Statutory Rape (Essay Sample)

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Statutory Rape
In a normal society, people have different attributes and desires. Crime is among the factors that constitute to a normal society; criminal activities are considered activities that are in contrary to the law provided to guide coexistence within a society. Rape as a crime has a common occurrence and is relative to most societies; statutory rape is among the most prevalent forms of rape in California and the world at large. Statutory rape involves having sexual relations with a person below the age of consent, it is considered that the person below the age of consent is not able to legally consent to sex and thus any encounter with them is a violation of their rights as well as the law. Statutory rape can be in two ways, between an elder male and a female minor or between an elder female and a minor male (Troup et.al, 35)
There has been a trend to try and increase the ages of the minors protected under statutory rape in several states. Statutes tend to differ from state to state under the federal government; most of the states however have young people between the ages of 14-18 particularly protected by statutes. Some of the states have consent ages lowered to 16, 17 or held at 18 (Cocca, 44). This means that what is considered statutory rape in one state may not be necessarily considered as rape elsewhere and vice-versa. The law also considers the age difference between the defendant and the minor or the minimum age of the minor; this is important in some instances so as to have sexual relationships between the teenagers considered as peer sex other than statutory rape (Richards, 23). Some of the age considerations in the states include a 3-4 years maximum age difference between the minor and the defendant; cases in this age difference bracket may be not considered as statutory rape as compared to an age difference of 15 years between the minor and the offender (Cocca, 63). There are also underlying factors that to be considered in statutory rape, some of these factors include the use of drugs and alcohol as well as pregnancy. If there is evidence that the minor was under the influence of alcohol or on drugs provided by the defendant prior to the sexual encounter, the case may take on another level. It can be considered that it was the intention of the defendant to intoxicate the minor so as to lower their consent (Richards, 47). In some states, pregnancy is considered; if the minor is female and gets pregnant following the sexual relations, some states consider ordering restitution costs for the pregnancy that will have the male defendant financially provide for the child (Richards, 61). This has however raised questions as some interested parties argue that this might result to the freedom of the offenders who are able to pay while the poor offenders are sent to jail. This shows an aspect of buying the law while others argue that this might indeed increase statutory rape prevalence.
Emotional and psychological imbalances can be considered as catalysts to the sexual relations. It has been observed that women who engage in sexual activities in the adolescent ages tend to have older sexual partners at some point (Troup et.al, 57). This brings in the issue of contraception and protection; adolescent women in sexual relations with elder partners are less likely to use protection and thus leading to higher cases of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases as compared to peer sex. Majority of adolescent women who engage in sexual activities have been observed to come from disadvantaged families and thus constituting to their vulnerability as they can be easily lured into sexual activities with material things like money and gifts that they lack from home (Troup et.al, 66). Research has also shown that most of the adolescent women come from dysfunctional families and tend to relate better and confine with the elder male consequently leading to sexual relations (Cocca, 81). Poor parent relations push the adolescent women into relations with the elder males that may consequently lead to sex. On the other hand, adolescent males that have sexual encounters with elder females tend to come from dysfunctional families as well and they tend to identify with the elder woman as a mother figure which may escalate to sexual relations (Troup et.al, 79). The male adolescents are however considered to identify the sexual relationship as casual and most times do not find it offensive (Cocca, 81). The older defendants have also been found to possess similar characteristics as well; most males who have sexual relations with minors have criminal histories and more so sexual offence. They have also been found to have lower levels of education as compared to their male counterparts. Female offenders on the other hand are found to be suffering with emotional problems or having a history of adolescent sex. These women are more likely to be emotionally disturbed and they turn on the younger males who are seemingly easier to manipulate as compared to elder males (Richards, 78).
Race is also a factor to consider in statutory rape prevalence, it has been observed that the white race has lower rates of statutory rape among the adolescent as compared to black and Hispanic races (Richards, 56). This has been explained based on the societal settings where most white populated societies have been found to have higher levels of education, higher prevalence of functional families as well as sustainable incomes and financial stability (Richards, 59). Statutory rape has been found to be more prevalent in gang infested societies and ghettos, it has been observed that black and Hispanic races have higher presence in the ghettos and gangs. This is characterized by low levels of education among the people, and financial instability, crime rates are also high and morals faded and ignorance of the law is also persistent mostly among the youth (Richards, 72). Statutory rape prevalence has a huge correlation to the kind of society victim hails from, as well as the offender but the cases can be mostly be analyzed from a personal perspective (Troup et.al, 88). Sensitization among the noted influencers should be upheld so as to facilitate for better and informed decision making among the people; regardless of the background, statutory rape cases will be addressed based on the defendants and victims personal choices.
Reporting is vital in such instances of offence, the victims of statutory rape may be ignorant of their rights and fail to report to the relevant authorities, there may be intimidation and threats that may hinder the victims from coming forward, stigmatization and profiling within the society also hinder the victims intent to report forced rape (Richards, 93). Forced statutory rape can take various forms where the defendant might be a family member or a close relative of the victim and thus the victim may be unable to report the offence to their parents or relatives and thus leading to depression (Troup et.al, 72). Certain professions are thus mandated to report cases of child abuse and neglect to the authorities as they have access and the respective training to observe such suffering among the minors. Such professions include schools and medical professions; school teachers are trained to monitor the student’s behaviors and are able to observe when a student is disconnect from their normal nature. The teacher is thus able to approach the student in a professional manner to find out the issue. If found to be a criminal issue such as statutory rape, the teacher has the mandate to report the issue to the authorities for further investigation and action (Richards, 68). Medical personnel also have the mandate to report such cases on behalf of the minors, if a minor is examined in a hospital and found to be sexually defiled or suffering with issues caused in a criminal nature, the hospital personnel have the mandate to report the issue to the authorities (Richards, 68). This provides a protective system in the society which can be used to protect minors from abuse. The minors are also sensitized to confine to an adult of choice who can help report such cases to the authorities.
One of the most recent cases of Statutory rape in California involved a school girl from Fresno High School. A teacher by the name Darren Klassen was discovered to engage in sexual relations with one of his female students. The 17 year old girl recently confessed to her parents about her sexual encounters with her English teacher that began when she was 15. The girl graduated Fresno in June 2015, and reportedly had sexual encounters with the teacher while still in school; she said that most of the encounters happened in the classroom or in a house. The defendant a 46 year old man married with children has since pleaded not guilty to the 37 of sexual crime charges against him ( ). The girl’s parents reported the matter to the police who in their investigations recorded a call from the girl to her former teacher whereby he confessed to the sexual crimes. This case shows the vulnerability of school going children as well as the teacher’s incompetence. The girl states that they started by kissing which later escalated to sexual relations, this leads one to the questions as to why the girl di...