Law’s Lolita Paradox: Translating ‘Childhood’ In Statutory Rape Jurisprudence

This article addresses how normative views about ‘childhood’ are translated into statutory rape legislation and court judgments at the highest legal level in Brazil, Federal Supreme Court. The draws on literature sociology of childhood to trace courts translate societal narratives construction agency, vulnerability victimhood with regard children sexuality. Analysing historical contemporary Court decisions over a 20-year period, we argue that subjecthood child victims sexual crimes is constructed intersection prevailing norms society moralising discourses women’s Deviating from results prominence sexuality desire judicial argumentation, situating legal-semantic space which they simultaneously denied agency characterises adulthood special protection compensates for this lack laws. We refer situation friction as ‘Lolita paradox’ jurisprudence.