Legal Consent V.S Parental Consent

We are venturing into exciting territory here at the blog!  We are going to launch a series of entries by our Youth Health Promoters.  We are so proud of our educators and what they do for the community all around the Capital District.  So without further ado, please enjoy this enlightening post by our own Blinky Lawrence.

Legal Consent VS Parental Consent

By Blinky Lawrence

Blinky wants to teach you a thing.

In New York, the age of consent for sex is 17 years old. This applies to men and women, and applies to both heterosexual and same sex conduct. But as statistics show us, we know people are having sex before 17 years old. Not only are they having sex, but they are also getting pregnant and getting STDs at a crazy high rate. According to the CDC there were 12,733 births to women 19 years of age or younger in 2012, with 29 percent of this group aged 17 or younger. Statistics show nearly two out of three cases of chlamydia are among youth ages 15-24 and one out of three are aged 15-19.

We all understand why we have laws around consent, and the importance of them, but we all also know that they are nearly impossible to enforce in some cases. It is in my personal opinion that when it comes to the age of sexual consent that this is something that should be negotiated between teens and their parents or guardians (if they are under 18 and being cared for by an adult). I trust that by having a real conversation between the two, teens and parents can come up with a time or age they think is appropriate based on how they feel, and not a law.

I think it really should be up to the person that will be having sex to decide when or what age they are ready, without laws or pressure from other people telling them what to do. As a young adult I know I would rather have a talk with parents than feel like I’m breaking a law. I think instead of being so focused on the law we should focus on getting teens the information they need to make smart and healthy choices. You know-- like UHPP Youth Health promoters do every day.

!!SO LETS TALK ABOUT SEX!!

For more information on the Youth Health Educator program at UHPP, please call 518-434-5678 x 139 or email yhp@uhpp.org