Brian Rushfeldt, the executive director of the Canada Family Action Coalition, must have a sense of how William F. Buckley Jr. felt when he launched his National Review magazine in the 1950s to “stand athwart history yelling ‘stop.'” At a time when sex is being marketed to young teenagers through television programs such as The Jerry Springer Show and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and through such music videos as Britney Spears’ “I’m a slave 4 you,” and “Bootylicious” by Destiny’s Child, CFAC has launched a nation-wide campaign to pressure the federal government to raise the age of consent for sex from age 14 to 18. CFAC is currently distributing one million Age of Consent brochures, which include a tear-off postcard that Canadians can sign and mail to the justice minister.
Rushfeldt says the campaign has been undertaken to protect children. “We have had reports from both police and the media which suggest there is an increasing number of sexual predators who are preying on children,” says the CFAC executive director. “When the Mulroney government lowered the age of consent in 1987, the intent was not to protect these predators. Children right now are open targets, and the law should protect children. One way to do that would be to raise the age of consent.” He adds that teenagers under the age of 18 are unable by law to drink alcohol, vote, or volunteer for combat, so it seems odd that the age of consent is so low for sex.
The CFAC website contains a number of disturbing anecdotes which illustrate the dangers of a low age of consent. Fourteen-year-old Marianna, for example, moved in with a 36-year-old pimp and drug dealer against her parents’ wishes. Her father pleaded with police and social services to get her back, yet he was told that under the law, Marianna was within her rights to live with whomever she pleased, and the police could not get involved unless Marianna turned to prostitution. The story ends with Marianna’s boyfriend kicking her out of his apartment when she turned 20. With only a Grade 7 education and a child to support, Marianna turned to nude dancing.
Asked if he believes the campaign will succeed, Rushfeldt sounds cautiously optimistic. “We do have hope,” he says. “We’ve been in contact with a number of MPs, and received a lot of positive feedback.” While he believes there is support for raising the age of consent even within the Liberal Party, Rushfeldt is thankful that Prime Minister Jean Chretien recently shuffled Anne McLellan out of the justice portfolio, because “she was stonewalling this constantly.” In 1999, the provincial attorneys general called on the federal government to raise the age of consent to 16 as a means of fighting the exploitation of children, and the Justice Ministry seemed to agree last fall, yet no action has yet been taken.
Still, Rushfeldt is realistic about the forces he is up against. “It’s a difficult fight, considering the influence coming out of the popular culture is just huge, yet we have to do what we can to uphold values.” While Rushfeldt believes the age of consent should be 18, he recognizes there is probably enough political will to raise it to just 16. He adds that while he is not particularly fond of the less-than-three-years age difference clause in the law (meaning that a 15-year-old boy would not be prosecuted for statutory rape if he had consensual sex with a 13-year-old girl), CFAC has not called for its removal. “If we got rid of that rule, a lot of kids would become criminals for having sex with each other,” says Rushfeldt.
