Sexual abuse

Sexual abuse is a form of abuse by means of sexual behavior between offender and victim. Most forms of sexual abuse are crimes in most countries.

Definition based on informed consent

It should be noted that in some jurisdictions, people under a prescribed age of consent and people who are mentally retarded are presumed by law to be unable to give informed consent to some or any sexual activities with adults.

Related Topics:
Age of consent - Mentally retarded - Informed consent

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Criticism of the definition

Critics disagree with labeling all child sexual activity involving adults as partners or observers as abuse based on the concept of informed consent, arguing that simple consent should suffice to exclude consensual acts from the definition of child sexual abuse (CSA). Those critics, including some sociologists, psychologists, educators, and exponents of childlove movement, also object to the use of the terms victim and perpetrator when describing consensual acts. Many doubt that there is scientific evidence that consensual sexual activity causes harm to minors and argue that some sexual activity of or with minors is considered a crime solely because of sexual morality. Some researchers contend that categorizing all sexual activity with minors as abuse makes it difficult to study the effects of abuse on children. Others claim that a distinction should be made between, on the one hand, severe sexual abuse that is often associated with severe symptoms such as suicidal tendencies, sexual aggression, and self-mutilation (Kisiel and Lyons, 2001), and on the other hand, milder types of CSA that do not necessarily cause harm. Rind et al. (1998) argued that "CSA does not cause intense harm on a pervasive basis," although anecdotal evidence documents harmful effects of early sexual activity (see Bass, Ellen et al, The Courage to Heal, 3rd edition, 1994)

Related Topics:
Child sexual activity - Childlove movement - Sexual morality - 2001 - Rind et al. - 1998

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Some further argue that denying a child the right to give informed consent ignores his or her right to sexual self-determination.

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Criticism of the criticism

This criticism of the definition, however, remains controversial. The essential question is whether children are developmentally able to give informed consent, not just consent based on their feelings and expectations. The premise of informed consent is that it requires full cognitive understanding of one's own and other person's minds. The scientific evidence from psychological experiments, such as Sally-Anne test, clearly show that full understanding does not develop until the end of puberty.

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The above criticism of the criticism incorrectly states "The essential question is whether children are developmentally able to give informed consent, ...". This is not the question, but a red-herring. The question is whether or not sexual relations involving simple consent are harmful. The answer appears to be "no". Man-girl marriage has been accepted and valued across time and cultures. Man-boy sexual relations have been valued in many societies (e.g., Ancient Greece, New Guinea, pre-modern Japan). It seems clear that the presence or absence of informed consent has no ability to predict harm above and beyond the presence of simple consent.

Related Topics:
Developmentally - Informed consent

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