KINSEY LEGACY
Much has been said the past few months about the sexual activity of teens and whether or not a girl under the age of 14, who is pregnant, has been a victim of statutory rape. Under Kansas law it is a crime any time an underage girl has sex – whether consensual or non-consensual – yet, the debate continues, and everyone acts as if it is up to us to decide when it is statutory rape. Many agree with Ellen Goodman who recently wrote in editorial featured by the Kansas City Star that these acts are merely "lustily and mutually abusing each other in the back seat of a Toyota." Using the argument that Kansas does have laws dealing with sexual interactions between peers with much lower legal consequences, they are clearly missing the point –those in law enforcement have to enforce the laws, not look the other way.
In addition, according to national statistics, most sexually active underage girls are involved with much older men. In a study conducted by the Taubman Center for Public Policy in Rhode Island, that tracked statistics from 1985-2002, it was found that almost 80 percent of defendants in statutory rape cases are at least four years older than their victims. The median age was 24 and the average age was almost 30, at least twice the age of their victims. In fact, just recently in Lawrence, the infamous Judge Paula Martin gave probation to a 32-year-old man who initiated relationships with 13, 14, and 15-year-old girls, plied them with alcohol and repeatedly raped them. Another judge, Judge Thomas Marten stated, "Where is the clear credible evidence that underage sex is always injurious?" He completely ignores the statistics that clearly show that underage girls are often accosted by older men as in the case in Lawrence. Often these men are authority figures, such as school officials, etc. who have powerful holds on the girls.
Ellen Goodman in her diatribe against Kansas and our laws protecting under-age girls from having sex, should be applauding the efforts to protect girls from sexual abuse and the perpetrator who hides his crime by paying for an abortion; but of course, post-Kinsey folks like her find that sex at any age is just fine and not injurious to a child who is barely finished playing with Barbie dolls. A society that will not protect its children is headed down a dangerous path.
Concerned Women for America of Kansas
P. O. Box 11233
Shawnee Mission, KS 66207
Phone/Fax: 913-491-1380
Email: director@kansas.cwfa.org
Web site: kansas.cwfa.org
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