Jennifer Ann Drobac
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814723852
- eISBN:
- 9780814724217
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814723852.003.0002
- Subject:
- Law, Family Law
This chapter addresses the inconsistent legal treatment of adolescent consent, particularly in sexual harassment cases. The existing conflicts between criminal and civil law treatment of adolescent ...
More
This chapter addresses the inconsistent legal treatment of adolescent consent, particularly in sexual harassment cases. The existing conflicts between criminal and civil law treatment of adolescent consent leave teenagers vulnerable, especially to sexual predators. Thus, court conflation of acquiescence, consent, and capacity highlights the need for legal reform and intervention. Until adolescent maturity and capacity can be accurately assessed, there needs to be a way to protect teenagers while affording them some measure of legal autonomy and maturing experiences. Indeed, an approach that credits legal assent by adolescents empowers teenagers to take responsibility. It also permits them to recover from poor choices by voiding their assent within a reasonable period.Less
This chapter addresses the inconsistent legal treatment of adolescent consent, particularly in sexual harassment cases. The existing conflicts between criminal and civil law treatment of adolescent consent leave teenagers vulnerable, especially to sexual predators. Thus, court conflation of acquiescence, consent, and capacity highlights the need for legal reform and intervention. Until adolescent maturity and capacity can be accurately assessed, there needs to be a way to protect teenagers while affording them some measure of legal autonomy and maturing experiences. Indeed, an approach that credits legal assent by adolescents empowers teenagers to take responsibility. It also permits them to recover from poor choices by voiding their assent within a reasonable period.
Sacha M. Coupet and Ellen Marrus (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- March 2016
- ISBN:
- 9780814723852
- eISBN:
- 9780814724217
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- NYU Press
- DOI:
- 10.18574/nyu/9780814723852.001.0001
- Subject:
- Law, Family Law
American political and legal culture is uncomfortable with children's sexuality. While aware that sexual expression is a necessary part of human development, law rarely contemplates the complex ways ...
More
American political and legal culture is uncomfortable with children's sexuality. While aware that sexual expression is a necessary part of human development, law rarely contemplates the complex ways in which it interacts with children and sexuality. Just as the law circumscribes children to a narrow range of roles—either as entirely sexless beings or victims or objects of harmful adult sexual conduct—so too does society tend to discount the notion of children as agents in the domain of sex and sexuality. Where a small body of rights related to sex has been carved out, the central question has been the degree to which children resemble adults, not necessarily whether minors themselves possess distinct and recognized rights related to sex, sexual expression, and sexuality. This book reflects on some of the unique challenges that accompany children in the broader context of sex, exploring from diverse perspectives the ways in which children emerge in sexually related dimensions of law and contemporary life. It explores a broad range of issues, from the psychology of children as sexual beings to the legal treatment of adolescent consent. It also explores whether and when children have a right to expression as understood within the First Amendment. This book goes beyond the traditional discourse of children as victims of adult sexual deviance by highlighting children as agents and rights holders in the realm of sex, sexuality, and sexual orientation.Less
American political and legal culture is uncomfortable with children's sexuality. While aware that sexual expression is a necessary part of human development, law rarely contemplates the complex ways in which it interacts with children and sexuality. Just as the law circumscribes children to a narrow range of roles—either as entirely sexless beings or victims or objects of harmful adult sexual conduct—so too does society tend to discount the notion of children as agents in the domain of sex and sexuality. Where a small body of rights related to sex has been carved out, the central question has been the degree to which children resemble adults, not necessarily whether minors themselves possess distinct and recognized rights related to sex, sexual expression, and sexuality. This book reflects on some of the unique challenges that accompany children in the broader context of sex, exploring from diverse perspectives the ways in which children emerge in sexually related dimensions of law and contemporary life. It explores a broad range of issues, from the psychology of children as sexual beings to the legal treatment of adolescent consent. It also explores whether and when children have a right to expression as understood within the First Amendment. This book goes beyond the traditional discourse of children as victims of adult sexual deviance by highlighting children as agents and rights holders in the realm of sex, sexuality, and sexual orientation.
