Qualitative studies with male adolescents and practitioners (probation and police officers)

In many countries, statutory rape laws are also applied on male adolescents who engage in normative sexual behavior with their underage partners, even if they are underage themselves. This raises the question if their sexual behavior should automatically be presumed as deviant, warranting the application of statutory rape laws. In this dataset, we focused on the responses obtained from Malaysian juvenile offenders who had experience in engaging on sexual intercourse with an underage female (below 16 years old). We used the Incentive Theory of Sexual Motivation to understand the underlying element of deviance in the adolescents' sexual behavior with their underage partner. Various themes of the responses were unearthed, including the affirmation that sexual behavior with underage females do not seem to automatically be translated to deviance.In the dataset too, we have interviewed practitioners who had experience in dealing with male adolescent offenders detained for statutory rape. Various themes had also emerged, including the propensity for the practitioners to view the issue in lieu with their professional identities.This document records the excerpts from the interviews with 19 Malaysian male adolescents detained for statutory rape and 22 Malaysian practitioners (police and probation officers). We also attach here the interview protocols for both groups of participants.