Coupet Sacha M., Marrus Ellen (eds.). Children, Sexuality, and the Law

New York University Press, 2015. — 274 p.American political and legal culture is uncomfortable with children's sexuality. While aware that sexual expression is a necessary part of human development, law rarely contemplates the complex ways in which it interacts with children and sexuality. Just as the law circumscribes children to a narrow range of roles - either as entirely sexless beings or victims or objects of harmful adult sexual conduct - so too does society tend to discount the notion of children as agents in the domain of sex and sexuality. This book reflects on some of the unique challenges that accompany children in the broader context of sex, exploring from diverse perspectives the ways in which children emerge in sexually related dimensions of law and contemporary life. It explores a broad range of issues, from the psychology of children as sexual beings to the legal treatment of adolescent consent.