14 Year Olds Are Not The Same "Peer Group" As 18 Year Olds.

[KittyWampus]

And they usually aren't part of the same cliques.

Sociologists generally group 14 year olds with 12 year olds. This is called "early adolescence". There are physiological and psycho-emotional aspects that develop during this time period. For instance, girls during this time begin menstruation. This peer group tends to value conformity. They tend to have smaller, same sex cliques. Being accepted & not perceived as childish is extremely important.

15-18 year olds are "middle adolescents" and tend toward more interaction with opposite sex. Conformity is less important.

[Bannakaffalatta]

1. Surprise!

When most of the dramatic changes happen, a year is a very big deal. They'll catch up at 30.

[NaturalHigh]

2. I think pretty much everybody actually know this...

they just deny it when it's convenient to suit their agendas.

[melissaf]

3. Bingo.

[RudynJack]

20. what agenda?

A pro-child-rape agenda?

Perhaps factoring in multiple issues isn't promoting an agenda at all... couldn't it merely be seeing shades of gray where others see black and white?

[NaturalHigh]

22. I'm talking about the "Free Kate" agenda.

People are bending over backward to explain why Kaitlyn Hunt should not be charged even though she admitted to statutory rape.

[hunter]

4. The problem is for every case like this there are hundreds...

... of cases involving 14 year old girls and 18 year old guys that the police and prosecutors have no time for, certainly not enough to record phone calls and all that crap.

Something about this stinks.

[MADem]

11. It's not "police and prosecutors," it's parents.

Parents don't prosecute because there's often a GRANDCHILD in the equation. They don't want their grandchild's parent to be "on the registry," even if he or she put the younger person in the relationship in a 'statutory' situation.

If the parents aren't pushing for prosecution, or a victim doesn't show him or herself or aids the AG's office, the police aren't going to go looking for trouble.

Usually, these cases get brought forward when the parents of the younger party tell the older party to push off, and the older party decides to ignore that firm advice and continues to have relations with the younger child in the equation.

[rbrnmw]

12. My Cousin 18 a male was prosecuted in Florida

for making out (no sexual intercourse involved) with a 15 yr old girl who was a week away from 16. He is a registered sex offender. So it happens. It was reported by her parents.

[BuelahWitch]

5. Sometimes they are...

From: http://www.wbez.org/blogs/achy-obejas/2013-05/kate-hunt-saga-107375

"They (Kate and the younger girl) met at school, where they were classmates and peers because the younger girl is in an International Baccalaureate program. They were also on the varsity basketball team together."

Apparently the Baccalaureate program is what brought the younger girl in contact with older students. So, in essence, yes, they were "peers."
If Kate had been a college student, they would not have been "peers."

[NaturalHigh]

7. "They were also on the varsity basketball team together."

Have you ever been on a high school basketball team? Seniors are definitley higher up the pecking order than freshmen, and to call them "peers" is quite a stretch.

[BuelahWitch]

9. It doesn't always work out that way

It really depends on the individuals.

[Starry Messenger]

6. Then they shouldn't all go to school together.

[NaturalHigh]

8. In a lot of places, they don't.

My son just finished his freshman year, which was in the junior high, not high school.

[Starry Messenger]

10. Do you have the actual numbers for "a lot"?

Every high school I know of in CA is 9-12. My dad went to a k-9 in Ohio in the 1960's. I've honestly not heard of any others that were widespread.

I looked it up. Middle schools that go only to 8th grade outnumber junior highs that go up to 9th by 10-1.:

"Middle school" usually includes sixth, seventh and eighth grade. "Junior high" typically includes seventh, eighth and ninth grades. The range defined by either is often based on demographic factors, such as an increase or decrease in the relative numbers of younger or older students, with the aim of maintaining stable school populations.[28] At this time, students are given more independence, moving to different classrooms for different subjects, and being allowed to choose some of their class subjects (electives). Usually, starting in ninth grade, grades become part of a student’s official transcript.

The middle school format has now replaced the junior high format by a ratio of about ten to one in the United States, but at least two school districts had integrated both systems in 2010.[29][30]"--wiki http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_school

[eridani]

13. Are boys and girls in the same peer group?

Do girls rape, beat up or impregnate boys? Do they rape, beat up or impregnate other girls?

[Sherman A1]

14. That was something I always found odd about the reports of the case

The age difference I believe to be huge in those 4 years for teenagers and I wouldn't think there are many 14 and 18 year olds that hang out together on a regular basis, but that is simply my opinion.

[alphafemale]

15. It has happened throughout history. And it is not always exploitive.

Many couples starting in this age range stay together for life.

In other cases, the younger of the two will admit, after a time, they felt pressured and not ready for the relationship the older partner wanted.

It has to be judged on a case by case basis.

It certainly is nothing like a 30 year old person with a young teen and it should not carry the same automatic iron-hammer judgement.

And the older girl, in this case, does not come across as very mature to me. With her demeanor and physical development I would have guessed her to be 15 maybe 16 at best.

Another thing in this age group is that an 18 year old is not...necessarily more sexually experienced than a 14 year old. They may both be virgins. It is not outside the realm of possibility that the 18 year old is a virgin and the 14 year old is more experienced.

No idea what happened in this case.

Not rushing to condemn or defend.

Just hoping cooler heads prevail.

Again, case by case judgement.

[pnwmom]

16. I'm not sure some of those generalizations apply to girls,

who are maturing earlier these days. Half of girls have started puberty before they're ten years old, and the median age for getting a period is age 12. By 14, most girls are solidly in adolescence.

A 14 year old girl tends to be much more mature, physically and otherwise, than a 14 year old boy.

The difference between a 9th grade boy -- who might be less than 5 feet tall -- and a 12th grade boy is huge. One is still a kid and the other is a man.

But the typical 14 year old girl is much farther into puberty than the boys her age, so the difference between her and a senior isn't so stark.

On the other hand, a 14 year old girl is capable of becoming pregnant -- which is why some of these statutory rape laws first came into being. Of course, that wouldn't be a possibility in the recent situation.

[NaturalHigh]

19. I don't think I've ever seen someone stretch so far...

to justify Ms. Hunt's actions and also the statutory rape laws. Why don't you just come out and say that the charges against Kaitlyn Hunt should be dropped just because she's a female?

[Sunlei]

17. remember when I was 13-14 always try to get in to the parties the 17 to 20ish++ had.

many times we did.

[LostOne4Ever]

18. Development

Development is hardly something set in stone and the 14 year old was somewhat close to 15 and the older girl just turned 18. That said, aren't there are some special circumstances? Mainly that this was a lesbian couple.

For instance, girls during this time begin menstruation. This peer group tends to value conformity. They tend to have smaller, same sex cliques. Being accepted & not perceived as childish is extremely important.

By this she is going to want to be preceived as not childish and stick to same sex cliques. Sounds like someone who would choose to hang around an older girl...especially one that she has daily contact with.

15-18 year olds are "middle adolescents" and tend toward more interaction with opposite sex. Conformity is less important.

I have a feeling this 18 year old was not as interested in the opposite sex.

I don't think this was encounter was okay....BUT I dont think its deserving of a felony. I think the fact that they were put in the same institution and attended a class in common could easily have made them peers. If anything I think this whole thing shows that junior highs should be for the 7-9th grade and high schools should be composed of 10-12 grade.

[snot]

21. My two cents:

Fourteen is too young for unlimited sexual activity with anyone. And at that age, a 3- or 4-year difference in age entails a big difference in the balance of power; the elder one is pretty much inevitably going to have disproportionate influence over the younger one. I don't care what gender the individuals are; I think we need statutory rape laws and that they should apply regardless of gender.

At the same time, I don't think, say, mere necking should be prosecuted as "rape."

I also have to wonder whether the different attitudes some people express depending on the gender has something to do with an implicit assumption that sexual activity between females can't result in pregnancy or (debatably) that it wouldn't even result in a loss of virginity. Personally, I'd consider any such assumptions are obsolete, but I suspect they underlie a lot of the feelings about this issue.

[liberal_at_heart]

23. You'd think more people would understand that.