The media only portrays the teenagers as the bad guys regardless whether an adult was involved in that action or case; the headlines always include the word teenager. If an adult pays a teenage girl to have sex is called teenage prostitution. Or a teenage girl getting pregnant by a 20 year old male is called teenagers getting teenagers pregnant. The same concept comes in account when violence is talked about. Even though stats say something else, the media automatically portrays the teenagers as the bad guy.
Teens, Nude Photos and the Law In Dahlia Lithwick’s “Teens, Nude Photos and the Law”, published in Newsweek Feburary 2009, she looks at the growing problem of teens receiving, sending and forwarding nude photos of each other through technology. She continues to address the consequences of those actions. The article opens asking if you were a principal that confiscated a phone from a boy who had nude image of his girlfriend what would you do? Getting the police involved could result in criminal charges and being a registered sex offender. Using cell phones for “Sexting” which is considered sending, receiving or forwarding naked photos is a common practice among teens.
In society, when the words “sex offender” are brought up, the public usually has the same image in their mind. They usually would see this image of an older male that unceasingly tries to get with children. They public also has a stereotype for this image, that once your sex offender, you’re always a sex offender. Sex offenders are seen as among the most dangerous kinds of offender in terms of both the impact that their wrongdoing has on victims’ lives and because of concerns about their risk of reoffending. However it has recently came to question of whether this perception of dangerousness is supported.
This means that “responsible, educated” 18-20 year olds are binge drinking, which is bad enough, but add into the mix our inexperienced 16 year olds who are highly influenced by peers and often make bad decisions and it is a recipe for disaster. Many high school and even middle school students are also binge drinking and partying, and underage DUI’s are at an all-time high in our country. However, it stands to reason that if you were to send a 16 year old out of state or even just a few hours away it would be much easier for them to drink without their parents finding out. Sending a teen off to college is a symbol of passage into adulthood. You cannot expect to send a 16 year old to college and still have full control over their curfew and monitor their social life.
Problems with treating youth sex offenders the same as adult sex offenders .Compared with youth committed to a juvenile facility, a child sentenced to serve time in the adult system spends his/her formative years in a prison environment where he or she is: twice as likely to be beaten by staff, 50% more likely to be attacked with a weapon, and nearly eight times more likely to commit suicide. Treating youth in the juvenile justice system rehabilitates them more effectively, reduces recidivism, and saves taxpayer money. (Ryan, Leversee, and lane ) Age of consent laws can unfairly criminalize adolescent behavior. Almost all sexual behavior by children who are below the age of consent is against the
Jesse’s statements are not very trustworthy in my mind, especially after his retraction of his confession to his lawyer that his father sexually abused him. With the media and police’s involvement in the case, I think the witnesses were influenced into making false statements. Children tend to be easy to persuade so I think that that had a lot to do with the children who testified in court than retracted their statements later, saying they had lied. Other children were put through hypnotherapy, which lead to strong memories of the abuse. Although hypnosis is not a reliable source of memories, I think that there must have been some sort of sexual advances, which lead to the development of more intense memories.
The problem would have never occurred if Kinsey was educated on sex as a teenager. This also impacted his work because couples would ask him for advice and he wasn’t sure of his answers. He felt like he had to do more research in order to give advice. Alfred’s theory, “everyone is different and yet everyone wants and tries to be the same,” I think means people are all different sexually. For example, some people can have orgasms quickly, as others take longer.
Don’t Cross the Line Not knowing where the line is, can really drive people to the edge, literally. Bullying has become a part of everyday teenage life. Some people think of it as a joke and just mucking around until the victim decides they’ve had enough, and believe suicide is their only option. Kids don’t realise how severely the words they use can harm the people they aim it at that they cannot persuade them that they mean nothing. Social networks and websites have made it easier for kids to bully others anonymously and harshly.
Net Child Pornography According to Sex Offenders and the Internet, written by Kerry Sheldon and Dennis Howitt, “child pornography was considered to be a small and specialist issue-an adjunct to the broader problem of pornography of all sorts” (7). However, in the last decade there has been a considerable increase in child pornography. It led to professional and public awareness of internet use in exacerbating child sexual abuse. Ricky Martin is one of the professionals who work to stop the abuse of children worldwide. His foundation “People for Children” raises public awareness and influences public policy makers on issues such as child pornography, prostitution, and labor servitude.
“Studies suggest a strong correlation between those who seek out child pornography and those would be diagnosed as pedophiles.” (Carlson 27). Carlson goes on to say that if an individual who has pedophilic fantasies and view child pornography is not inhibited in some way they will go after sexual relationships with children outside of the internet. Carlson continues, “These individuals are compelled to commit sex offenses in order to fulfill their incessant sexual fantasies.” McCarthy opposes this view by stating that out of a group of 1,713 sample child pornography offenders 40% were what McCarthy referred to as “dual offenders”; meaning they have committed non-contact crimes as well as contact crimes. (McCarthy 183) McCarthy states in opposition to the previous statements that it is documented that sex offender’s use the internet to groom and meet potential victims, as well as network with others who share similar deviant sexual interests. Quayle suggests that possible pedophiles may use the internet and child pornography as a means to “substitute” seeking out and abusing children.