Huge difference. Children cannot contract. Adults should be able to do anything they want- i don't know why anyone cares, really. But children are different before the law, in terms of mental competence, and that is why we treat them differently, and always will. Actually that's a barrier to adults marrying animals too- they can't contract either.
I know this whole weird marriage thing turns on all the scary buttons for some people- but the real pedophiles you need to worry about are biological fathers, boyfriends and second husbands- in American homes right this minute. If you are really worried about child sexual abuse, that's what you need to worry about.
theawarenesscenter.org
Statistics kept by the Cove, also known as the Cape Cod and Islands Child Advocacy Center, show that boys under 10 are almost as likely as young girls to be victims of sexual abuse; that females make up 73 percent of victims age 10 and over; and that biological fathers are reported as perpetrators of child sexual abuse more often than stepfathers, uncles and mothers' boyfriends combined.
here are some sad statistics:
• Over 90% of child sex abuse cases presented to prosecutors do not go to trial. Over half are not charged or dropped after charging.
- National Center for Prosecution of Child Abuse, Volume 9 Numbers 5/6,1996
• Less than 5% of reports are fictitious...adults are more likely than children to make a false report...the rates are highest in custody or visitation disputes.
-Thoennes & Tjaden, 1990 |
