Adolescence: Multidisciplinary Perspectives

Contributors from several fields examine adolescent sexual behaviour through case studies, legal analysis and empirical research. The book adds to the debate on child sexual abuse by asking what makes the sexual contact of adolescents different from that of children, and why the two groups might need different treatment under the law.

One key worry is that some laws fail to tell children and adolescents apart. The text covers the history of the age of consent, youthful sexuality, dealings between young people and adults, and the issues of adolescent prostitution and pornography.

It also looks at policies that threaten adolescents' autonomy, such as efforts to deny young people's sexuality through abstinence or legal reform, along with intergenerational sexual interaction and child pornography. The argument is that both the right to wanted sexual activity and the right to protection from unwanted aggression must be recognised. The book is identified by ISBN-13 9781317954996.