No, it's not an arbitrary line, though the exact placement of where the line should be is debatable.
The point is that nobody knows or can really agree and the age limit is generally 14 to 16, with a few outliers below 14 and a few setting it up at 18. I happen to live in California, one of the few places in the world where it was set at 18, because back when it was set in the 1920s, California was very socially conservative and banned all oral sex, even from adults and married couples until the 1970s.
You may not like it, but that's exactly what the law says.
The point is that the rationale for the law and effect of the law are absurd. "That's the law" is a circular argument. Not all laws are good, some are nonsense. Instead, the law should be set in a more graduated way, where the crimes and punishments start out low and increase as the age drops.
Statutory Rape is NOT the equivalent to a violent rape, you're right.
My only point here is not do debate whether it SHOULD be a crime, but instead simply that it is not rape. You can call it any number of other names, like assault, or unlawful sex, or whatever, but reserve "rape" for the actual historical meaning of the word, which requires the use of force (or incapacitating drugs).
The point is that nobody knows or can really agree and the age limit is generally 14 to 16, with a few outliers below 14 and a few setting it up at 18. I happen to live in California, one of the few places in the world where it was set at 18, because back when it was set in the 1920s, California was very socially conservative and banned all oral sex, even from adults and married couples until the 1970s.
The point is that the rationale for the law and effect of the law are absurd. "That's the law" is a circular argument. Not all laws are good, some are nonsense. Instead, the law should be set in a more graduated way, where the crimes and punishments start out low and increase as the age drops.
"statutory rape" isn't rape, it's a legal fiction. That's why California, for example, doesn't call it "statutory rape", it calls the crime "unlawful sex" which is more accurate.
My only point here is not do debate whether it SHOULD be a crime, but instead simply that it is not rape. You can call it any number of other names, like assault, or unlawful sex, or whatever, but reserve "rape" for the actual historical meaning of the word, which requires the use of force (or incapacitating drugs).