I can't be awake.

[morgaine_x]

Apparently, people get cautioned for rape?

Do they get cautioned for murder too?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4894726.stm

How the fuck can this happen?

Comments

[pashazade.livejournal.com]

I saw an article on the Times's site. It appears that most of those cautioned were boys under the age of eighteen which leads me to believe that they were probably guilty of sex with a girl under sixteen, which is legally rape. (I think.)

[hano.livejournal.com]

That was certainly my understanding - If a boy of sixteen has intercourse with a girl of fifteen then technically he is guilty of rape regardless of whether both parties were consenting. Hence it is considered against the best interests of justice to lock up said 16 yr old boy for a number of years.
That said, R4 were saying that a number of cases were where the male admitted rape, but the victim refused to cooperate with the investigation which worried me somewhat.

[morgaine-x.livejournal.com]

I agree that ths statutory rape question is a very difficult issue, especially where consent is clear but not legally available. (Personally I believe the age of consent is too high, considering the age at which most lose their virginity is rather lower.) But the stories suggest there are cases so far outside this very specific area. The "cultural issues" one I referred to below (from the Times article) most particularly.