Like IM said...

...when he put the word "abuse" into quotes was not to deny the existence of actual abuse, but to highlight the fact that every single time a legally designated minor chooses to have sexual intimacy with a much older person, it's automatically considered "abuse" in a purely legal sense

I am in no way questioning the reality of child abuse. Children do indeed have the capacity to feel certain ways on BOTH ends of the spectrum, positive and negative. I make every effort to be tuned into the emotions and needs of kids, and keep in mind where they are at developmentally.

HOWEVER, I don't assume anything about how they will think/feel/react to certain situations based on their age. Instead, I try to treat every person with respect and get to know them as individuals -- just as I would not make an assumption about someone because they are a different race or gender, neither will I assume because of age.

I am shooting an arrow at the conceptual legitimacy of the term "minor" because labels are a poor shortcut to understanding. Do some people under the age of 18 lack the knowledge and emotional competence to safely engage in intimate physical relationships? Undoubtedly. So do many people over age 18. Do some under age 18 have the competence to do so? Most certainly! In fact, Robert Epstein and Diane Dumas conducted a study of various "adult" competencies (those competencies that one would associate with being "not a minor") and discovered that many teens are equal to adults. This is but one example of how the legal definition "minor" has rather a shaky foundation from a scientific standpoint.

Speaking from experience, I know and have know a few kids that even by age 10 or so astounded all the adults they met with their confidence and emotional maturity. They seemed to move quickly through of even entirely ignore the sensitive/delicate phase that you allude to by mentioning "the world that many children live in". Some kids don't need that world for very long, and are ready to join ours... we are doing a disservice to them by not letting them.