Double standards?

The Debra LaFave case has been all over the news the last two days. More so in my listening area since it’s a local story. It’s pretty obvious she got a sweet deal. Most experts seemed to agree that there was no way she could avoid jail time if the case ever went to trial.

So we come to the question that has been asked a million times over the last two days. Would a male in a similar situation have gotten off this lightly? Hell no! He would have been branded a paedophile and would have been rotting in jail. No brainer. So isn’t that a double standard? Of course it is. However, unlike a lot of other double standards (some quite justified IMO), no one seems to be particularly outraged over this.

Is it because people reckon a 14 year old guy isn’t really the victim here if he got to have sex with such a hottie? Does that make what the teacher did acceptable? Then why even have a law regarding statutory rape? Why even make it illegal for a person over a certain age to have sex with minors? Why not just formulate a new set of laws stating that as long as the sex is consential and as long as the minor is a boy who wants to get some ass, anything goes?

What makes this even more outrageous is the fact that the gist of one of the arguments of the defense attorney was that she’s too pretty for prison. That she would just be victimized in prison. Sure. Poor helpless Debra LaFave. Let’s just let her walk shall we?

There has been a trend of letting women off lightly in such cases. This is the 3rd teacher (all the teachers are female) in Florida who has been charged with having a sexual relationship with a student. Aren’t teachers supposed to be held to a higher standard. People are trusting their kids to these people. Whatever happened to fiduciary responsibility. If anything, the penalty for such a crime should be even more severe for these people!

The logic behind not seeing the need to send these women to prison is that such an act or incident affects young girls very differently than guys the same age. Moreover, the chances of a woman being a repeat offender are minimal (let’s forget the Mary Kay Laterneau case for the moment). A man in a similar situation is more likely to be a threat to society and children and needs to be locked up. I don’t necessarily agree with this reasoning in terms of the conclusion drawn ie women need not serve time but I do see the logic.