For the purposes of this article I am discussing Wisconsin State Statute 948.02. Many other states have similar laws.



The MAJOR issue I see in 948.02 is; 948.02(2) which reads: "(2)?Second degree sexual assault. Whoever has sexual contact or sexual intercourse with a person who has not attained the age of 16 years is guilty of a Class C felony." What this means, is that two teenagers, under the age of 16 can rape each other. This is a major issue. If I (15) have sexual intercourse with a peer (13-15) we are raping each other. This, is a two fold problem.


High Schools, especially mine where we have 8th-12th graders in mixed classes, are a co-mingling environment. We have taken a puberty sea, where testosterone and estrogen are swimming and raging, and you have a drive to reproduce, and mixed groups that the law binds from having sex. I am going to make the fact that you cannot stop teenagers from having sex extremely clear! When you have commingling you have to realize that you ARE going to have co-ed and commingled relationships. Now I would like to take this moment to point out the fact that I believe that ADULTS (people 18 1/2 and over) should NOT have a sexual relationship with teens!


The second issue is that Wisconsin has the "Trial as an adult law" which is 938.18 which allows teenager 14 or older to be charged as an adult (in full criminal court) on some felonies, and for 15 year olds to be charged with all crimes in the State of Wisconsin. The justification that is given for the State Sexual Assault laws, is that people who are under the age of 16 are ""Incapable of consenting to sexual activity"". This is better known as ""diminished capacity"". Yet, someone who is incapable of consenting to sex, is capable of consenting to committing murder.


Even this is based in bunk science. The frontal lobe is not fully formed, and myelin the nerve insulator has not fully coated the nerves. As I mentioned myelin is a nerve insulator, without the proper myelin coating, the brain "runs" much slower. The myelin coating begins in the back of the brain, where the most primal instincts are kept, and moves toward the front. Not to say a teenager cannot think using there higher brain power, but it takes longer, (those areas are much slower to respond to que's) and takes more energy. So weather the idea that the age of full capacity 15 or 16 or 18 or 21, they are all technically incorrect and contradictory.


This is why I am encouraging and assisting in the creation of a program called AUR, or Accept, Understand, and Respond. The program encourages parents and staff to accept that teenager ARE going to have sex, Understand why they are (the social and hormonal reasons) and Responding to the dangers of STI's, Pregnancy, and Domestic Abuse. Join the fight against unfair laws! Write letters to your representatives, your governors, your mayors!