Unfair to the boys

Lawyer calls for changes to the law which makes criminals of young boys who have consensual sex with young girls

Barbara Gayle, Senior Staff Reporter

A PROMINENT local attorney is urging a review of the law that allows boys under 16 years old to be charged with carnal abuse even when they have consensual sex with a girl who is also younger than 16.

In recent weeks, a large number of schoolboys have been appearing before the courts on carnal abuse charges, and in some instances, the girls they are alleged to have had sex with are older than them, although under the age of consent.

Defence lawyer Tamika Harris said there should be some other way to deal with the matter, rather than dragging the boys before the courts.

Harris told The Sunday Gleaner that while the law states that a girl under 16 cannot consent to sexual intercourse, "for practical purposes both consent. In other words, they were merely experimenting".

According to Harris, there must be some other way to deal with the problem rather than charging the boy with carnal abuse.

Fundamental problem

She argued that the prevalence of the offence is a fundamental problem and the country needs to look at the reasons why so many young children are getting involved in sexual acts.

According to Harris there are times when the girls are the aggressors, however, when the parents find out, it is the boys who have to face the consequences.

"The boys are the ones who are taken into custody, charged and taken before the court like common criminals, while the girls are allowed to go without even a simple reprimand," Harris said.

"So the girl can just move from one boy to the next, because the girl is not penalised in anyway," she added.

"Parliament should address the issue, so that a boy under the age of 16 should not have to be charged with carnal abuse if the girl agrees that they both consented."

The attorney argued that boys should not always be seen as the aggressor because "some girls are aggressive sexually".

She wants counselling for children involved in sexual activities rather than the trauma, stress and embarrassment involved when the matter goes to court.

In most cases, the boys are given suspended sentences or placed on probation, but Harris said there must be another way to solve the problem.

She wants the law to be amended to allow for counselling for minors in cases where no sort of force or intimidation was used.

Harris is a member of the Advocates Association of Jamaica, which has launched a programme to educate children on the laws relating to sexual activities.

Members of the Association visit schools and have discussions with the children.