[herbie]

Nobody is arguing it's OK they're arguing it's not abnormal.
And here you are arguing that though you know 14 year olds are not "innocent" there must be a law and it must be the same as if they were 10 years old.
In this case, if the woman was the spouse, there is and always has been a law regarding 'authority figures'. Use THAT law. If she was just his gf, then either snigger or tsk tsk about it and let it go.
He was a stupid horn dog and she was a moron slut. No law is gonna fix either of them.

[Brenda]

So if a random 25 year old authority figure has sex with a 14 year old, it's not ok, but if it is just the neighbour, it is?

I'm thinking EVERY 25 year old has authority over a 14 year old, just because they are adults.

[andyt]

herbie wrote:

Nobody is arguing it's OK they're arguing it's not abnormal.
And here you are arguing that though you know 14 year olds are not "innocent" there must be a law and it must be the same as if they were 10 years old.
In this case, if the woman was the spouse, there is and always has been a law regarding 'authority figures'. Use THAT law. If she was just his gf, then either snigger or tsk tsk about it and let it go.
He was a stupid horn dog and she was a moron slut. No law is gonna fix either of them.

Complete bullshit. We need a law that protects young people from sexual exploitation by adults. If that catches some adults who didn't actually do harm to the kid, too fucking bad. They're adults and should know better. I fully supported the CPC raising the age to 16. And throw a guy in jail as a sex offender and make him register, but to snigger if it's a woman who does it - now that's something to snigger about.

[Macguyver]

Just a note as per Brenda's post on page #1: it is the law that we all must report instances of suspected child abuse. There is no confidentially on that matter, expect perhaps lawyer/client privilege. If you mention to your doctor, dentist, shrink that you, as an adult, have been sexual with a child under the age of 16, they must report it. Same as if you came on this forum we would be obligated to report a similar post about the suspected abuse of a child to the authorities.

16 states have a similar law, 48 states & most US territories outline professions which must report (teachers, doctors, day care workers, social workers etc...) - the other two states have an all encompassing law that all citizens must report.

http://www.childwelfare.gov/systemwide/ ... /manda.cfm (USA)

http://www.cecw-cepb.ca/faqs (Canada)

[herbie]

And I'm sure you'll keep supporting it when there's tens of thousands of high school seniors who are registered sex offenders for sleeping with their gf/bfs who were high school juniors.
My ex was one of those in 1970. She wasn't quite 16 and her bf was almost 19. Fortunately they didn't have a registry in those days. Marry her and we'll let you out of jail.
Watch for the reruns, coming soon to a neighbourhood near you.

[Brenda]

herbie wrote:

And I'm sure you'll keep supporting it when there's tens of thousands of high school seniors who are registered sex offenders for sleeping with their gf/bfs who were high school juniors.
My ex was one of those in 1970. She wasn't quite 16 and her bf was almost 19. Fortunately they didn't have a registry in those days. Marry her and we'll let you out of jail.
Watch for the reruns, coming soon to a neighbourhood near you.

That is a 2, maybe 3 year difference. MUCH different from 11 years when the younger one is not allowed to drive a car yet.

15 and 17 is pretty on par. 14 and 25 IS NOT.

[andyt]

I support the law - what does it allow? I believe 2 years diff until age 16. Seems very reasonable to me.

You've actually changed your tune, Herbie, because the example you gave was with an older male and younger female. So now you seem to be saying you would have no problem with older male/younger female as well? If you were Harper dictator, what law would you pass about this issue?

[saturn_656]

herbie wrote:

And I'm sure you'll keep supporting it when there's tens of thousands of high school seniors who are registered sex offenders for sleeping with their gf/bfs who were high school juniors.
My ex was one of those in 1970. She wasn't quite 16 and her bf was almost 19. Fortunately they didn't have a registry in those days. Marry her and we'll let you out of jail.
Watch for the reruns, coming soon to a neighbourhood near you.

You're incorrect.

http://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/dept-min/clp/faq.html

Quote:

What is Canada's age of consent?

The age of consent for sexual activity is 16 years. It was raised from 14 years on May 1, 2008 by the Tackling Violent Crime Act.

However, the age of consent is 18 years where the sexual activity "exploits" the young person -- when it involves prostitution, pornography or occurs in a relationship of authority, trust or dependency (e.g., with a teacher, coach or babysitter). Sexual activity can also be considered exploitative based on the nature and circumstances of the relationship, e.g., the young person's age, the age difference between the young person and their partner, how the relationship developed (quickly, secretly, or over the Internet) and how the partner may have controlled or influenced the young person.

Are there any exceptions to this?

The Criminal Code provides "close in age" or "peer group" exceptions.

For example, a 14 or 15 year old can consent to sexual activity with a partner as long as the partner is less than five years older and there is no relationship of trust, authority or dependency or any other exploitation of the young person. This means that if the partner is 5 years or older than the 14 or 15 year old, any sexual activity will be considered a criminal offence unless it occurs after they are married to each other (in accordance with the "solemnization" of marriage requirements that are established in each province and territory, governing how and when a marriage can be performed, including the minimum age at which someone may marry).

There is also a "close-in-age" exception for 12 and 13 year olds: a 12 or 13 year old can consent to sexual activity with another young person who is less than two years older and with whom there is no relationship of trust, authority or dependency or other exploitation of the young person.

There will be no high school students going to jail for sleeping with their younger schoolmates.