Philosophy 2220, Homework on Oberman, "Regulating Consensual Sex with Minors"

The reading will look really long. It is. But you don't need to read everything in there (although you are of course welcome to). Here are guidelines to what you can skip (which should cut the reading by more than half); everything that I left in is pretty accessible, if depressing:

* Skip the footnotes.
* You can skip section I.A.1. (the overview of current non-statutory rape laws) (p 710-713).
* For sections I.B.1, I.B.2, I.B.3, I.B.4, and I.B.5, please read the first paragraph of each section, but you can skip the rest of each section (these sections are on p718-733). You may find these sections helpful to understand the stakes of statutory rape laws, however.
* For Sections II.A., II.B., and II.C., you can skip sections 1 and 2 for each of these. Those focus on the current approaches to these laws. Focus instead on the intro to II.A, II.B, and II.C, and sections II.A.3, II.B.3 and II.C.3 (the problems with each approach).
* Skip section III.A (p754-758)
* Skip section III.B.6 (p771-775)
* The reading cuts off at the 81st pdf page; you don't need to read any further.


Please answer the following questions IN YOUR OWN WORDS. Please keep your answers brief when possible. For some of these questions, you may need to look things up that are not in the reading.

1. What is the difference between statutory rape and rape that is non-statutory? (2 pt)

2. Give three reasons, according to the author, that sex with minors is a serious issue that deserves the attention of the law (that is, why, according to the author, should the law attempt to regulate the sexual activity of minors?). (2 pt)


3. The author considers another strategy for enforcing statutory rape laws: focus on the worst cases. Why does the author think that this is not a good strategy? (2 pt)

4. The author considers one possible reform of statutory rape laws: making them not strict liability laws. Why does the author think that this is not a good reform (why should statutory rape laws should be strict liability)? (1pt)

5. (Your answer to the following can't come from the reading, but must come from your own research)
a. Give one fact that you find through your own internet research that supports the claim that statutory rape is a serious problem. This can be a fact showing the harm that it causes, or a fact about the ability of minors to give morally relevant consent, or about the harms that arise from treating statutory rape like non-statutory rape. This fact can be a statistic or about one specific case. Say where you found this fact (give a link to the website).
b. Give one fact that you find through your own internet research that supports the claim that statutory rape should not be strict liability. This fact can be a statistic or about one specific case. Say where you found this fact (give a link to the website).