Comments on: Yes, Statutory Rape Is Real Rape

By: Book Review: Promises I Can Keep : The Curvature

Book Review: Promises I Can Keep : The Curvature — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 17:42:59 +0000

[...] and their childbearing decisions was not addressed. Another subject that was brushed aside was statutory rape. It seemed that a majority of the particularly young mothers (aged 15 or younger at the time of [...]

By: Haikuu

Haikuu — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 23:43:40 +0000

Etherspirit, I think you are valid in raising that point. I understand where you are coming from, and I for one am an advocate of gender equality. So I can see why you would be raising a point about potential difference in the treating of both male and female in relation to statutory rape. Cara, I don’t think Etherspirit’s intention was to initiate a competition. I believe that the intention was to raise awareness of potential political injustice.

By: Ann

Ann — Sat, 04 Apr 2009 01:02:04 +0000

So a 23 yr old engages a 14yr old in a “relationship”….he gets insistent on having sex but she says no…too young…so he says -ok we’ll wait till your 15 (by now he’s 24!). A week before the 15 years olds bday the guy confesses he slept w/someone else-because he has needs, and she is saying “not yet” to him…apologizes…and because she doesn’t want to “loose” this guy (loser)…at 15 he pushes her again-does it when there are people upstairs…sayign you said we would do this-she is to scared to speak up so they do…statutory rape? What about they continue seeing eachother after that and the first several times after he “pushes” for it…by this time traumatic bonding is created…the girl is devastated by the thought of losing him-goes hell and high water against her parents wishes and sneaks to see him behind their back…the parents tried to seperate them even by moving her to another country-but the “bond” created was too strong….goes on to marry the idiot at 21. Experienced loads of verbal, emotional, sexual abuse….even physical abuse-even while dating. But ignores it because she is so bonded emotionally “trauma bonding” … finally kicks his behind to the curb-2 children later….after having experienced marital rape as well. Free of him for over 5 years…

but yeah…. statutory rape can create HUGE ramifications-it is NOT “just statutory rape”….

By: On Appeasement « The Radical Notion

On Appeasement « The Radical Notion — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 21:02:28 +0000

[...] desire to cover one’s ass and avoid libel, but COME ON. Is marital rape (like date rape or statutory rape) not “real” rape? Journalists’ utter inability to utter the word [...]

By: Faith

Faith — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 13:24:23 +0000

“ut I was 15, 16 at the time, and I think that’s quite different than 6 or even 13. Consent is really something of a continuum, and so, no, I don’t believe that statutory rape should be thrown in with other kinds of rape, at least not when the younger person is 15 or 16 (obviously when they’re 6 or something).”

Once the age drop below around 13 (or prepubescent age), it is no longer legally statutory rape. It becomes child rape, child abuse, child molestation, etc.

By: Cara

Cara — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 19:16:58 +0000

Liberality, I’m so, so sorry that anyone would say something like that to you, or try to mitigate what was done. It happens much too often, to far too many of us, and I’m increasingly horrified each and every time.

By: liberality

liberality — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 19:09:09 +0000

New here. Excellent blog post.

What I hate is that when I tell anyone I’ve been raped and then they want to know when (I was 6 the first time) they say “oh no, you were molested” which I just do not understand. Like molestation is somehow not so bad. Ugh! Rape is attempted soul murder as far as I’m concerned.

By: Eghead

Eghead — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 05:26:05 +0000

This hits a lot closer to home for me than I’d like to admit on a public message board, but let’s just say I’ve had plenty of first-hand experience as the younger partner in such relationships. Yes, that’s plural. I’m definitely not a mentally healthy individual, and I can attribute part of that to those…experiences… but I’m loath to call it rape. I knew exactly what I was doing, and I did it specifically because I knew it was bad for me. This is not to say it should have happened, or that these men aren’t terrible individuals. But I was 15, 16 at the time, and I think that’s quite different than 6 or even 13. Consent is really something of a continuum, and so, no, I don’t believe that statutory rape should be thrown in with other kinds of rape, at least not when the younger person is 15 or 16 (obviously when they’re 6 or something). It’s a very painful, complicated issue, and I don’t think it’s easy to draw lines between what is ‘rape rape’ and what is ’statutory rape,’ and frankly I don’t even think we should try.

By: Anna

Anna — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 21:34:29 +0000

I just wanted to say thank you again for this post. There was a story in the UK news today about a 13 year old who killed herself after being repeatedly raped by a 39 year old man who is currently on trial for raping a 15 year old girl. Not only was it clearly rape due to her age, she said it wasn’t ‘just’ statutory rape – i.e. it was forcible – but the BBC insists on referring to it as sex, despite the fact she herself named it as rape before hanging herself. It made me sick to my stomach. I hate this world.

By: Faith

Faith — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 13:14:02 +0000

““Statutory rape” is bullshit – if you happen to be five and able to consent (okay, that must not happen often), go ahead and have sex. It’s useful as a rule of thumb, as “people below that age are usually unable to consent, so let’s assume they didn’t unless they say otherwise”. But all that matters is whether, in each particular case, the participants consented.”

The point of statutory rape is that people under a certain age cannot give INFORMED consent. People under a certain age are accepted (by rational thinkers) as not being able to understand the impact or consequences of having sex, therefore, having sex with those people is rape.