The term "statutory rape" is sometimes used when national and/or regional governments, citing an interest in protecting minors, consider people under a certain age to be unable to give consent, and therefore consider sexual contact with them to be rape. The age at which individuals are considered competent to give consent is the age of consent. The limits set by each state vary in accordance with local standards of morality, and range from 13 to 21. Sex which violates age-of-consent law but is neither violent nor physically coerced is sometimes described as statutory rape, which in US states is usually a legally-recognized category. In some jurisdictions this may be known only as "under-aged sex" or "sex with a minor" and, although it may be prosecuted as rape, the words statutory rape are not used. The legal position however is usually identical.

Statutory rape therefore refers to the crime of sexual intercourse with someone under the local age of consent but older than the maximum age for the act to be considered child molestation. It is so named because it is considered to be rape under a specific statute rather than under the principles of criminal common law. The state declares that children under a certain age are not able to give informed consent, citing an interest in protecting minors. Thus even if a person under the age of consent for their area agrees to sexual activity, it is still considered legally to be rape.

Laws vary widely in their definitions of statutory rape; some states make exceptions when the older person is also young or of a similar age, or if he or she marries the minor before the act of sexual intercourse or before being charged with the offense. Due to a wide variety of opinions on what the proper age of consent should be, and conflicts between child sex protection laws and the natural exploration of teenage sexuality, statutory rape charges can sometimes be controversial.

In the past, sex involving an adult female and an underage male were often ignored by the law, as many believed that this was not a bad experience for teenage boys. However, in recent years, the situation has changed, and there have now been a number of high profile cases (Mary Kay Letourneau, Debra Lafave, Tammy Imre , Pamela Turner ) where adult women have been prosecuted for establishing sexual relationships with younger boys.