Allowing age-of-consent bill to stall is shameful

The Alaska State Capitol and the Dimond Courthouse. (City and Borough of Juneau photo)

By Jorden Nigro

At the end of last year's legislative session, the House unanimously passed House Bill 101, a bill that would raise the age of consent in Alaska from 16 to 18. The bill has had three hearings in the  Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Anchorage Democrat Matt Claman, and has sat there since. I've heard a variety of reasons for this, one being that Sen. Claman, who happens to be running for governor, would like to attach this to a larger crime bill. 

Regardless of his reasoning, the bill being left to sit in his committee needs to be addressed. I've spent my career working with young people. I also grew up in rural Alaska where it was not uncommon for 16-year-old girls to be in "relationships" with men well into their 20s, myself included. While some of these relationships were hidden, others were and still are looked at by the community as consensual and even normal. Hogwash. Alaska can and should do better. 

Science tells us that our brains are not fully developed at 16, or 18 for that matter. That said, we would all agree 16-year-olds are children. The age of consent remaining 16 is a patriarchal framework based on men getting what they want from girls. What century are we living in here people? 

While it does impact some boys, it is far and away girls who are preyed upon by older men — men who know the age of consent is 16 — men that would otherwise be considered pedophiles. I cannot begin to tell you about the number of 16- and 17-year-old girls I've known in my life who would otherwise be able to press charges for statutory rape, but can't because the law considers them old enough to make this decision. These situations impact girls for the rest of their lives in one way or another — just like all survivors of sexual violence, the impact is long-lasting and real. 

A 16-year-old might find the attention from a 25-year-old flattering and not have the brain development to understand it's predatory; a 25-, 30-, or 40-year-old man sexualizing a sophomore in high school should be behind bars. Yet Alaska, with one of the highest rates of sexual assault in the nation, allows this to go on.

Shame on us for allowing this law to stand on the books for as long as it has. I remember being a teen and being keenly aware that 16 was the age of consent. My friends knew this and the 25-year-old men who came for the summer to work at the fishing lodges knew it too. It makes my skin crawl to think back on this. 

I can only assume that Sen. Claman has some plan with this bill that he thinks will help him get elected governor. Playing politics with children's lives is unacceptable. The safety of our children should be a non-partisan issue. Let's get on with it. There is no time like the present to do what is right. 

• Jorden Nigro has worked with youth and families in Juneau in the public and private sectors for 27 years. She lives downtown with her husband and two tiny dogs.