Comments on what you wrote Not Sure:
Regarding age differences: Many cultures have different ages, even today, regarding when it is appropriate to have sexual activity. Some say at puberty, others say older at 16, 17 or 18. I've had a few clients from other cultures utterly baffled that it was considered morally wrong to engage in sex with a 15 year old when they were 30 themselves.
Regarding letting children make decisions about love/sex - there is a Ra quote that talks about children are responsible for what they do at a very early age (basically before the toddler stage), but on the other hand, a role model for a child has a solemn trust that can be abused - we all as children have a strong desire to receive approval from role model/parental figures - how often have we done something we didn't want to do to make a parent or role model happy? Perhaps such an event would be a catalytic event, but I know that many of us have learned that ultimately what we did to please others was a less skillful choice. I note this as a cautionary tale about whether children's free will with respect to authority figures they trust/want to please is more or less free.
But in the end, it's all about loving and understanding what is going on in another person's head, and I think you convey that beautifully. I've had more than one case of a 'consensual' encounter between a 13 year old and a late twenty year old that was tried in criminal court, only to find in the course of my investigation that the twenty something year old had the mind of a small child (which unfortunately is not a defense).
Your ideas are not just theoretical Not Sure, they have merit in what I have seen from some (not all) alleged child rapists - there is a distinction in practice between those who rape, and those who are more like children themselves, yet often these two types of pedophiles are lumped into one heinous category.
Regarding age differences: Many cultures have different ages, even today, regarding when it is appropriate to have sexual activity. Some say at puberty, others say older at 16, 17 or 18. I've had a few clients from other cultures utterly baffled that it was considered morally wrong to engage in sex with a 15 year old when they were 30 themselves.
Regarding letting children make decisions about love/sex - there is a Ra quote that talks about children are responsible for what they do at a very early age (basically before the toddler stage), but on the other hand, a role model for a child has a solemn trust that can be abused - we all as children have a strong desire to receive approval from role model/parental figures - how often have we done something we didn't want to do to make a parent or role model happy? Perhaps such an event would be a catalytic event, but I know that many of us have learned that ultimately what we did to please others was a less skillful choice. I note this as a cautionary tale about whether children's free will with respect to authority figures they trust/want to please is more or less free.
But in the end, it's all about loving and understanding what is going on in another person's head, and I think you convey that beautifully. I've had more than one case of a 'consensual' encounter between a 13 year old and a late twenty year old that was tried in criminal court, only to find in the course of my investigation that the twenty something year old had the mind of a small child (which unfortunately is not a defense).
Your ideas are not just theoretical Not Sure, they have merit in what I have seen from some (not all) alleged child rapists - there is a distinction in practice between those who rape, and those who are more like children themselves, yet often these two types of pedophiles are lumped into one heinous category.
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