Going based off the “She’s only 15” post. The question on that post was about what you’d do as a parent if you caught your 15 year old having sex. Lots of responses were that they’d educate their teenager about sex and protection and wouldn’t necessarily condone it, but basically let them make their own choices.

However a lot of the time I also see people who say that teens can’t legally have sex (which is true in most states) and are adamant about statutory rape laws. With the hypothetical above, it seems many parents would allow their teens to continue making their own consent choices though.

How do you draw the line on teens having sex, it’s something they choose to do and teens being unable to consent. Can a line be drawn without being hypocritical? Does it only matter based on the age of the other person? If two teens have been having sex since they were 15 and 16 and then got to the age where they were 17 and 18 would you advocate to charge the 18 year old with statutory rape even though they have been sexually active for years and the only difference was a birthday?

Personally I think if the age gap is at 5 years or more it should be statutory rape. Any less shouldn’t have any charges just based on age alone. 4 years would be a Senior and a freshman and would just be teens having sex. I was 15ish when became sexually active with a guy I dated for 6 years. He was two years older so he turned 18 before I did. I do admit teens are young and immature, but I did know what I was doing and consent to it each time. I see how the laws do protect young people, but a lot of the time parents and society still views teens having sex with other teens as normal and consensual.

Edited to add: If you wouldn’t allow your teen to have sex, how would you punish/correct/prevent them from having sex again? Would you press charges on whoever it was they had sex with if they were 18? Would age difference matter in your decision?