Jailbait
{{Short description|Slang term used for a young person}}
{{other uses}}
{{pp-vandalism|small=yes}}
Jailbait is slang{{Cite book | title = Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary | year = 2001 | publisher = Random House | location = New York | isbn = 0-375-42605-1 |page=1022}}{{cite journal |last1=Sutherland |first1=Kate |title=From Jailbird to Jailbait: Age of Consent Laws and the Construction of Teenage Sexualities |journal=William and Mary Journal of Women and the Law |volume=9 |issue=3 |year=2003 |pages=313–49 |ssrn=1586883 |url=https://scholarship.law.wm.edu/wmjowl/vol9/iss3/2/ }} for a person who is younger than the legal age of consent for sexual activity and usually appears older, with the implication that a person above the age of consent might find them sexually attractive.{{cite web |url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/jail--bait |title=Jail bait |work=Dictionary.com |access-date=2018-09-16 |archive-date=2023-06-01 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230601054717/https://www.dictionary.com/browse/jail--bait |url-status=dead }} The term jailbait is derived from the fact that engaging in sexual activity with someone who is under the age of consent is classified as statutory rape or by an equivalent term.In the U.S. State of California, there is no such crime of "statutory rape," as the term "rape" is used specifically as penetration by force. The equivalent crime is "unlawful sexual intercourse" as defined by [https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=PEN§ionNum=261.5 Sec. 261.5] of the California Penal Code.
Criteria
As the legal age of consent varies by country and jurisdiction, the age at which a person can be considered "jailbait" varies. For example, in the United Kingdom, where the age of consent is 16,{{cite web |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/42/contents |title=Sexual Offences Act 2003 |publisher=The National Archives |access-date=2018-09-16}} the term is used to refer to those younger than 16, whereas in some parts of the United States, where the age of consent is 18, the term would refer to those aged under 18. The frequent use of the term jailbait in popular culture has been linked to a greater understanding of age of consent laws among teenagers.
See also
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