In this country, we've been sold on the idea that stiff prison sentences act as a deterrent. But the prisons seem to just keep getting bigger. And more of them. We've been on this tract for so long, that we are building old folks prisons for elderly criminals. So while this fact belies the cogency of the idea of "prisons as deterrence," I'd be hard pressed to know what to put in its place given the abandonment in social services and education that are a part of this process.
Having sex with a minor in most states is a felony, and at sixteen, her age would give judges some area of discretion as to her knowledge and ability to give consent. However, in most cases these girls (and many of the women in general that live in these communities), have little knowledge of alternatives, or for that matter, much knowledge of the outside world. And if that is so here, one would hardly agree that she is capable of making "an informed decision." Generally, the law in most cases tends to err against allowing "minor consent." This was seen earlier in the national news where a juvenile judge in Ohio jailed the 15 year-old "victim" for contempt, because she wouldn't stop seeing the accused -- her boyfriend in his early 20s. Her mother brought the action.
But if there was ever a place where we needed a "deterrent," its here. Where the victims are truly taken advantage of and have few options and alternatives. The very people who are these girl's parents and their nurturers are enslaving them into this system. It is a barbaric and ancient practice and should cease. Not only because of its basic inequities, but it fosters and supports the suppression of women in particular. Making them subject to all of the males in those communities. And there is little escape.
The Tapestry Against Polygamy "Creating a choice and a voice through education advocacy and support." http://www.polygamy.org/
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
