# Waddaya mean she's a minor? She was a MAJOR 'ho! **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [June 5, 2002, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waddaya-mean-shes-a-minor-she-was-a-major-ho/112552 "2002-06-05T22:30:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 21
**Author:** ![Sengkelat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Sengkelat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sengkelat)\ **Post date:** [June 6, 2002, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waddaya-mean-shes-a-minor-she-was-a-major-ho/112552/21 "2002-06-06T19:44:21Z")
“Blaming the victim” always sounds like a bad thing to do. But if a 17 year old girl chases after and ends up sleeping with an older man, is she a victim? My sister, when she was 16, dated a 22 year old guy. She was stoked that she got this guy. Both parties were pretty happy with the arrangement, and she wasn’t traumatized or permanently scarred. I certainly wouldn’t say she “entrapped” him, since he had the power to decline anything she offered, but at the same time I would say she’s 50% responsible for any statutory rape that occurred. Or possibly more, if she lied about her age. Am I now “blaming the victim”? As for the laws, it’d be nice if there was a better way to define if a person is capable of giving consent other than their age. I know 25 year olds that don’t have the maturity to understand the consequences of their actions, and I have known minors who had better judgment than many adults. However, an age-barrier is simpler, and mostly works for the majority. Oh well. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/waddaya-mean-shes-a-minor-she-was-a-major-ho/112552)._