There is a scientific argument for customizing consent laws. Though laws placing minimum ages on agreements, and sexual consent, were developed before we knew that science, legislators intuitively (if inconsistently) recognized that teenagers do not make decisions in the same way grownups do.
We now know that the teenage brain does not finish maturing up until at some point in the mid-20s. Neuroscience and psychosocial evidence validates that teenagers can make cognitively rational options in "cool" scenarios-- that is, when they have access to info, face little pressure, and potentially have adult guidance. Teens make decisions differently in "hot" scenarios that include peer pressure, new experiences, and no time at all for reflection.
The first thing we can state, therefore, is that age-of-consent laws that draw a solid line of sexual maturity at 18 or more youthful fail to consider the clinical data.
The difficulty of setting a brightline for consent
To be sure, levels of maturity vary by person; setting one age as the introduction of maturity is constantly going to be a gross proxy. That imprecision helps explain the variety of minimum ages shown in American law. In the political realm, the age of bulk was lowered with the 26th Amendment, which offered 18-year-olds the right to vote, yet still prevents most teenagers from voting. The law likewise limits, to different degrees, teenagers' ability to serve on a jury, wed, drive without parental approval, or file learn more a claim.
Statutory rape is a criminal activity specified at the state level, so the age of sexual consent differs from one state to another. And it can even differ within a state, depending upon the conduct alleged (oral sex versus intercourse, for instance) and whether the adult consort occupies a position of authority (if she or he is a teacher, for instance).
The age of consent has been going up given that the dark ages. Today, a lot of however not all states set it at 16. Still, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals boasts three different ages of consent-- Indiana: 16, Illinois: 17, and Wisconsin: 18. I defy anyone to tell me that teenagers in Indiana are more mature than those in Wisconsin. Possibly Indiana lawmakers just don't believe in the science of adolescent advancement?
The science is clear that in situations including enthusiasm and pressure, teens are more likely to pick short-term benefits and discount long-term consequences. However they might lack important accurate and contextual details, too. They may not know that if they grant sex with their employer at an after-school task, they can not sue under state and federal sex discrimination laws for harassment.
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