European legislators’ attitudes toward childhood sexuality from the perspective of age of consent legislation

Childhood sexuality is a culturally constructed notion, which has constantly been subjected to change. Various constructions of childhood sexuality represent different attitudes toward children's engagement in sex. As a substantial factor in regulating children's sexuality, a country's age of consent legislation is an important indicator of the national legislator's attitudes toward childhood sexuality. This study summarizes four main discourses around child sexuality, ranging from traditional constructions that solely focus on protecting the child's “innocence” to modern notions that provide more leeway for children to explore their sexuality. By juxtaposing these discourses against the current age of consent laws in 57 European jurisdictions, it appears that national law makers in Europe are still mainly influenced by the traditional construction of childhood sexuality, which results in various negative consequences. To avoid the disconnect between academic discussions about childhood sexuality and legislatos' rationales for their actions, it is recommended that legislators take the latest findings in academia into account and reflect on the rationales behind their legislation.

Book and Poetry Reviews

Steven Angelides. The Fear of Child Sexuality: Young People, Sex and Agency (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2019), 272 pp. ISBN: 978-0-226-64863-7. Paperback, $30.00.Stephan Torre. Red Obsidian: New & Selected Poems (Regina, Canada: University of Regina Press, 2021), 152 pp. ISBN 978-088-977775-0. Paperback, $19.95.James W. Messerschmidt. Hegemonic Masculinity: Formulation, Reformulation, and Amplification (London: Rowman & Littlefield, 2018), 181 pp. ISBN: 978-1-5381-1404-9. Paperback $32.00.

Narrative of Denial from Five Cases of the Incestuous Fathers

<p class="p1">Various data from the society show the tendency of increasing number of incest’s cases. This study aims to analyze the narratives of five cases of fathers who become perpetrators of incest. This study was conducted in 2016 to five fathers of incestuous perpetrators, who inhabited two Correctional Institutions in Bengkulu. This study was conducted using feminist narrative analysis and found that incestuous perpetrators rationalize their crimes based on their sexual identity and history to the victim. The history of the victims’ sexuality, which represents corrupted, dirty, wild, and naughty bodies, became a justification for incest. Persons with disabilities faced multiple vulnerabilities, not only being humiliated through the rape by their fathers, but they were also being blamed for their inability to participate in the investigation process and court hearings. The research has found linkages between incest and early marriage, troubled marriages, and early divorce. The construction of hypersexuality and the objectification of the perpetrators towards child sexuality had failed to guide the perpetrators towards a sane relationship.</p>

Implementasi Pendidikan Seksualitas Anak melalui Pembelajaran Fikih (Studi Multisitus di MI As-Sunniyyah 45 Kencong dan MIMA 34 Hasyim Asy’ari Ambulu Jember)

The implementation of sexuality education in schools provides an important role for child development. With sexuality education through fiqh learning, the teacher can provide habituation and instill the value of responsibility in children by introducing the duties and functions of the limbs based on the gender of the child. This study aims to determine (1) how is the implementation of child sexuality education through the learning of the chapter of the Thaharah chapter of fiqh? This research used a qualitative descriptive approach with a multi-site study, because it was conducted in two educational institutions, namely MIMA 34 Hasyim Asy'ari Ambulu Jember and MI 45 As-Sunniyyah Kencong Jember. Data collection techniques through interviews (with the principal, maple jurisprudence teacher, homeroom teacher, and students), observation, and documentation study developed through research instruments. The results of the research are as follows (1) The implementation of child sexuality education through the learning of the thaharah chapter of fiqh is through: (a) the material on menstruation, circumcision, and the limitations of baligh; (b) the methods used are lectures, question and answer and storytelling; (c) the selected media is a blackboard. (2) Implementation of child sexuality education through fiqh learning in the prayer chapter is through: (a) material on genitals and the differences between men and women in prayer; (b) the methods used are lectures, questions and answers, and demonstrations; (c) the media chosen is a three-dimensional visual tool in the form of artificial objects such as barbie dolls and real objects in the form of students themselves.

Regulating bodies: the moral panic of child sexuality in the digital era

Mit zunehmendem Zugang zum Internet hat sich das explorative Verhalten von Kindern zu Sexualität auch auf den Onlinebereich ausgeweitet. Dies führte zu einer Wiederbelebung der moralischen Panik rund um die kindliche Sexualität, insbesondere in Bezug auf das wachsende Phänomen des einvernehmlichen „Sextings“ zwischen Minderjährigen. Diese moralische Panik wird durch die Sorge um sexuellen Missbrauch und sexuelle Ausbeutung von Kindern im Kontext von „Kinderpornographie“ noch weiter befeuert. In dem Bestreben, Kinder vor solchen Straftaten zu schützen, wird einvernehmliches „Sexting“ zwischen Minderjährigen in manchen Ländern als Produktion und Verbreitung von „Kinderpornographie“ gewertet und führt so zur Strafverfolgung beteiligter Kinder als SexualstraftäterInnen. Das Recht auf Schutz vor sexuellem Missbrauch und Ausbeutung ist hier das dominierende Narrativ. Dieser Artikel argumentiert, dass die Kriminalisierung von Kindern aufgrund einvernehmlicher sexueller Erkundungen im Online-Raum kontraproduktiv für das Ziel des Kinderschutzes ist. Stattdessen sollten Länder in Fällen von einvernehmlichen „Sexting“ zwischen Minderjährigen einen auf Rechten basierenden Ansatz verfolgen und die widerstreitenden Interessen von Autonomie und Kinderschutz dadurch ausgleichen, dass sie das einvernehmliche „Sexting“ zwischen Minderjährigen aus dem Geltungsbereich der „Kinderpornografie“ ausschließen.