19 year old jailed for consensual sex

THE LACK of justice in the judicial system has been exposed through the draconian sentence given to a 19 year old man for having consensual sex with his 16 year old girlfriend.

THE LACK of justice in the judicial system has been exposed through the draconian sentence given to a 19 year old man for having consensual sex with his 16 year old girlfriend.

Judge John Neilan handed down an 11-month custodial sentence for statutory rape on the young man, who admitted the offence of sex with a girl under the legal age of consent, which is 17 years.

The judge accepted that the young man was not aware that the age of consent was 17 and that the “victim”, who was 16 and three quarters at the time, said she had been going out with the young man and that both indicated that they wanted to have sex.

The judge made a point of emphasising that the young man was “strictly on notice that he should have absolutely nothing to do with her”.

In reality, the judge insinuated that the young man should have ended the relationship with his girlfriend because her father didn’t approve of it. This attitude is reminiscent of the backward idea that the man is the head of the household and should be obeyed.

Only a few months ago, a convicted rapist sexually assaulted and attacked a woman within 14 hours of being released from prison. The system is totally failing to protect women and girls and yet such a drastic sentence has been handed down to a young man for having consensual sex with his girlfriend. He may be placed on the sex offenders register – in essence his life may be ruined and to what avail?

Violence and sexual violence against women is continuing unabated. Attitudes such as those displayed by the judge in this case – namely that fathers have the right to control the lives, including the sexuality of their daughters, only feed into attitudes and stereotypes in society that perpetuate the sexism that’s inherent in violence against women.

Young people should not be criminalised for engaging in consensual sex. Quality sex education in schools, that includes self-esteem building that cuts across young people feeling pressured into sex when they’re not ready for it, could assist young people in making informed decisions about sex and relationships. The state should also make access to free contraception readily available for young people.

We need to fight against backward laws, attitudes and all forms of sexism to maximise healthy sexual and personal relationships based upon mutual respect.

 

Total
0
Shares
Previous Article

Central Bank strike

Next Article

Reject ICTU's Sell Out Deal

Related Posts

Organise to defeat fees: Shut down Third Level for a day

By Ann-Katrin Orr, UL Socialist Youth

ON 4 February, thousands of students marched through the streets of Dublin to vent their anger against the government’s plans to reintroduce college fees. This cannot be seen as the end but must be the start of a fight to force the government to back down. A mass campaign of thousands of college and school students, parents and staff must be built to achieve this.

“Why I joined”

The last few months have seen one thing sweeping across the island’s politics – austerity. The governments north and south are shifting the consequences of the greedy bankers to ordinary working class people, with young people being particularly hard hit. Youth unemployment is at an all-time high and very expensive university degrees are becoming worthless.