Ethico-legal concerns in relation to adolescent sexual intercourse

Abstract

Generally, consensual adolescent sexual intercourse is fraught with a number of negative outcomes such as socio-economically, where unplanned pregnancies occur, and medically with the spread of sexually transmitted diseases that require treatment. The Sexual Offences and Related Matters Amendment Act 32 of 2007, hereunder referred to as the Sexual Offences Act (“SOA”), criminalised consensual sexual intercourse between adolescents aged from 12 to less than16 years. Since the inception of the SOA in 2007, there seemed to have been relatively little evaluation of the practical effect of sections 15 and 16 of the SOA on society. This changed in 2011 when two non-profit organisations, The Teddy Bear Clinic for Abused Children and RAPCAN (Resources Aimed at the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect) who were the first and second applicants respectively, challenged the constitutionality of certain sections of the SOA. These sections are: - section 15 – entitled “Acts of consensual sexual penetration with certain children (statutory rape)”; - section 16 – entitled “Acts of consensual sexual violation with certain children (statutory sexual assault); and - section 56(2) – which deals with defences in respect of sections 15 and 16. In October 2013, the Constitutional Court declared sections 15 and 16 inconsistent with the Constitution. That declaration was suspended for a period of 18 months to enable Parliament to correct the defects in the statute. It is widely known that adolescents still engage in consensual sex with each other regardless of the law. The issues invite an evaluation of the current legislation in the context of the health and social issues that surround them. In addition, the impact of the current applicable legislation on the present realism needs to be scrutinised. It is essential for alternative interventions to be established which will aid in reducing the negative impact of consensual adolescent sexual intercourse. This research report looks at interventions that could be introduced to prevent adolescent sexual intercourse and alleviate the negativity of outcomes. Furthermore, the report aims to suggest an ethical, structured approach to reduce the current negative outcomes of adolescent sexual intercourse. In order to accomplish this I first describe the legislation that applies to consensual adolescent sexual intercourse of children between the ages of 12 and 16 years old. This brought to the fore the health practitioner’s practical experiences of problems associated with this legislation. In addition, I identify and discuss some ethical problems that health practitioners are confronted with in relation to consensual adolescent intercourse, in terms of having to balance their professional legal and ethical obligations. Finally, I propose some recommendations that will inform educational organisations on the relevant information to be included in sexual and reproductive health education campaigns. Furthermore, recommendations are made to relevant national policy-making departments to make strategic decisions regarding health and social interventions for adolescent sexual and reproductive health services.