Laws that govern sexual activity such as age of consent are put into place to combat against one of the worst crimes that could be perpetrated against another human being. Before looking at the laws and policies surrounding age of consent, a short discussion of Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation will be given to put into context the reasons age of consent is so important and why the age has been recently increased.
Sexual abuse and exploitation is a serious issue that needs intervention. Too many children are put into situations where they are abused or exploited (one is too many!). A study conducted in 1997 reported that the prevalence of Child Sexual Abuse is 16.8% of women and 7.9% for men. There are even some studies that say the numbers could actually be higher due to the hidden nature of this type of abuse. Another study conducted in Canada found 54% of girls and 31% of boys under the age of 21 had experienced sexual abuse! So why the difference in numbers? One reason is how the study defines sexual abuse and exploitation the latter study used a relatively broad definition, so what is sexual abuse and exploitation? Below are common and relatively agreed upon definitions.
Sexual abuse essentially occurs when a child is used for sexual purposes. In Canadian Law charges that can be given to someone who has abused a child below 16 years old include sexual assault, sexual interference and invitation to sexual touching. Consent MUST be given for any sexual activity to occur and the law recognizes that children under the age of consent cannot agree to sexual activity.
Sexual exploitation is another form of child sexual abuse. Child sexual exploitation is the use of child under the age of 18 for a sexual purpose in exchange for some benefit such as money or drugs. Internet luring, and other activities related to the safety of children is also considered exploitation.
Risk for sexual abuse and exploitation of children increases with age, children aged 12 or older make up a third (35.9%) of all reported cases. Does this sound surprising to you? There are so many issues such as prostitution and internet luring being reported. Do you think there is an increase in these activities and will the increase in age of consent help to combat these atrocious crimes?
L.L.
1 comment:
I think that this is just the tip of the ice burg and that the issues surrounding sexual assault and more specifically child sexual assault are very complex. I do not believe at this time that raising the age of consent will have an impact on the rates of sexual abuse of children. This form of assault is often not reported and I fear the numbers are much higher then presented here. We know that Canada has a 6% reporting rate for adult sexual assaults. Children face larger barriers to reporting so I can only imagine what they could be. I think the money that was put into changing this policy could have been better spent on educational programs in schools, looking at the justice system and conviction rates, and more programs for victims of sexual assaults.
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