California has allocated more than $2 million to 16 jurisdictions to enforce the State's statutory rape law. The highest priorities for prosecution involve cases that result in pregnancy and cases in which there is an age discrepancy of more than 5 years. California has stiffened penalties for statutory rape to include a $25,000 fine and a 9-year prison sentence for second-time offenders. Laws in California and elsewhere reflect a consensus that minors are not mature enough to make major decisions because they are vulnerable to coercion and exploitation. Therefore, many young girls consent to sexual relationships that society can and should recognize as exploitative. Despite the usefulness of statutory rape laws, they ignore the exploitative nature of sexual encounters between minors of similar ages and provide insufficient guidance to law enforcement personnel because they lack specificity on what constitutes coercion. Existing statutory rape laws need to be refined, with due consideration given to the harm the laws aim to prevent and relevant gender issues. 1 table