So, with all the pressing issues facing Canadians and the world, Stephen Harper has decided one of the first issues that his new government will tackle is the raising of the age of consent, from 14 to 16. This, they say, needs to be done because there are dangerous predators lurking on the the internet, luring children to their gingerbread houses for unspeakable acts of exploitation.
To me, this is the one of the ultimate "culture of fear" issues. Many sources will say that up to one in five children will be "solicited" online1. What that statistic never does is give context: how many of those solicitations are peer-to-peer, as opposed to the much feared and implicit stereotype of older predator, younger prey solicitations? How does the level of online solicitation compare to what kids, particularly those in the 14-16 age bracket that this legislation would target, encounter in day to day life? How many of these solicitations are fended off easily, without repeated unwanted advances? And, for that matter, how are these studies defining the term "solicitation"? Is it when things get suggestive? Lewd?
For better or for worse, learning how to deal with these kinds of conversations is one of the lessons of adolescence. As a teenager, you need to learn how to decline someone's advances and how to accept. You learn when to listen to your instincts and when your hormones. In some ways, the internet provides a safer zone for trying on these new sexual roles. If you say no online, you can turn the computer off. You can say yes, change your mind, and do the same. Admittedly, you can be seduced by someone who is deliberately misleading you online in a way that is much harder to do at a party or other "real world" interaction. Yet, this is another learning issue. In 2006, teenagers need to know that they can't believe what they see online; there is an education component to this risk that needs to be addressed.
In short, many of the risks of online interaction are no different, really, than the interactions that have gone on for generations, requiring the same amount of communication and education throughout childhood to avoid catastrophes. Street proofing for the information superhighway, if you can stand the cliches.
Article comments
1 - Nancy
All 15-year-olds WANT to determine everything in their own lives; the point is, they have neither the experience nor the smarts at that point to make decisions of that magnitude, or to handle the consequences. What a kid wants, and what they have the capacity to do in a responsible way are two vastly different matters. Frankly, I'm shocked that the age of consent in Canada is only 14. Even 16 is far too young, IMO, but even those two paltry years can make a big difference in judgement & maturity, and are certainly an improvement over 14.
2 - Ja-Ja Binks
Nancy your bang on....
3 - Steve
I agree, Nancy.
Also, this law gives a little extra moral support to parents who would want to encourage their children to be celibate until they are more mature.
4 - Jessica
Rising the consent age will not change a thing. If young teens really want to have sex they will do it and there is nothing anyone can do about it (which I know IS scary with the risk of pregnancy and disease. Which is why proper sex ed is so incredibly important). Sorry if this sounds too blunt but it's the honest truth. Unless you were to lock them up in their rooms and supervise them everywhere they went. But then Canada wouldn't be the liberal, democratic country it is. We might as well start calling ourselves Communists if we were to do that.
And honestly you CANNOT determine a person's maturity strictly by their age. However if you teach a child to respect themselves and others, to trust their instincts, to know the different between love, infatuation and lust, and how to be an individual (which comes naturally to some people, including myself, however I am quite different from a lot of people) then there is a much higher chance that they will not do anything they feel is harmful (to themselves or others. However you cannot push moral beliefs. This only makes them rebel). Though everyone (especially teenagers) makes mistakes and we should have that right without being prosecuted.
I think the solution is to keep the consent age at 14, however they would only be able to have sex (including oral sex because it can spread STI’s) with those younger than 18. At 16 they would be able to have sex with those younger than 20. This allows a three year difference. Then at 18 they would be able to have sex with whoever they choose. This would keep young teens from feeling like their rights are being completely taken away yet prevent them from going out with or being victimized by much older adults (ex. A 14 year old with a 40 year old). However if the issue is keeping sexual predators away then that's a whole different story. Those perverts don't care at all about the age of consent and are experts at manipulation of young impressionable minds.
5 - Jessica
I thought I should eclaircise that by 'whoever they choose' (in regards to 18 year olds) I meant any age older than them, yet not younger than 16. No they shouldn't be able to date 12 year olds or anything like that. Sorry if it was confusing.
6 - Yawn
Even PLANNED PARENTHOOD says that teenage girls under 18 should not be having sex. It is unhealthy for girls to be having sex this young because their cervixes are not well fully developed yet, increasing the chances of transmission of STDs.
And if PLANNED PARENTHOOD wants to discourage girls from havign sex, they should discouraging little horny boys too.
Most boys who screw under 18 aren't doing it for any sensible reasoning and develop an unhealthy attitude towards women.
Critics to the Age of Consent Bill, these CHILDREN have their whole LIVES to have SEX?
In the words of PLANNED PARENTHOOD...
WHAT'S THE RUSH?
PS
What's next? Drinking legally at 12???
7 - Yawn
I knew a girl who bragged to me about how she "lost" her virginity at 15.
She also got cervical cancer at age 20.
70% cervical cancers are caused by an STD known as the HPV virus (which by the way is not completly protected by condoms).
15 year old girls are at risk of getting HPV because of their underdeveloped cervixes...
This is why Planned Parenthood started its "What's the Rush" Campaign!
8 - pentacle5
I'm going to turn into a puddle soon...Okay (prepare for the rant)...
FOURTEEN-YEAR-OLDS are KIDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kids with breasts, or semen, able to impregnate or be impregnated, but that's all PHYSICAL! Mentally...they're not all that much different from ten-year-olds, they just talk about different things. The body is not even fully mature enough for sex until you're eighteen ANYWAY! And by the way, girls have an increased chance of getting cervical cancer (yes, CANCER) if they have sex before the age of eighteen. Most teens DON'T KNOW THAT! Teens are nature's back-up plan. That means when pandemics and other disasters hit and people are dying in their thirties, people need to have sex and children at a younger age. Guess what? Life expectancy in Canada is WAY BEYOND THIRTY! Meaning? Teens younger than eighteen should not be having sex. They're naive. I'm only eighteen, so I still remember what it was like to be fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen and I'll tell you: even at seventeen I could have been seduced into having sex with someone much older than me. Now? Try it buddy! You've got another thing coming if you think you're going to make ME your next lay! Now I have friends who were coerced when they were younger by MUCH older men. A few got pregnant, others were just used and tossed away, and still others found themselves in relationships where the guy only wanted them young so he could control them. NONE of this happened ONLINE! A good friend of mine was raped when she was only FIFTEEN by a THIRTY-YEAR-OLD man! She has taken it to court, and they have enough evidence to say he did it, so the only question is: Was it consensual or not? IF THE AGE OF CONSENT WAS AT LEAST SIXTEEN, SHE WOULDN'T HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS CRAP BECAUSE THEY WOULDN'T EVEN ASK WHETHER IT WAS CONSENSUAL OR NOT IT BECAUSE IT WOULD BE ILLEGAL!!!!!!!!! She's not benefitting AT ALL from this! I have a younger sister who will be fourteen next year. She's very naive, very childlike, and way too trusting of people. I sincerely hope that the age of consent will be raised before then!
*deep breaths*...and that concludes my rant! I hope this doesn't count as a personal attack because I'm not really ranting at anyone in particular except maybe the government, lol.