can aqcuiesce to doing something, while not really wanting to do it. Yes, it's a communication problem, but that's the whole point. It's a mark of immaturity, and that maturity is precisely what differentiates an adult from a child. But the problem with the system as it stands is that it does not differentiate degrees of maturity, it assumes all individuals under a certain defined age are equally immature and incapable of looking after themselves. Which is unfair, but, one can argue, an acceptable unfairness for the sake of protecting those who really are immature. Of course, as mvanhouten pointed out below, the other side of this state of legal undiscernment as that an immature individual older than the legally defined age of maturity can be abused and manipulated with no recourse for legal protection. This whole state of confusion is what leads me to suppose the only real solution is to increase the place of emancipation, where child can demonstrate his degree of maturity and correspondingly be awarded the right to treatment as an adult, the freedom to make his own decisions. But how this could work out in practice, I'm not sure. How do you define "sufficiently mature" ? The set of adult rights so conferred on the young individual would have to be complete, not just about sex. The right to vote, the right to drink alcohol (yes, I thought about that. At first I thought maybe a distinction should be made between "mature thought process" (adult thinking, relevent to voting rights) and "mature physical process" (adult physiology), and wondered if a kid should not be allowed to buy alcohol because of any necessary detriment to his physical growth and development, but then I figured alcohol can devastate you at any age if you abuse it. Being able to be mature about it is the point. Chris, you might have to correct me if I'm looking at the "right to drink" the wrong way, since the struggles you've had with it might help you understand this question better). The right to work, the right to choose if you should go to school. As for my final thought on statuary rape, I quite frankly don't really get it. There are already rape laws. If a kid's been touched without welcome, then upon discovery let the [adult] law of rape and sexual assault be brought upon the head of the molestor. If the kid wanted to be touched and sought it out, then how is society, or the kid, going to be "helped" by making a crime out of it? Fod |
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