The Age of Consent Young People, Sexuality and Citizenship [Hardcover]

The Age of Consent; Young People, Sexuality and Citizenship addresses the contentious issue of how children's sexual behaviour should be regulated. The text includes: ?A unique history of age of consent laws in the UK, analysed via contemporary social theory ?A global comparative survey of age of consent laws and relevant international human rights law ?A critical analysis of how protectionist agendas shaped new age of consent laws in England and Wales in the Sexual Offences Act 2003 ?In-depth theoretical discussion of the rationale for age of consent laws ?An original proposal to reduce the age of consent to 14 for young people who are less than two years apart in age Responding to contemporary concerns about young people's sexual behaviour, sexual abuse and paedophilia, this book will engage readers in law and socio-legal studies, sociology, history, politics, social policy, youth and childhood studies, and gender and sexuality studies; and professionals and practitioners working with young people.Acknowledgements 1: INTRODUCTION Outline of Chapters 2: THEORISING AGE OF CONSENT LAWS Childhood and Youth Gender and Sexuality; Heterosexuality and Homosexuality The Meaning of Consent Children, Sexuality, Consent and the Law Consent and Children's Sexual Behaviour The Rationale for Age of Consent Laws Citizenship Sexual Citizenship Conclusion 3: AGE OF CONSENT LAWS IN GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE The Globalisation of Age of Consent Debates Age of Consent Laws in Comparative Cross-National Perspective Sex Tourism and the Transnational Extension of Sex Offences International Law and Human Rights Conclusion 4: HETEROSEXUALITY AND THE AGE OF CONSENT The Origins of Law on Childhood and Sex in the UK Social Purity and the Age of Consent in the Late Nineteenth Century Gender, Class, Competence and Citizenship Parliamentary Debates The Age of Protection The Regulation of Male Homosexuality Conclusion 5: HOMOSEXUALITY AND THE AGE OF CONSENT Lesbianism and the Age of Consent in the Inter-l#.