Abstract Sexual curiosity emerges early in human development, yet contemporary legal frameworks often leave adolescents and emerging adults vulnerable to exploitation while fostering sexual shame—a well-documented predictor of anxiety, depression, and relational difficulties. This essay proposes the Youth Autonomy and Protection Act (full text in Section 3), a hypothetical reform that (a) establishes peer-focused legal capacity at age 14 with close-in-age safeguards, (b) extends categorical prot