Li Yinhe talks about sex

Chapter 28 Concerning Voluntary Age Limits

Compared with countries that set the voluntary age line for children's sexual behavior at 16, 18 or even 21 years old, our country's laws respect children's personal and sexual rights more.

Recently, the Supreme Court issued a new judicial interpretation for sexual crimes involving young girls.In the past, it was a crime to have sex with a girl under the age of 14, no matter what the circumstances.The new judicial interpretation stipulates that if the party concerned does not know that the other party is under 14 years old, if both parties are willing, and if the circumstances and consequences are not serious, it will not be considered a crime.The cause of this judicial interpretation is said to be that in a case, a 12-year-old female client was 1.6 meters tall and weighed 120 kilograms, and concealed her age from 8 men who had sex with her.After the police arrested these men and asked their superiors for instructions on how to deal with them, the Supreme Court made the above-mentioned judicial interpretation.

In the regulations on sexual crimes involving children in various countries in the world, an important factor is the regulation on the "voluntary age line", that is, the age at which children are considered by law to have the ability to decide their own behavior. It is a voluntary act, and the law does not consider it to be out of the child's will, because children below this age are considered by law to be incapable of deciding their own behavior.Sexual relations with children below the age of consent, regardless of whether the parties are voluntary or not, are considered "adultery".This voluntary age line varies from country to country, some are 16 years old, some are 21 years old, and the voluntary age line in my country is relatively low: 14 years old.This may just be caused by historical and cultural factors, but it also seems to show that our country's laws respect children's rights as sexual subjects, rather than treating them as potential victims who may fall into dangerous situations at any time.This is very important. It is more advanced than many Western countries in terms of legislative thinking, which is something we should be proud of.

Currently in the West, there is a discussion about whether the voluntary age limit should be abolished.The rationale behind this proposal is the recognition that children are sexual subjects with independent will, not merely objects or victims of sexual behaviour.If children understand that their bodies and sexuality are their own and should be in their control, and that sex is not forbidden or dirty, then when they want to accept the behavior they want and reject the behavior they do not want will become more confident.In cases of genuine violation and abuse, children who have not been told that sex is a shame will be more likely to report such behavior so that such issues can be resolved.Advocates for the abolition of voluntary age lines argue that laws on voluntary age lines not only fail to protect children, but are counterproductive.Because despite this law, child abuse is still happening, and it turns out that the basic function of the voluntary age law is instead to punish those acts that are truly voluntary by the child.

16 is the legal voluntary age in the UK.In 1991, the British Family Planning Association found that 35 percent of girls and 46 percent of boys said they had had sexual intercourse before the age of 16.This high rate does not include same-sex relationships and non-coital sexual activities.On the basis of this statistic, it is indeed impossible to assume that adolescents under the age of sixteen are necessarily ignorant and uninterested in sex.Therefore, some scholars have suggested that the voluntary age law does not recognize that children can become subjects of sexual behavior, so it is wrong.It is true that children's sexual expressions may differ from those of adults, but they do sometimes have sexual needs and, with or without social approval, they will find their own expressions.What is the purpose of the law trying to restrict this behavior?We may make them feel guilty, interfere with their effective contraception and STD prevention, and fail to serve their needs.

Foucault also advocated the abolition of voluntary age laws. He believed that the premise of voluntary age laws is that the child must be protected from his own desires, even when his desires are directed towards adults.He pointed out: "In any case, it is useless to have an age limit set by law. When a child says that he has or has not been subjected to violence, he should, believe what he says. ... There are indeed 10-year-old children who actively throw themselves into the arms of adults It is true that some children do it voluntarily and they like it, is there not such a case? ... I would say this: from the moment the child no longer refuses, there is no reason to punish any behavior."

On the issue of whether the voluntary age law should be abolished, the most important principle is to respect the rights of children as sexual subjects.Compared with countries that set the voluntary age line for children's sexual behavior at 16, 18 or even 21 years old, our country's laws respect children's personal and sexual rights more.Judicial interpretations by the Supreme Court have improved our laws even further.But our legislative thinking is far from reaching the level of canceling the voluntary age law, which is where our laws need to be improved.

(End of this chapter)