Jimmy Savile 'household name' sweep

[d000hg]

Unless we hold that the capacity to consent is an important factor.

You don't think a 13-year-old has that capacity? We're not talking a tiny child who can't hold a conversation.

[Incognito]

You don't think a 13-year-old has that capacity? We're not talking a tiny child who can't hold a conversation.

Actually it is all about capacity and that's why it's automatically rape if it involves a child under the age of 13. They are not deemed to have the mental capacity to understand the consequences of their actions, kids should be kids. However, that is a very modern way of thinking when you consider we were still sending 6 year olds up chimney stacks less than 200 years ago.

Likewise, society has determined that a child aged between 13 and 16 is not best placed to determine if they want to enter into sexual relations because they aren't fully mentally developed, which is why they are not allowed to vote, marry, bear arms, take full time employment, drive a car, enter into a contract and a thousand and one other actions which our society as a whole has developed as being morally correct. The argument that just because they have the bits means they are 'fair game' is as morally repugnant as arguing that just because the male of the species is physically stronger than the female then we should dominate and be able to reproduce when we feel like it because it's why we have sexual urges. That's called rape just as sex with a minor is child abuse. There is no excuse for it.

[AtW]

I doubt that. The average age of puberty in this country was about 16-17 in 1840 - probably due to relatively poorer nutrition or the lack of hormones in the diet.

There was also distinct lack of TV, mags and the Interwebs.

[d000hg]

Likewise, society has determined that a child aged between 13 and 16 is not best placed to determine if they want to enter into sexual relations because they aren't fully mentally developed, which is why they are not allowed to vote, marry, bear arms, take full time employment, drive a car, enter into a contract and a thousand and one other actions which our society as a whole has developed as being morally correct. The argument that just because they have the bits means they are 'fair game' is as morally repugnant as arguing that just because the male of the species is physically stronger than the female then we should dominate and be able to reproduce when we feel like it because it's why we have sexual urges. That's called rape just as sex with a minor is child abuse. There is no excuse for it.

Considering we spend all week on CUK complaining about how society (i.e. the government) is consistently wrong on virtually every subject and is out of touch with average people, what do they know?! We apparently don't trust them with how to run hospitals or how to educate our children, but we do let them decide when our children can have sex?

It does seem the world has mostly aligned on this as 16 +/- 2 years though: File:Age of Consent - Global.svg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[stek]

I know this is gross and non PC but I gotta say it - rape - well its not a sexual thing but it is about power and abuse, we know that but fundamentally it's about sticking ur dick up a vagina, without any sort of consent. This is where I can't see it through - is it possible to stick ur dick up a woman thats not up for it, not lubricated, must be agony for both parties, I don't get it.

I know that sounds well wrong, I don't mean to be offensive or supercilious - nothing really to do with JS etc and kids - just the act of rape.

[MarillionFan]

Unless we hold that the capacity to consent is an important factor.

I completely go with the point the Kent is raising and I made it earlier. The natural biological driver for a man is to try and impregnate anything that it can. From a puberty perspective the second males see breasts/larger hips it is biologically programmed. It's the rules of reproduction. If that happens at 11/12/13/14/15/16/17 The age is immaterial, it's the predisposed biological markers that kick in. It's then the mental/what acceptable/society acceptable checks and balances that kick in. Anyone arguing against that is either a woman or a man who's scared shotless of being accused of being a peado(or gay)

[d000hg]

In the wiki page I found, it says there actually ARE a very small number of places where the age of consent IS puberty, which I was quite surprised by. But this seems limited to a couple of Mexican states, and Bolivia. I'll let someone else make the obvious joke about the fact Bolivia is 80% Catholic.

[Halo Jones]

sadism only legal between consenting adults because they are the only ones that can reasonably consent.

Not in the UK: you cannot consent to harm (to protect victims of abuse)

[mudskipper]

In the wiki page I found, it says there actually ARE a very small number of places where the age of consent IS puberty, which I was quite surprised by. But this seems limited to a couple of Mexican states, and Bolivia. I'll let someone else make the obvious joke about the fact Bolivia is 80% Catholic.

Puberty isn't a fixed point in time. What do you (they) define as puberty? First pubic hair? First period? Periods start long before breasts are fully developed, hips are widening etc. In the majority of cases ovulation doesn't start until some time after the first period. Puberty doesn't finish until late teens.

[darmstadt]

Bill Wyman