Romeo & Juliet

Abstract

Laws that set an age of consent to engage in sexual behavior are unique in that they are the only laws that can result in a child being both a victim and offender of a crime merely due to age. They are also unique because some states have used these laws in an attempt to reduce teen pregnancy rates. This study was designed to measure and report on public support for the use of age of consent laws (also known as statutory rape laws) to control and punish consensual teenaged sexual behavior, with a focus on Wisconsin and California where the age of sexual consent (18) exceeds the majority of states by two years. Study results indicate that the majority of citizens in these two states do not support the use of the age of consent laws in cases where two same-aged teenagers have engaged in consensual sexual behavior.

Romeo, Juliet, and Statutory Rape

“…Violations of statutory rape laws have resulted in thousands of arrests and prosecutions in the United States (Oliveri, 2000; Troup-Leasure & Snyder, 2005). The public has generally remained supportive of the enforcement of these laws in cases where there are large age differences between victims and offenders (Beck & Boys, 2012; Horvath & Giner-Sorolla, 2007; Kernsmith, Craun, & Foster, 2009). However, age of consent laws can become controversial when applied to like-aged teenagers who are prosecuted for what many believe to be normative sexual behavior (see, for example, Cohen, 2011; Franklin, 2012).…”

“…Generally, the public does not believe this type of sexual encounter warrants criminal justice involvement (Koon-Magnin & Ruback, 2013; Sahl & Keene, 2012). For example, Beck and Boys’ (2012) found only a small percentage of survey respondents, less than 10%, felt that criminal charges should be possible when same-aged teenagers engaged in consensual sex. Importantly, only a fraction of those supporting criminalization also felt the charge should be a felony or include the possibility of sex offender registration.…”

“…Public opinion research shows that most adults in the United States, and most other Western nations, believe that sexual behavior by teenagers aged 15 and below is almost always “wrong” (Widmer, Treas, & Newcomb, 1998). Regardless, the public is skeptical of the assertion that sexual encounters between similarly aged youth should all be characterized as criminal (see, for example, Beck & Boys, 2012; Koon-Magnin & Ruback, 2013; Sahl & Keene, 2012), that they should be treated similarly to older adults who engage in sexual activity with minors. This controversy over the potential criminal prosecution of teenagers close in age engaging in consensual sex is illustrated by the tendency in scholarship, law, and policy to refer to them as “Romeo and Juliet” cases.…”