A
female
age
26-29,
anonymous
writes:Just want to clarify, I don't want to have sex. I just think its unrealistic.Do you think it'll stop anyone? No one will call the police. Especially if their both underage. I know why its there and all, but I also know a pregnant eighth grader. The law didn't stop them. On the show "The secret life of the american teenager", Amy gets pregnant at age 15. I know kids shouldn't have sex that young, but it still didn't stop them. What I am asking is basically do you think it'll work? I honestly doubt it. Reply to this Question
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female
reader, YouWish +, writes (9 October 2011):
 Like I said, that varies state to state. Most of the time, if both are underage, as long as one isn't under the age of either 10 or 12, usually it's not legally prohibited for two underage kids to have sex. A very dumb idea? Absolutely.
Sex is a major risk, and it's like a couple of 5 year olds playing with a chainsaw to go out and have sex at the age of 13-15. Pregnancy, STD, and did I mention pregnancy? Not worth the risk. Best to explore alternatives that don't involve the sperm meeting the egg, if you know what I'm saying. I know you're not planning on having sex, but don't let any other guy convince you otherwise!
However, look up the laws in your state. A three year age difference (i.e. 13 with a 16 year old...14 with a 17 year old) can be legally actionable, even though both are underage. Typically, the legal ramifications are on the older party.
The age difference between an underage and someone older is taking advantage of the power and influence imbalance. A 13 year old girl is typically less able to defend herself or is afraid of being overpowered by a man in his 20's-30's or even a 17 or 18 year old. A 13 year old isn't even done growing! Usually you see the older party as a guy, but in my opinion, an older woman (i.e. a teacher like Mary Kay Latourneau who is 34 having sex with a 13 year old boy) is just as culpable and deserving of a statutory rape charge as an older man and a younger girl.
A
reader, anonymous, writes (8 October 2011): This is verified as being by the original poster of the questionThanks! It really helped. I have one more question, if they're both underage and the parents find out, do they have a leg to stand on in court? Would the guy actually get into trouble? Girls usually want it just as much as the guy. And if they're both underage, couldn't the boy's parents press charges as well?
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A
female
reader, Battista  +, writes (7 October 2011):
I think, as others have pointed out here, that you need to look at it from a slightly different angle.
An age of consent is a signal to those over that age limit that they should not be having sex with a minor. Thereby, it is a criminal offence for an adult to have sex with a child, who isn't deemed legally capable of giving consent. The law is there to offer protection to vulnerable youngsters.
It's not all about simply stopping young teens having sex with each other, that's a bit simplistic.
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A
female
reader, So_Very_Confused +, writes (7 October 2011):
 the laws are the laws...some work some don't
there is a law that says you can't hit or kill another person.. doesn't stop folks
there are laws that say you can't steal... does not stop some people.
there are laws that say you have to pay taxes.. some folks don't.
drugs are often illegal, doesn't stop folks from using them if they want/need to.
same thing with sex
two teens having sex is NOT a good idea but it happens.
I think that the laws are more in place to protect children from predators...
13 and 14 year old girls who seek the love and comfort of men over age 18 who will have sex with them and use them...
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A
female
reader, KittieS +, writes (7 October 2011):
 It's there to protect young people, and to prevent older men sleeping with young girls.
At the end of the day it's not going to stop teenagers who are ready for sex from having sex, but can act as deterrent. Your in the US but incase any teens are In the UK, in the UK a 15 year old boy who has sex with his 15 year old girlfriend can still be prosecuted. But the parents of the girl would need to inform the authorities.
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A
female
reader, chigirl  +, writes (7 October 2011):
 The law works. And, police does get involved. They just haven't been involved as far as YOU can see. The police/authorities gets involved when people did not follow the law.
If an underage has sex with an adult is is called statutory rape. That's right, it is considered rape. That will go on that mans/womans record if it is found out, and will affect him/her. If you have a record there are lots of jobs you can not take, for example.
Just because you haven't seen any involvement of authorities doesn't mean they aren't getting involved. It's just that, as you might understand, these things are hushed down and take place in private. If two underaged people have sex and it is found out, the parents will take action, or in the worst case the authorities get involved. Meaning, in Norway at least, lengthy conversations with strangers from the various institutions for child protection service for example, or conversations with the police, and it is all very embarrassing! Of course these kids wont talk about it to anyone else, let alone an outsider like you. Which is why you never hear about it.
And TV shows are TV shows.
The law is there primarily to protect those who are under age. And I believe that it does work. If that law wasn't there who knows how many adults would have tried to manipulate their way into your pants by now.
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A
male
reader, Sageoldguy1465 +, writes (7 October 2011):
 I think the operative phrase in your submittal is "... do you think it'll work? " By that, I mean, how will you tell if it is "working?" And THAT is a pretty inexact item to quantify....
What DOES "work" is that it raises the specter that for those who are OLDER there is RISK in engaging in sex with underage, naive and impressionable young people... The law "works" when it PREVENTS those incidents from happening... and it "works" when those (older people) who DO engage in sex with underage kids are PUNISHED for it, IF they are found-out....
It's not perfect "law".... but it's an attempt to keep young people safe(r)....
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male
reader, Jmtmj  +, writes (7 October 2011):
 http://www.dearcupid.org/question/i-dont-understand-why-the-law-dictates-the.html
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female
reader, YouWish +, writes (7 October 2011):
You're from the US. The law varies state to state.
To be broad, if you are 13 and had sex with someone who was 14, it's not against the law. If you're 14 and had sex with someone who was 18, that would be statutory rape, because as a minor, you are legally unable to consent.
In some states, it would also be considered statutory rape for someone older than you by three or more years to have sex with you. This means if you were 13 and the guy was 16, he's at risk.
Usually the younger person is not arrested, as they are considered the victim in the crime. Now, you can definitely see where a 15 year old girl having sex or even soliciting sex with a 37 year old guy would be universally recognized as a sex crime for that 37 year old.
You'd be surprised at what causes a parent or a school official or another trusted adult to call the police in these situations.
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A
male
reader, anonymous, writes (7 October 2011): From what I have seen this law mainly helps angry parents punish their daughter's teenage boyfriend because they don't like him. Especially when he is a member of a racial minority and she isn't.
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female
reader, anonymous, writes (7 October 2011): The law doesn't stop them, but it's there so that anyone caught having sex underage can be prosecuted by the law if the caregivers/parents want to press charges, or if anyone else notifies the police. You can be arrested for it and do jail time, especially if it is a case of a person of age and a person underage.
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