Emily E. Silva
Should the age of consent be lowered to 16 of age to consult in sexual activity?
Underage Sexual Consent
Everyone should understand the boundaries of what consent implies. But some others believe underage consent is a great priority in society or is ether to be tossed aside. Should we make a difference?
Main issues being overviewed
Why consent is such an important topic to be raised?
What problems do these underage individuals face?
Do they regret their mistakes?
Do they have resources provided among them before engaging?
Does consent define who they are as a person?
Results of Survey
A great amount of students within Curie believed that age of consent should not be lowered to 16 of age (64%) and about (36%) disagreed with that statement. This helped me give an better perspective of the different opinions on the matter. They claimed that underage consent is a topic younger individuals should take accounted for before making drastic choices. They should be provided the needed resources for their better understanding of the genre which can cause an life changing event upon themselves.
Interview Summary
This interview we condemned the thoughts/opinions of 19 year old Daisy Silva who is an college freshmen in college. She wants to share her behalf on the subject and encourage others to do the best of themselves. The main objective of this interview is share what females have faced and the impact it has on them. Daisy Silva understood how important consent is given between both partners especially at such an fragile age.During the interview she was asked "Is consent something that younger individuals should be more aware about? "her response was "I think young students should learn the values of consent especially during an relationship when those play an big role in that relationship and that you shouldn't be afraid to say no,to speak your mind."Another questions that provides why underage consent isn't a great idea is "Do you think you have a better understanding of consent especially at such a crucial age when your still learning things along the way? "her answer is"I believe a lot of younger kids don't have the right information given to them or have the help they need to understand what's right and wrong. Especially when many aren't focused on that as serious especially when your still developing as a minor."Both of these questions provides an better understanding why minors don't have the mentality or guidance to make these important choices by themselves especially consent at a vulnerable age.
My Personal Opinion
When we were children these thoughts never crossed behind our heads until we grew older to better understand the reasoning behind it.Even then younger individuals as young as 12 years old are taught sexual education up to sophomore of highschool,yet don't have a better understanding from right to wrong or the needed guidance to help lead them.Many young women are being taken advantage of at such a innocents age granting their dignity to someone who doesn't look out for them but their selves.
I believe that ever since 16 consent of age came to view it caused many problems to arise. Whether it was unwanted pregnancies, being taken advantage of from older individual or not having the mentality to make the best decisions among ourselves.
Have you ever believed that the age of consent should be lowered to 16 of age to consult in sexual activity? So many young underage women are encountering these issues of teen pregnancy and peer pressure due to the fact no one is sharing this problem leading to no changes. As i investigated this issue further I conducted a survey that asked students if they believed the age of consent should be dropped down to 16 year of age to involve themselves in sexual activity. About 16 out of 25 agreed that underage individuals should be prohibited from engaging in intercourse.Although consulting in sexual activity is a personal decision. That should not stop people from thinking the best decision for themselves, there are several reasonable methods as to why it’s not a good idea to consult in sex as a minor.Some of the main points are:unexpected pregnancies that can lead to drastic measures, teen make unmined decisions due to peer pressure compared to an mature adult than a teen still undergoing maturity, finally the idea of grooming can come into face whether the individual trusts an adult and undergoes being taken advantage of.
First and foremost having a tough situation where undergoing sex without unexpected pregnancies isn't something fit for everyone. One of my sources insinuated, “In sum, the basic flaw in the “logic” of those who compare the age of consent to sex with the age of consent to abortion is that children deserve protection from those who would exploit their immaturity for self-gratification, while forcing a girl to gestate a fetus when she wants her pregnancy to end or forcing her to abort her fetus against her will both entail variants of involuntary servitude and bodily invasion.(Tribe)”It is giving an example of children undergoing these difficult situations but isn't alone facing these problems. They need a better understanding of the knowledge of sex before they find out the hard way, making irresponsible decisions for themselves. Especially if they don't have control over their body,determining whether they will resort to abortion as their last option or coming to terms of keeping the baby which can result to complications among themselves and their families especially if they don't have the right to determine that option for themselves. Why is this a consistently problem for minors? Everyone deserves to have a chance to be understood.
Along with having pregnancy scares,not being able to make smart decisions due to peer pressure and maturity can cause drastic problems.One of my sources inferred, “There is a scientific argument for modifying consent laws. Though laws placing minimum ages on contracts, and sexual consent, were created before we knew that science, lawmakers intuitively (if inconsistently) recognized that teenagers do not make decisions in the same way adults do.
We now know that the teenage brain does not finish maturing until sometime in the mid-20s. Neuroscience and psychosocial evidence confirms that teens can make cognitively rational choices in “cool” situations — that is, when they have access to information, face little pressure, and possibly have adult guidance. Teens make decisions differently in “hot” situations that involve peer pressure, new experiences, and no time for reflection(Dorbac paragraph 5-6)”.It is giving an example how teenage face these rational choices but doesn't understand the causes behind them. This goes to show how minors will put up a fake persona because they wanna be seen as a “cool” individual and put their personal to the side since its not their main priority.Making something as serious as not having the proper supervision or guidance in such a desperate situation, isn't something that should ever be set to a side and this needs to be put to an end which is exactly why minors shouldn't be condoning underage sexual consent. There would be many more healthy mentality and safe body regulations if they understood that underage sex isn't always as good as it seems. Why are these minors having sex if they don't understand the consequences behind it? They deserve to have positive guidance to keep them safe.
Lastly, with having pregnancy scares, peer pressure and maturity, the idea of not understanding if you can trust an older individual can lead to severe affairs like grooming. One of the sources implies, “Lowering the legal age of sexual consent would decriminalize a large number of ‘underage’ young people engaging in sexual intercourse. It is an offence for anyone to have any sexual activity with a person under the age of 16.Further, it is an offence for a person aged 18 or over to have any sexual activity with a person under the age of 18 if the older person holds a position of trust (for example, a teacher or social worker) as such sexual activity is an abuse of the position of trust(Graham).”It is giving an example how older individual have no right to have sexual intentions with an minor whether consent was situated. This goes to show how many people will take advantage of a minor,putting aside their age range to engage in sexual relations. Which is exactly why minors shouldn't be focused to consent to sexual intercourse with an adult due to being manipulated and trusting that older individual which can cause further assault in the future. Why do predatory adults think its okay to have sex with an underage minor? Just cause they said yes, doesn't mean it's right.
Therefore, the age of consent shouldn't be lowered to 16 of age to consult in sexual activity. Many believe otherwise but due to the fact of the circumstances that minors face such as pregnancy scares, peer pressure/maturity and the idea of being used to a advantage to a predator of grooming, it isn't a great step to take forward on these young, unguided minds.
Paragraph 1:Tribe, Laurance H. “Should the Age of Sexual Consent Be Lowered?” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 3 Aug. 2019, https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/should-age-sexual-consent-be-lowered-ncna1038916.
Paragraph 2:Drobac, Jennifer A. “Age-of-Consent Laws Don't Reflect Teenage Psychology. Here's How to Fix Them.” Vox, Vox, 20 Nov. 2017, https://www.vox.com/the-big-idea/2017/11/20/16677180/age-consent-teenage-psychology-law-roy-moore.
Paragraph 3:Graham, Philip. “Against the Stream: Lowering the Age of Sexual Consent.” BJPsych Bulletin, Cambridge University Press, Aug. 2018, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6436061/.