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Title: Report of the Special Committee on Moral Delinquency in Children and Adolescents
The Mazengarb Report (1954)
Author: Oswald Chettle Mazengarb et al.
Release Date: February 7, 2005 [EBook #14760]
Language: English
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*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MORAL DELINQUENCY IN CHILDREN ***
Produced by Jonathan Ah Kit, Cori Samuel and the PG Online Distributed
Proofreading Team.
1954
NEW ZEALAND
REPORT OF THE SPECIAL COMMITTEE
ON
MORAL DELINQUENCY
IN
CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS
_Laid upon the Table of the House of Representatives by Leave_
BY AUTHORITY: R.E. OWEN, GOVERNMENT PRINTER, WELLINGTON.--1954
20 September 1954.
The Right Honourable the Prime Minister,
Wellington.
Sir,
Having taking into consideration the matters referred to us on 23 July
1954, we submit herewith the report and recommendations upon which we
are all agreed.
Accompanying the report, for purposes of record, are four volumes
containing the evidence of the witnesses who appeared before us and a
large file of the submissions which were made in writing.
We have the honour to be, Sir,
Your Obedient Servants,
O.C. MAZENGARB, Chairman.
R.A. BLOODWORTH }
J. LEGGAT }
G.L. MCLEOD } Members.
Lucy V. O'BRIEN }
J.S. SOMERVILLE }
F.N. STACE }
_The Special Committee on Moral Delinquency in Children and
Adolescents_
CHAIRMAN
Dr OSWALD CHETTLE MAZENGARB, Q.C.
MEMBERS
Mrs RHODA ALICE BLOODWORTH, J.P. (_Children's Court_).
Mr JAMES LEGGAT, E.D., M.A., _Headmaster, Christchurch Boys' High
School_.
Dr GORDON LOGIE MCLEOD, LL.B. (N.Z.), M.B.Ch.B. (N.Z.), D.P.H. (Eng.),
_Director, Division of Child Hygiene, Department of Health_.
Mrs LUCY VERONICA O'BRIEN, _Vice-President of Women's Auxiliary of
Inter-Church Council on Public Affairs: Arch-Diocesan President,
Catholic Women's League_.
Rev. JOHN SPENSER SOMERVILLE, M.C., M.A., _Chairman of the Inter-Church
Council on Public Affairs_.
Mr FRANCIS NIGEL STACE, B.E.(Elec.-Mech.), B.E.(Mech), _President, N.Z.
Junior Chamber of Commerce_.
SECRETARY
LEN JOSEPH GREENBERG, O.B.E., J.P.
_Contents_ _Page_
I. Preliminary Observations--
(1) Sensational Press Reports 7
(2) Press Reports from Overseas 8
(3) A World-wide Problem 9
II. Order of Reference and Procedure followed 10
III. Narrative--
(1) The Hutt Valley Cases 11
(2) Cases in Other Districts 13
IV. Has Juvenile Immorality Increased?--
(1) Difficulties of Comparison in Absence of Statistics 13
(2) Unreliability of Available Statistics for Comparative 14
Purposes
V. A Change of Pattern in Sexual Misbehaviour--
(1) Younger Groups Now Affected 18
(2) Precocity of Girls 18
(3) Organization of Immorality 19
(4) Recidivism 19
(5) Changed Mental Attitudes of Girls and Boys 19
(6) Homosexuality 20
VI. Searching for the Cause 20
VII. Some Visual and Auditory Influences--
(1) Objectionable Publications 21
(2) Films 23
(3) Broadcasting 25
(4) Press Advertising 26
(5) Television 26
VIII. The School--
(1) Teacher and the Child 27
(2) Co-education 28
(3) School Leaving Age 29
(4) Relations with the Child Welfare Division 30
(5) Sex Instruction in School 30
(6) "New Education" 31
IX. Community Influences--
(1) Housing Development 31
(2) Recreation and Entertainment 35
(3) Liquor and Gambling 36
X. The Home Environment--
(1) Feelings of Insecurity: The Unloved Child 37
(2) Absent Mothers and Fathers 39
(3) High Wages 40
XI. Information on Sex Matters--
(1) When Should This Information be Given? 41
(2) Who Should Give This Information? 42
(3) The Source of Information 42
XII. The Influence of Religion on Morality--
(1) The Need for a Religious Faith 43
(2) The Need for Religious Instruction 44
(3) The Need for Family Religion 44
XIII. The Family, Religion, and Morality--
(1) The Importance of the Family 44
(2) The Place of the Family in the Legal System 45
(3) The Sanctions of Religion and Morality in Family Life 46
(4) The Moral Drift 46
XIV. Changing Times and Concepts--
(1) Contraceptives 47
(2) The Broadening of the Divorce Laws 48
(3) Pre-marital Relations 48
(4) "Self Expression" in Children 49
(5) Materialistic Concepts in Society 49
XV. The Law and Morality--
(1) History of the Law Regarding Morality 50
(2) Protection of Women and Girls from Defilement 51
(3) Consent as a Defence 51
(4) Weaknesses in the Law 52
(5) Proposed Reforms 54
XVI. Child Welfare in New Zealand--
(1) History of Legislation 54
(2) The Children's Court 55
(3) Corporal Punishment Abolished 57
(4) Defects in the Act and its Application 57
(5) Changes Proposed 60
XVII. Summary of Conclusions 63
XVIII. Recommendations--
(1) Proposals for Legislation 66
(2) Proposals for Administrative Action 67
(3) Parental Example 68
XIX. Appreciation 68
Appendix A: Table of Sexual Offences for Which
Proceedings Were Taken in New Zealand 69
Appendix B: List of Witnesses, Submissions, and
Order of Appearance 70
_I. Preliminary Observations_
=(1) Sensational Press Reports=
In the second week of July 1954 various newspapers throughout the
Dominion featured reports of proceedings in the Magistrate's Court at
Lower Hutt against youths charged with indecent assault upon, or carnal
knowledge of, girls under 16 years of age.
The prosecuting officer was reported as saying that:
The police investigations revealed a shocking degree of immoral
conduct which spread into sexual orgies perpetrated in several
private homes during the absence of parents, and in several
second rate Hutt Valley theatres, where familiarity between
youths and girls was rife and commonplace.
He also stated that:
... in many cases the children came from excellent homes.
A few weeks previously reports had appeared in the press of statements
made by a Child Welfare Officer and a Stipendiary Magistrate that
juvenile delinquency (meaning delinquency in general and not only sexual
delinquency) had more than doubled in recent years, and that in many
cases the offenders came from:
... materially good homes where they are well provided for.
Such statements naturally provoked a good deal of private and public
comment throughout the Dominion. The anxiety of parents deepened, and
one leading newspaper asserted editorially that:
It is probably quite safe to assert that nothing that has
occurred in the Dominion for a long time has caused so much
public dismay and so much private worry as the disclosure of
moral delinquency among children and adolescents.
There is room for difference of opinion as to whether or not the ensuing
public discussion of sexual offending was desirable. On the one hand it
provoked many conversations on the subject between children themselves
and a noticeable desire to purchase newspapers on the way to and from
school. On the other hand the focusing of attention on the existence of
the peril to school children caused many parents, temporarily at any
rate, to take a greater interest in the training and care of their
children than they might otherwise have taken; it caused some heads of
schools to arrange for sex instruction; and it also resulted in a public
demand that something should be done to bring about a better state of
morality in the community.
Following hard upon the newspaper reports of these cases in the Hutt
Valley there was the news that two girls, each aged about 16 years had
been arrested in Christchurch on a charge of murdering the mother of
one of them. It soon became widely known (and this fact was established
at their subsequent trial) that these girls were abnormally homosexual
in behaviour.
There were also published in the press extracts from the annual report
of the Justice Department to the effect that sexual crime in New Zealand
was, per head of population, half as much again as the sexual crime in
England and Wales. The reasons why the Committee does not accept this
statement at its face value are stated later under Section IV (2).
=(2) Press Reports from Overseas=
In view of the fact that the happenings in the Hutt Valley were reported
in all New Zealand newspapers, and by many newspapers in Australia and
Great Britain, the Committee points out that the increase of sexual
delinquency is not confined to any one district or any one country.
It cannot be too strongly asserted that the great majority of the young
people of the Hutt Valley are as healthy-minded and as well behaved as
those in other districts, whether in New Zealand or elsewhere. It just
happened that, through the voluntary confession of one girl in Petone,
many cases were immediately brought to the knowledge of the police.
In the absence of comparable statistics from other countries, the
Committee can merely quote from some of the reports received in New
Zealand at about the same time that the Hutt Valley cases were reported.
(_a_) _England_
In Monmouthshire last year there was an increase of 88 per cent
in sexual offences. The biggest increases recorded were for
indecent assault on females--132 in 1953, compared with 75 in
1952--and for offences against girls under 16 years of age. In
his annual report the Chief Constable states that this shocking
record is a further indication of the general lowering of moral
standards ...--_The "Police Review" (London), 19 February 1954._
(_b_) _New South Wales_
POLICE UNCOVER WILD TEENAGE SEX ORGIES
Detectives have uncovered evidence of an amazing sex cult in
which a bodgie "high priest" and a number of pretty teenagers
indulged in wild orgies in a Sydney suburb.
It is alleged that the "high priest" made the girls participate
in lewd rituals, swear a profane oath on "the bodgies' bible"
and worship at a "bodgies' altar".
Following these sensational allegations, four men were
arrested. Police expect to arrest another seven. Disappearance
of the 15-year-old daughter of a respected Erskineville family
started the police investigation which uncovered the sex cult.
Both the girl and the "high priest" undressed, and, as she lay
on a bed, he compelled her to engage in grossly obscene acts
with him.
Then, while the "high priest" performed a gross act of
indecency, the girl swore the "widgies' oath" on the "bodgies'
bible".--_Sydney "Truth" 27 June 1954._
(_c_) _South Australia_
ADELAIDE POLICE SEIZE TEENAGERS IN SWIFT RAIDS
In a series of lightning raids Port Adelaide police have
arrested six teenagers who they claim are members of a sex cult.
Vice Squad detectives say the cult indulged in sex and drug
parties. The Port Adelaide Police Chief Inspector, G.E.
Mensfort, said that when the cases came to Court he suspected
revelations similar to those in the Hutt Valley, which recently
shocked New Zealand. A number of teenage youths have already
appeared in Port Adelaide Police and Juvenile Courts on carnal
knowledge charges ...--_Telegram in the "Dominion", 30 July
1954._
(_d_) _London_
MANY GIRLS IN BAD COMPANY
One black spot in an otherwise more optimistic report by the
Police Commissioner on crime in London is a disturbing increase
in the number of 17-and 18-year-old girls who are coming under
the notice of policewomen on their beat, says the _Daily
Mirror_.--_N.Z.P.A. to "Evening Post", 2 September 1954_.
=(3) A World-wide Problem=
There have been waves of sexual crime in various countries at various
times.
Juvenile delinquency itself has been the subject of much research
(especially in the United States) during the past fifty years. But
although such offences as indecent exposure and sexual assault by
juniors have been included in published figures, no special mention has
been found by this Committee of the aspect of sexual delinquency now
being discussed in New Zealand. What is entirely new in New Zealand (and
probably in other places, too) is the attitude of mind of some young
people to sexual indulgence with one another, their planning and
organization of it, and their assumption that when they consent together
they are not doing anything wrong.
Clergymen and publicists in various parts of the world have been
declaiming about illicit sexual practices and their effects on young
people, but this is the first time that any Government has set up a
Committee to sift the available data on sexual misbehaviour with a view
to finding the cause and suggesting a remedy.
While this report was being typed there appeared in the local
newspapers the following telegram despatched from London on September
14:
INQUIRY INTO VICE WAVE IN BRITAIN
A Government committee, including three women, is to open
tomorrow a searching probe into Britain's homosexuals and
prostitutes, to decide whether the country's vice laws should be
changed.
The Government's decision to set up the committee followed
public alarm at the vice wave in Britain, highlighted by a steep
increase in homosexual offences.
The Home Secretary, Sir David Maxwell Fyfe, has charged the
committee with considering the law and practice relating to
homosexual offences and the treatment of persons convicted of
such offences, and offences against the criminal law in
connection with prostitution and solicitation for immoral
purposes. According to the police, prostitutes in London alone
have soared to a record of more than 10,000. Convictions for
sexual offences exceed 5,000 a year, compared with the immediate
pre-war total of 2,300. The figures for male homosexual offences
have bounded even more sharply.
The extent of juvenile immorality in New Zealand may have been greatly
magnified abroad. If the good name of this Dominion has been sullied by
these reports, the Committee hopes that any damage may be repaired by
setting out the facts in their true perspective and by demonstrating
that we can, and will, do something in the interests of morality which
may also give a lead to other countries.
_II. Order of Reference and Procedure Followed_
On 23 July 1954 a Special Committee was appointed by the Government with
the following Order of Reference:
_To inquire into and to report upon conditions and influences that
tend to undermine standards of sexual morality of children and
adolescents in New Zealand, and the extent to which such
conditions and influences are operative, and to make
recommendations to the Government for positive action by both
public and private agencies, or otherwise._
The Committee held its first meeting on Tuesday, 27 July, to determine
points of procedure and to make arrangements to hear all who desired to
make submissions. There were placed before the Committee files of
letters which had been written to Ministers of the Crown, and hundreds
of newspaper clippings, relating to this topic. Some days were occupied
in the sorting and reading of this material in anticipation of the task
which lay ahead.
The Committee commenced the hearing of evidence at Wellington on
Tuesday, 3 August. It sat in Christchurch for the convenience of people
in the South Island on 31 August and 1 September, and in Auckland from 6
September to 10 September.
Altogether 145 persons (18 on more than one occasion), appearing either
in a representative capacity or as private individuals, were heard. In
addition, 203 written submissions were made by interested organizations
and private persons, and a large volume of relevant correspondence,
addressed direct to the Committee, was considered. A list of the persons
who appeared before the Committee and of the organizations or societies
which made either written or oral representations is attached.
It should here be observed that the Committee, not having the powers of
a Commission of Inquiry, could not summon witnesses before it. All
officers of the Crown, and all public agencies from whom information was
sought, were helpful. Much of the evidence, however, was secondary or
hearsay evidence. The Committee had not the power to trace some of the
stated facts back to their source.
It was thought undesirable to interview any of the children involved in
recent happenings. Reliance had to be placed on information regarding
each individual made available by the police and Child Welfare Officers,
and, in some cases, by the heads of their respective schools. Similarly,
there was much secondary evidence of indecent behaviour and of other
facts said to have been derived from reliable sources. The absence of
direct evidence on some of these matters, however, did not prevent the
Committee from looking at the problem in its broad general aspects, and
from reaching conclusions which could not be affected by a closer
scrutiny of some of the individual matters narrated to the Committee.
_III. Narrative_
=(1) The Hutt Valley Cases=
Before proceeding to examine the extent of sexual laxity among children
and adolescents it is convenient to narrate the factual happenings which
caused this problem to assume such large proportions in the public mind
in July and August last.
On the 20th day of June 1954 information was sought from the police
concerning the whereabouts of a girl 15-1/2 years of age who was missing
from her home at Petone. A few hours later this girl called at the
Petone Police Station. She stated that, being unhappy at home with her
stepfather, she had, since the previous Christmas, been a member of what
she called a "Milk Bar Gang" which (in her own words) met "mostly for
sex purposes"; she had "become tired of the sex life", was worried about
the future of its younger members, and desired the police to break up
the gang. She gave the names of other members of the gang to the police.
By interviewing persons named by this girl, and then interviewing others
whom they in turn named, the police were able, without difficulty, to
obtain admissions and evidence of sexual misconduct by 65 children.
The procedure followed was for the parents to be visited at their
residences by a constable in plain clothes, told the nature of the
inquiry, and informed of the desire of the police to interview the
children at the police station. When a parent and child attended at the
time appointed the parent was informed that, either through a sense of
shame or fear of the parent, the child might not make a full disclosure
of the facts known to her. Some parents consented to their children
being interviewed alone; others desired, and were allowed, to remain for
the questioning. After each interview the parents were permitted to read
the statements of their children and to sign them before the children
themselves were asked to sign.
The disclosures thus made, immediately recalled certain similar
occurrences in the same district during October/November 1952. It
speedily became apparent that the 1954 situation was much more serious
in that there were approximately three times as many children dealt with
and that three of the children had been involved in the earlier trouble.
For purposes of comparison the Hutt Valley cases are set out as follows:
Girls involved 6 17
Girls pregnant 2 ...
Boys involved 11 37
Boys over eighteen ... 5
Charges laid 61 107
Committed to care of State 3 girls 5 girls
1 boy
Placed under supervision 3 girls 4 girls
7 boys 7 boys
Admitted to probation 1 boy 6 boys
Admonished and discharged or otherwise
dealt with 3 30
Dismissed in Children's Court ... 3
Acquitted in Magistrate's Court ... 1
Acquitted in Supreme Court ... 3
(One boy appeared in both Supreme Court and Magistrate's Court; thus
showing 60 persons dealt with.)
=(2) Cases in Other Districts=
It cannot be supposed that sexual misbehaviour was confined to the Hutt
district. Similar environmental conditions obtain in other districts. It
was reliably stated in evidence at Wellington that if a girl elsewhere
were to carry her story to the police similar revelations would be made
there.
In Auckland matters came to the knowledge of the Committee which do
cause grave concern. Here again the Committee was not engaged on a
fact-finding mission, but was seeking to evaluate the evidence in a
broad way.
It appears that, a few weeks before the Hutt cases were reported, the
headmaster of an intermediate school informed the police of a case of
theft of money by a schoolboy who was found to have £22 in his wallet.
In the course of their inquiries into this the police were started on a
train of investigation into sexual practices of children on their way
home from school, at the homes of parents, and elsewhere. As a result,
about 40 boys and girls in the 12--15-year-old group (but including also
a girl of 9 years) were implicated. In addition to this, there were two
cases before the Court in which several girls had given evidence of
their agreement to sexual intercourse with older men. One of the accused
men has recently been sentenced to a term of imprisonment, while the
other is still awaiting trial. As this latter case, and also a charge of
murder against a boy aged 14, are still _sub judice_, the Committee is
unable to comment on any of the factors involved.
This much may, however, be said that, from the police, welfare officers,
a headmaster, and social workers in Auckland, the Committee learned of
an accumulation of sordid happenings occurring within a short space of
time which people who regard themselves as men of the world could
scarcely believe possible in this Dominion.
No submissions were presented to the Committee that sexual offending by
juveniles in the South Island had increased to any alarming extent. Such
cases as were mentioned to the Committee followed previously recognized
patterns.
_IV. Has Juvenile Immorality Increased?_
=(1) Difficulties of Comparison in Absence of Statistics=
In seeking to ascertain whether immorality among children and
adolescents has increased or is increasing it should be pointed out that
there are not any statistics available either in New Zealand or
elsewhere from which reliable guidance may be obtained. Sexual
immorality is, by its very nature, a clandestine vice. Any available
figures can comprise only such things as detected offences against the
law, or registration of ex-nuptial births, or births which have
resulted from pre-marital intercourse. Figures are not available
concerning immoral acts which do not become the subject of a criminal
charge.
Charges of unlawful carnal knowledge or indecent assault arise, for the
most part, from complaints made by females. From feelings of chivalry or
other reasons it is not in the nature of the male to inform on the
female. The common experience is that a charge of sexual impropriety
comes from information supplied by the female. So long as a girl is
prepared to be silent, the offenders remain unknown. As with older
people, so also with children.
Whether sexual laxity has been increasing must be a matter largely of
impression based, perhaps, upon inference from certain known facts. On
this matter there is room for a wide divergence of opinion. If
policemen, teachers, or social workers in the Hutt district had been
asked in June of 1954 whether immorality had increased there, they would
probably have replied that the wave of 1952 had receded and matters were
back to normal. Yet a month later that district had achieved an
unenviable, and even unfair, reputation in this respect.
Sad to relate, the cases in respect of which the police took action in
the Hutt do not represent the full extent of known sexual immorality
among juveniles there. This is shown by the following pieces of
evidence:
(_a_) The office bearers of one Church gave to the Committee
particulars of several recent cases which had come to their notice
in the ordinary course of their social welfare work (two of them
girls who had become pregnant before their sixteenth birthdays).
These were cases which had not been investigated by the police. It
was also the conclusion of these Church officers that the cases
which had been revealed to them were far outnumbered by those
which were not so revealed.
(_b_) It was quite obvious to the police officials who made the
investigations in July that no useful purpose would be served by
extending their inquiries further.
=(2) Unreliability of Available Statistics for Comparative Purposes=
The previous section was written to show the difficulty of obtaining a
comparison between vice at one period and that at another. This section
is to indicate the difficulties which arise in making comparisons (even
when figures are available) between different sections of the people at
different times and between different groups of people.
_(a) Sexual Crime Among Adults_
No inference can be drawn from any comparisons between sexual crime of
adults and sexual misbehaviour among children. The Committee did,
however, examine the statistics of sexual crime in New Zealand to see
if there was any marked increase which might throw light upon the
conduct of children. From the annual reports which had been submitted by
succeeding Commissioners of Police it collated the figures of sexual
crime. The table as prepared is set out in Appendix A to this report. A
perusal of that table will show that the increase of sexual crime in the
years 1920-1953 is not any greater than might reasonably have been
expected having regard to the increase in population. In other words,
the rate has remained constant. But the great increase in the number of
indecent assaults on females (from 175 in 1952 to 311 in 1953) did call
for special investigation. At the request of the Committee, these
figures were broken down into the several districts in which the crimes
had occurred and, as a result, it appeared that there had been an
astonishingly big increase in the Auckland district. The Committee has
had two separate explanations of this. In the first place, it was
explained that the apparent increase was due to a change in the method
of compiling the returns in Auckland. On reference to Auckland officials
the Committee was informed that the method of compilation had not been
changed. Whether or not this type of crime increased substantially
throughout the Dominion in one year must, for the present, remain
undetermined.
_(b) Statistics of Juvenile Delinquency_
The figures compiled for the Committee by the Superintendent of the
Child Welfare Division show that:
(i) There was a substantial increase in juvenile delinquency
during the Second World War.
(ii) After the war was over, the rate settled down to something
like the pre-war rate.
The following is a fair selection of these figures (alternate years
being taken):
_Number of Offences and Rate per 10,000 of
Complaints of Children Juvenile Population
Year Out of Control, etc. 7-17 years 10-17 years_
1934 1,653 53 73
1936 1,786 57 79
1938 2,447 77 105
1940 2,464 79 107
1942 2,421 79 107
1944 2,493 84 113
1946 1,786 60 83
1948 1,589 51 74
1950 1,464 46 66
1952 1,883 56 78
1954 2,105 56 81
In making comparisons it should be noted (as explained later) that
during recent years the Department has undertaken much preventive work
which may account for a return to the pre-war rate in spite of the
existence of other factors leading to an increase in delinquency.
_(c) Juvenile Delinquency in Maoris and Non-Maoris_
Another illustration of the care required in the use of statistics is
afforded by a comparison as between Maori and non-Maori offenders in the
10-17-year-old group. (For the purpose of these figures "Maori" means of
the half-blood or more).
For the year ended 31 March 1954 there were 565 Maori delinquents, or 28
per cent of the total number of juvenile delinquents. During this same
period there were 1,433 non-Maori offenders, or 72 per cent of those
delinquents. But the Maori offenders came from 10 per cent of the
juvenile population, whereas the non-Maoris came from 90 per cent of
that population. On that basis juvenile delinquency among Maoris was
three and a half times that among the rest of the child inhabitants of
New Zealand.
The Committee has been unable to arrange for a dissection of the figures
to ascertain whether there was a bigger percentage of sexual offenders
among young Maoris than among other sections of the people. A
considerable portion of offences may come from factors inherent in the
culture and traditions of the Maori and their difficulty in conforming
to another mode of living.
_(d) Children Under Control or Supervision_
It is interesting to find that after the war there was a steady decline
in the number of children committed to the care of the State, or placed
under supervision, until the year 1953. This is shown by the following
table:
_Year Ended_ | _Under Control or_
_31 March_ | _Supervision_
|
1934 | 7,259
1936 | 7,272
1938 | 7,403
1940 | 8,043
1942 | 8,221
1944 | 8,531
1946 | 8,048
1948 | 7,267
1950 | 6,525
1952 | 6,088
1953 | 6,177
1954 | 6,283
There would have to be reservations in any inferences drawn from these
figures. For instance, the decrease may have been due to extra
preventive work done by welfare officers. The earlier reduction or the
later increase in the number of children placed under care or
supervision may have been affected by the varying recommendations of
Child Welfare Officers or the decisions of Magistrates. Finally, is the
slight increase from 1952 to 1954 something to cause concern?
_(e) Comparison Between New Zealand and England_
Almost coincidentally with the publication abroad of reports of
immorality in the Hutt district and of juvenile murders in New Zealand,
an extract from a brochure of the Justice Department was published. This
extract was to the effect that, in relation to population, there were
one and a half times as many adults convicted of sexual offences in this
Dominion as there were in England and Wales. That statement results from
a comparison of the figures in the two jurisdictions, but it may create
a wrong impression unless it is remembered that in England only 47 per
cent of the indictable offences reported to the police are "cleared up",
whereas in New Zealand 64 per cent of indictable offences are "cleared
up". A comparison which takes this and all other relevant factors into
account could probably place this Dominion in a much more favourable
light.
Whatever inferences may be drawn from the statistics presented in this
report--whether juvenile immorality has increased or not--any nation is
wise that, from time to lime, surveys its moral health.
_V. A Change of Pattern In Sexual Misbehaviour_
When this inquiry was mooted all members of the Committee heard the
oft-repeated comment that sexual delinquency was not new--it had been
going on through the ages and always would go on. Many people also said
"You cannot make people moral by Act of Parliament".
Although there is some truth in each of these statements the Committee
does not feel that the matter should be dismissed in that way. First,
such an attitude is not a desirable one to adopt when seeking a remedy
for a social evil. Secondly, the continued existence of a vice, however
far back it may be traced, is not a reason why special measures should
not be used to deal with it when it assumes considerable proportions.
Intemperance and dishonesty have always been apparent. But there have
been times when these vices have reared their heads in new ways and in
new circumstances which have compelled action by the Legislature. The
consumption of alcohol by persons in charge of motor vehicles is but one
illustration of the way in which an old vice may become such a great
evil in altered circumstances that stern measures have to be taken.
Stealing was reprehended in the Ten Commandments, and so was
covetousness. Theft was always punishable at common law; but, soon after
company promotion became a feature of our commercial life in the latter
part of the nineteenth century, firm action had to be taken by the
Legislature to protect the public from the effects of a misleading or
fraudulent prospectus.
Similarly, in this matter of improper sex behaviour among children, it
is not merely its extent, but certain features in its new pattern, which
command attention. These features are:
=(1) Younger Groups now Affected=
Immorality appears to be more prevalent now among younger groups in the
community. In the Hutt, and also in Auckland, most of the cases were of
boys and girls whose ages ranged from twelve to fifteen years; but some
of the young girls also associated with boys several years older than
themselves.
=(2) Precocity of Girls=
In former times it was the custom for boys to take the initiative in
seeking the company of girls; it was conventional for the girls to await
any advances. Nowadays, girls do not always wait for an advance to be
made to them, nor are they as reticent as they used to be in discussing
intimate matters with the opposite sex. It is unfortunate that in many
cases girls, by immodest conduct, have become the leaders in sexual
misbehaviour and have in many cases corrupted the boys. At one school
there were 17 children involved--10 of them were girls of an average age
of 13.2 years and 7 boys of an average age of 15 years. Another
disturbing feature is that in the case of boys more than half were
committing their first offence, whereas only one-fifth of the girls were
offending for the first time. The Committee has not overlooked the fact
that the offending girls may themselves have been corrupted by a male in
the first place. But the fact remains that four-fifths of the girls
involved in the particular cases that prompted this inquiry had an
admitted history of prior sexual misconduct.
The following extract from the evidence of a headmaster is impressive of
this new feature:
... We have not the same worry about boys as we have about
girls. The worst cases we have are girls, and it is quite clear
some of them are an absolute menace. They have dragged boys into
this sort of thing. In general the girls are far worse than the
boys.
=(3) Organization of Immorality=
These immoral practices have been _organized_ in a way that was not
evident before. For example, a boy of 17-1/2 years, trusted by his
parents with the charge of their home, abused the trust by arranging
sexual parties on three successive weekends for groups of several girls
and boys. There was also the case of a girl of 14 years who invited a
girl of the same age to her home during the absence of her parents for
the express purpose of having intercourse[1] with her brother aged 15.
This improper use of a parent's home has also occurred in other
districts.
=(4) Recidivism=
The second outbreak of Hutt Valley cases revealed that two boys, one
girl, and one family had become involved in misbehaviour within eighteen
months of their previous offences. In another district three-quarters of
the boys concerned had previously been before the Court as delinquents,
though not all for sexual offences.
=(5) Changed Mental Attitude of Girls and Boys=
Perhaps the most startling feature is the changed mental attitude of
many young people towards this evil. Some offend because they crave
popularity or want to do what their friends are doing. Some assert a
right to do what is regarded by religion, law, and convention as
wrongful. It was reported that some of the girls were either unconcerned
or unashamed, and even proud, of what they had done. Some of the boys
were insolent when questioned and maintained this attitude. The
Committee has not overlooked the fact that in some cases this attitude
may have been due to a defensive reaction.
The recent disclosures caused one headmistress of a city college to
arrange for sex instruction to be given by a lady doctor to various
forms. The girls were invited to submit written questions for the doctor
to answer. Having read the questions, the doctor commented that she must
have prepared the wrong lecture--it should have been for an older group.
A transcript of the questions was produced to the Committee. They were
inquiries which one would assume might be made by young women who had
married or were about to marry. Whether these young girls were sincere
in their questioning of the doctor, whether they wanted to exhibit
advanced knowledge, or whether they were endeavouring to create a
sensation, the fact remains that they had in mind aspects of sex which
were well in advance of their years.
This change in the mental attitude of offending children was further
exemplified by evidence that, in one series of cases in Auckland,
records were kept, and there was some competition between girls
concerning the number of immoral acts in which they were involved. The
Committee were shocked to hear from the police that one girl claimed a
total of 148 instances in her favour.
=(6) Homosexuality=
The Committee has read reports from Great Britain of an increase in
homosexual practices there. Recent New Zealand happenings might be taken
to indicate a similar increase in this country. The Committee has made
no investigation of these matters, but considers it wise to remind
parents that sexual misbehaviour can occur between members of the same
sex.
The conclusion of the Committee is that the above pattern of immorality
is of a kind which was not previously manifest in New Zealand. It cannot
be dealt with on the footing that it has always been with us. The
attitude of mind shown by those who have planned and organized sexual
parties, and sometimes caught others within their net, is something
which demands serious consideration. The subject cannot be dismissed in
the light, airy way of those people who, without any adequate knowledge
of the facts, have been saying that there is nothing new about the
sexual misbehaviour of young people and that nothing can be done to
improve matters. The situation is a serious one, and something must be
done.
_VI. Searching for the Cause_
Many have been the views expressed as to the reasons for this immorality
and the suggested remedies. After considering the evidence, after
reading much literature on the subject, and weighing up all the
suggested factors, the view of the Committee is that the matter is not
capable of simplification by regarding any, or even all, the causes
suggested and discussed below as being the main cause. In seeking to
remedy the evil it must steadily be borne in mind that we have not only
to deal with the immediately apparent causes. Letters to the press,
letters to this Committee, and many of the submissions made reveal a
failure to dig below the surface or to look beyond the factors which
came immediately to the mind of the writers or those which, from
personal experience, appeared to them to be the decisive or motivating
factors.
The way in which the Committee approached a consideration of this
problem was to distinguish between those causes which appeared to be the
precipitating causes and those which it regarded as predisposing causes.
The precipitating causes are those which are closely related in time or
circumstance to the actual misbehaviour. The predisposing causes are
those which create an emotional maladjustment in a person and thus
induce a susceptibility to the precipitating cause. For instance, a
semi-nude figure or a song with a double meaning will not incite a
properly instructed adolescent to sexual misconduct. But if by parental
neglect or failure to control a young person is predisposed to
anti-social conduct, there is danger in any form of suggestiveness.
The Committee has carefully considered many suggested causes (whether
precipitating or predisposing) and now sets out its views on those which
merit special mention.
If, as the Committee believes, immoral behaviour should be regarded as a
phase or facet of juvenile delinquency, the same influences which tend
to incite other anti-social behaviour are in operation here.
Much has been written in textbooks, in journals, and in various
scattered articles about the causes of juvenile delinquency. What
applies in other communities, and in other aspects of juvenile
delinquency, must apply with much the same force in this Dominion as
elsewhere, and to the sexual deviant as to all other juvenile
delinquents. In searching for the real or substantive cause it must be
borne in mind that juvenile delinquency, of the type now being
considered, is a new feature of modern life and a facet of juvenile
delinquency which does not appear to have engaged the attention of
research workers.
The state of affairs which has come about was uncertain in origin,
insidious in growth, and has developed over a wide field. In searching
for the cause, and in suggesting the remedies which may be applied, the
Committee must not be thought to be laying the blame on any one section
of the community more than another.
_VII. Some Visual and Auditory Influences_
=(1) Objectionable Publications=
There has been a great wave of public indignation against some
paper-backed or "pulp" printed matter. Crime stories, tales of "intimate
exciting romance", and so-called "comics" have all been blamed for
exciting erotic feelings in children. The suggestiveness in the cover
pictures of glamour girls dressed in a thin veiling often attracts more
attention than the pages inside.
Immorality would probably not result from the distribution of these
publications, unless there were in the child, awaiting expression, an
unhealthy degree of sexual emotionalism. Some of these publications are,
possibly, more harmful to girls than to boys in that girls more readily
identify themselves with the chief characters. One striking piece of
information which was conveyed to the Committee was that the girls under
detention in a certain institution (the greater number of them had had a
good deal of sexual experience) decided that various publications were
more harmful than films because the images conveyed by the printed
matter were personal to them and more lasting.
The Committee has been deluged with periodicals, paper-backed books, and
"comics" considered by their respective senders to be so harmful to
children and adolescents that their sale should not be permitted. But,
while all the publications sent are objectionable in varying degrees,
they cannot be rejected under the law as it at present stands because
that law relates only to things which are indecent or obscene.
An Inter-departmental Committee set up in 1952 to report on worthless
and indecent literature similarly found that, while publications
intended for adults are controlled by the Indecent Publications Act
(which in the opinion of that Committee, was adequate providing the
public initiated action under it), comics and other publications outside
the scope of that Act might be objectionable for children.
When considering comics it is essential to appreciate the difference
between the traditional comic, intended exclusively for children, and
the more modern style which is basically designed for low-mentality
adults. Both styles and variations of them circulate widely in New
Zealand among children and adolescents. In general, however, younger
children buy, and even prefer, the genuine comic which is not harmful
and may even be helpful. Adolescents, and adults also, are attracted by
comic books that have been denounced by various authorities as
anti-educational, and even pernicious, in moral outlook.
The Inter-departmental Committee recommended that all comics be
registered and that it be made an offence to deal in unregistered
comics. There are strong doubts whether the adoption of those proposals
would provide a satisfactory solution. Once registration were obtained
(which would be almost automatic on application) much damage might be
done by the distribution of a particular issue before registration could
be cancelled.
Surely a simpler, faster, and safer procedure would be to make initial
registration more difficult and subsequent deregistration more speedy.
Amendments recently made to the laws of various Australian States should
result in a general improvement in the standard of publications
distributed in Australia, and consequently in New Zealand. On the other
hand, this tightening of the law may induce distributors to dump in New
Zealand publications for which they have no longer a market in
Australia.
A banning, rather than a censorship, of printed matter injurious to
children should be the subject of immediate legislation for three
reasons:
(_a_) To prevent the Dominion being used as a market to offset any
trade lost in some Australian States;
(_b_) To encourage the efforts of those people who seek to lead
children through good reading to better things; and
(_c_) To let publishers know that the time has passed when
publications likely to be injurious to the minds of children and
adolescents may be distributed by them with impunity.
In order to meet the situation, it would be desirable for the Government
to promote special legislation along the lines of the Victorian Police
Offences (Obscene Publications) Act 1954.
The Victorian legislation is particularly effective since not only does
it widen the definition of "indecent" and "obscene", and enables the
police themselves to institute proceedings for breaches of the Act, but
it also compels all distributors to be registered. Then, should a
distributor be convicted of an offence, he may be deregistered, and in
that case would be unable to distribute any other publication whatever.
Despite frequent reference to distributors dumping objectionable
publications on a newsagent or bookseller, who has to accept the bad
before he can get the good, the Committee has not received any definite
evidence of this practice occurring in New Zealand.
=(2) Films=
The cinema is the only field of entertainment in New Zealand where
official supervision in the interest of juveniles is exercised by a
public servant with statutory powers. The Government Film Censor
interprets his role chiefly as one of guiding parents. On occasions he
bans a film; more often he makes cuts in films; most often he recommends
a restriction of attendance to certain age groups. The onus is then on
parents to follow the censor's advice, on theatre managers to adhere to
his rulings, and on the Government to see that the law is enforced.
It is not part of the censor's duty to see that his rulings are
observed. A survey taken in 1952 revealed that about one-quarter of all
films advertised in the press were advertised with wrong certificates.
Reliance upon such incorrect advertisements therefore deprived parents
of the protection which the legislature intended for them.
Few prosecutions have ever been taken for such offences, and it is even
doubtful whether, if they were taken, convictions would be recorded.
Some regulations (essential for this purpose) under the 1934 Amendment
Act have never been gazetted; nor have any under the 1953 amendment.
Although the censor receives few specific complaints, and although film
distributing and exhibiting interests state that they are complying with
the spirit of the unwritten law, the following undesirable practices
irritate a large section of the thinking public:
_(a) Publication of Grossly Extravagant Posters and Newspaper
Advertisements_ in which sex and sadism are often featured. The
theatre managers concerned state most definitely that nothing more
than genuine showmanship is behind this.
_(b) Screening of Inappropriate Trailers on Unsuitable Occasions:_
By their very nature, trailers are difficult to censor adequately
and, because of their origin and intent, are designed to have an
exaggerated impact upon audiences. Trailers of the worst type,
however, are sometimes shown at special children's sessions.
_(c) Mixing "A" and "U" Certificate Films:_ In the words of the
exhibitors, this is done "to obtain balanced programmes".
_(d) Admitting Children and Adolescents to Films With Restricted
Certificates:_ It is difficult for theatre managers to determine
the age of their patrons, and the warning notice of restricted
attendance exhibited at the theatre may have little effect. Should
the age be queried when entry is sought, an incorrect answer will
probably be given. Worst of all, perhaps, should the presence of
an accompanying adolescent or adult be required, there is always
the danger of undesirable strangers taking the place of a _bona
fide_ parent or friend.
_(e) Misbehaviour in Theatres:_ Once inside a darkened theatre,
children, adolescents, and undesirable persons may behave
improperly and the manager may have difficulty in exercising
control.
* * * * *
Appropriate steps recommended are:
(i) The gazetting of the outstanding regulations empowered by the
1934 and 1953 Amendment Acts.
(ii) The provision to the maximum extent possible of
non-restricted or "U" programmes for children's sessions.
(iii) The drawing of the attention of parents, repeatedly, to the
fact that through the censor's certificates they, the parents,
have a reliable guide provided exclusively for their benefit and
intended for their use.
=(3) Broadcasting=
Disapproval has been expressed of many of the broadcast serials and
suggestive love songs. If considered dispassionately by adults, most of
these are merely trashy, but quite possibly, and particularly in times
like the present, the words of a song, or the incidents of a serial, may
more readily give offence. Obviously, the New Zealand Broadcasting
Service can never please each individual listener, but, equally
obviously, it should seek to avoid giving any public offence. The
Service seems conscious of its responsibilities and tries to make its
programmes generally suitable for family audiences; but it also aims to
reflect the standards of its listeners, and some may feel that it should
try to raise those standards.
Although the Service considers that it should never give the appearance
of dictating what listeners should, or should not, hear, it has its own
auditioning standards that should satisfy the morals of the most
particular. Records must first conform with the very strict code of the
Broadcasting Service, after which they are classified as suitable for
children's sessions, for general sessions, or only for times when
children are assumed not to be listening. The Service can, and does,
reject episodes from overseas features, and in doing so experiences no
difficulty with either overseas suppliers or local advertising sponsors.
Restrictions on dollar purchases and the nonavailability of
"sponsorable" programmes from the United Kingdom curtail the
availability of commercial features, and generally restrict them to
those produced in Australia.
On the other hand, the Service points out that listeners have a wide
choice of broadcast programmes, advertised well in advance, and it
assumes that listeners will be selective in tuning in their sets, and
restrictive in not allowing their children to listen after 7 p.m. when
programmes specially suited for them cease. This assumption, however, is
not well founded. Once switched on, the radio frequently stays on, and
children are then allowed to continue listening far too long.
Consequently, they not only lose part of their essential sleep, and
sometimes even the mental state conducive to sleep, but they hear radio
programmes not intended for them.
Just when, how long, and how often, children, adolescents, and even
parents listen to the radio is something that has never been accurately
determined in New Zealand. It is well known that young children listen
after 7 p.m. and that adolescents listen until a very late hour,
particularly on holidays, and for this last-named fact no allowance is
made when the programmes are being arranged. Adolescents listening to
the latest songs stimulate the demand for popular sheet music. It is the
words of those "hits" that form the chief target for criticism
expressed to this Committee. Popular songs are transitory in nature, and
it is the tune, rather than the words, that makes an impression.
Crime serials for the young, and the not so young, are another target
for criticism, but provided that the Service is adamant in its rule that
"crime must never pay" loss of sleep is, possibly, the most serious
consequence of over-indulgence by child listeners.
Some people claim that they can detect a definite pattern of suggestive
songs and unsuitable thrillers in the programmes. In times like the
present the Service should critically re-examine its programmes in order
to remove any wrongful impression that might be created, either by a too
frequent repetition of items where sex and crime are prominent, or by
the possibility of a meaning being taken out of them which was not
intended.
The Broadcasting Service should similarly review its ideas about
children's listening hours and rearrange its classified times
accordingly.
When crime serials are broadcast it should be made obvious that crime
does not pay.
A married woman might well be included on the auditioning panel.
Even if the Service does all these things, the major responsibility will
still rest upon the parents, who should select their children's
programmes and see that their listening hours are reasonably restricted.
=(4) Press Advertising=
An examination of advertisements in New Zealand newspapers during recent
years clearly shows how far the bounds of propriety have been extended.
What was a generation ago considered improper is now generally accepted
as a subject for display. Advertisements, more and more based on sex
attraction, horror, and crime, occupy a large and increasing proportion
of all advertising. Because this trend is obviously objectionable to a
section of the community, such advertising must partially fail in its
object of attracting. In addition, this advertising may be harmful to
those juveniles and adolescents with whom this Committee is primarily
concerned. Advertisers should, in their own interests, raise their
standards--perhaps by establishing a voluntary Advisory Council similar
to that in the United Kingdom.
=(5) Television=
Although television is not yet available in New Zealand, its
introduction is inevitable. Overseas reports of its effects on children,
adolescents, and even adults indicate that plans to minimize any harmful
effects in New Zealand should be made without delay.
The arrival of another visual and auditory influence will add weight to
the suggestion made to the Committee that liaison should be established
between all the various censoring authorities.
* * * * *
Objectionable publications, films, broadcasting, and television have
been the subject of expert appraisal in many countries. The Committee
has made its recommendations in this section of the report fully aware
that many authorities can describe these matters as no more than
secondary influences in the causation of juvenile delinquency.
To what degree these things are directly causative no one can say. Their
influence is imponderable. But whatever their influence, the Committee
is firmly of the opinion that practical measures to control what is
offensive to many would be an indication of a renewed concern for the
moral welfare of young people. The result would be the replacement of
undesirable material with something much better.
_VIII. The School_
=(1) Teacher and the Child=
For several reasons, there has been a change in the relationship that
used to exist between teacher and child. Earlier the teacher lived in,
and was part of, the community and so knew something of local conditions
and the tensions of his pupils' lives. This gave him a more intimate
knowledge and sympathetic understanding of a child's difficulties.
Today in the cities, and particularly in the quickly growing urban
areas, there are different conditions. Schools are new and big, without
a tradition of long community service; teachers have difficulty in
finding accommodation in the district from which their pupils come; to
meet the shortage of permanent staff many partially trained persons have
to be used as relieving teachers; even qualified teachers have to move
frequently to meet promotion requirements.
As a result the knowledge that once came to a teacher from sharing the
same environment as the child has now to be acquired in some other way
and, probably, from within the school. This knowledge is of great
importance in diagnosing maladjustments that might lead to delinquency.
In primary schools the situation is met by the establishment of a
system of visiting teachers who can investigate the circumstances of a
problem child. Perhaps of greater importance, the presence of visiting
teachers reminds class teachers that children have difficulties out of
school. The Committee feels that:
(_a_) As many of the problems have a medical origin, there should
be as much official liaison as possible between the public health
nurses and the visiting teachers. This would automatically make
the services of a medical officer available.
(_b_) Particularly in rapidly growing industrial areas, the number
of visiting teachers should be increased.
In pos
t-primary schools there is at present no official system of
linking the home and school in the investigation of problems.
Traditionally the headmaster has done this, but with the increase in the
size and complexity of schools he has now too little time for this work.
Post-primary principals, in their evidence, appeared worried by the
problems of conduct arising from the inability of pupils to leave school
until they have reached fifteen years of age. It has already been shown
that the pattern of juvenile delinquency which is the subject of this
investigation is found particularly in this age group.
It therefore seems desirable that some help should be given to
post-primary schools. The Committee makes no specific recommendation[2]
how this should be done, although it is emphatically of the opinion that
there is a need for this help, and that the personality of those doing
the work is of more importance than the question as to which
organization should control them.
This is only the immediate step. Everything possible should be done to
restore the community bond between teacher, parent, and child--by the
stabilizing of the teaching service, by the provision of houses for
teachers in newly developed areas, and by continuing the effort to
increase the number of women in the service.
=(2) Co-education=
At the hearing of the immorality charges in the Court at Lower Hutt the
prosecuting officer attributed the delinquency, in part, to the
association of boys and girls in co-educational schools. This directed
the attention of the Committee to the effect on morality of the
propinquity of the sexes in schools.
There seemed to be no disagreement on the question of educating boys and
girls of primary-school age together. The desirability of co-education
at the post-primary school level, however, was frequently disputed. Many
opinions were heard, for and against.
The Committee was not concerned with the relative values of the
different types of school, except in so far as they had an effect on
juvenile delinquency.
Statements were made that co-educational schools did, in fact, increase
the chances of immorality, but although the Committee investigated these
charges it could not find that acts of immorality among pupils did in
fact arise from their association at school.
There was evidence that one girl had incited seven boys to sexual
misbehaviour on the way home from a co-educational school. Thorough
investigation proved to the Committee that the group came from the same
neighbourhood and had become known to one another from their home and
street association. Acts of indecency had occurred long before they went
to the post-primary school.
Senior pupils of an intermediate school were concerned in depravity,
both heterosexual and homosexual. The trouble probably spread through
the acquaintanceships made at school, but in all cases the history of
the instigators, in intelligence and environment, showed either that
they were already concerned in immoral acts outside the school or that
they had home circumstances conducive to delinquency.
In many of the cases that were brought to the notice of the Committee
the name of the school was associated with the offender, even although
the offences did not occur within the school or arise from it. This
linking of the school with the offender is unfortunate, as it is
unsettling to the other pupils of the school and disturbing to the
parents of the district.
=(3) School Leaving Age=
The school leaving age is now 15, but there are obviously some pupils,
in the upper forms of primary schools and the lower in post-primary,
who, either through lack of ability or lack of interest, are not only
[not][3] deriving "appreciable benefit" from their further education,
but are indeed unsettling and sometimes dangerous to other children.
The School Age Regulations (1943/202) permit of exemption from
attendance at school in cases where the Senior Inspector of Schools in
any district certifies that a child of 14 who has completed the work of
Form II is not likely to derive any appreciable benefit from the
facilities available at a convenient school or the Correspondence
School.
The Committee recommends:
(_a_) That the Department should consider whether some better
method of educating these children can be evolved. It feels that
the mere granting of an exemption certificate may transfer the
problem from the school, where there is at least formal oversight,
to the community, where this is not the case.
(_b_) Where the underlying reason for exemption is the misconduct
of the child, the Senior Inspector should have power to grant the
exemption subject to the child being supervised by the Child
Welfare Division of the Department.
=(4) Relations With the Child Welfare Division=
From the evidence received it is clear that principals of schools would
welcome a closer liaison, by regulation, with the Child Welfare
Division. A high degree of co-operation already exists in some places,
but it depends on the personalities of the people concerned and is not
general.
With a full realization of the desirability of secrecy in the affairs of
a delinquent child, but also with the knowledge that the principal of a
school should know as much as possible of his pupils, and in most cases
has known them longer, and in conditions of less tension than the Child
Welfare Officer, it is suggested that:
(_a_) Where a child in a school, or transferred to it, has come to
the notice of the Child Welfare Division for acts of delinquency,
the principal of the new school should be informed.
(_b_) Where a pupil is to be charged before the Children's Court
the principal should be asked to make a recommendation regarding
the future of the child either independently of, or jointly with,
that of the Child Welfare Officer. At the present time the
principal is merely asked to report to the Child Welfare Officer,
although, from his longer experience of the child, he may be in a
better position than that officer to suggest what should be done.
=(5) Sex Instruction in School=
The views of the Committee on the whole subject of sex instruction are
given elsewhere in the report. Here it is emphasized that, apart from
the biological aspect as a part of nature study in the primary schools
and general science in the post-primary schools, the school in general
is not the place for class instruction in sex matters.
Incidental features of sex hygiene will arise naturally from physical
education and can be adequately treated there.
It is felt that the teaching of the fuller aspects of the sex relation
between men and women requires an emotional link between the teacher and
the taught, and it should not be looked on as a duty of the school to
forge this link. But where ignorance persists, through the failure of
the natural agencies, the school should try, if a suitable person is
available on the staff, or by the employment of a specialist, to remedy
the omission.
=(6) "New Education"=
Several witnesses have claimed that the philosophy underlying the New
Zealand education system is a predisposing cause of sexual delinquency,
but in the absence of direct evidence, which is obviously difficult to
obtain, such claims can only be an expression of personal opinion.
Similarly, the terms "play way" and "free expression" have been quoted
to show that traditional external disciplines have given way to a
concentration on the development of the personality of the child--a
development which could lead to licence. But as there are not sufficient
comparative figures available for New Zealand, and as reports from
overseas suggest that the pattern of immorality is a world-wide one, the
Committee is unable to reach a conclusion on this matter.
It does, however, feel justified in suggesting that nothing but benefit
could come from representatives of the Department of Education attending
meetings of Parent-Teacher and Home-and-School Associations to enable
responsible and interested parents to obtain a clearer understanding of
modern educational aims before expressing their views.
_IX. Community Influences_
In an examination of the factors which promote juvenile delinquency
special attention must be given to the type of community in which
children grow up. The more normal and well balanced a community is, the
greater are the child's chances of developing a well-balanced
personality. The teaching at school may be good, the home training
satisfactory, but these good influences may be upset by defects in the
neighbourhood. When the atmosphere of home or school is unsatisfactory,
the chances of normal healthy development are made progressively worse
for any child whose community environment is also poor.
=(1) Housing Development=
In New Zealand there are a number of communities which have grown
quickly and have become unbalanced. No one doubts the urgent need that
there has been for houses to accommodate a rapidly expanding population.
On the other hand, in the light of experience, it is considered that
wise planning in the future could avoid some of the disadvantages which
have become evident in these areas. These disadvantages are:
_(a) Fewer Adults_
Large-scale housing is primarily for married people with growing
families. Eventually the number of young people is much greater than the
number of adults. There is a pronounced difference between a settlement
of mushroom growth and one that has developed gradually with large
family homes and smaller homes, grandparents, parents, uncles, aunts,
and children.
In order to illustrate the disparity between the adult and juvenile
population in all such areas the Committee obtained from the Education
Department a statement of the primary and secondary school children in
Wellington and the Hutt Valley as at 30 August 1954:
_Wellington Hutt_
Pupils at primary public and private schools 15,300 12,250
Pupils at secondary public and private schools 5,750 3,000
------ ------
21,050 15,250
It must not be overlooked that the homes of many children who attend
schools in Wellington are situated outside the ordinary confines of the
city; many of the children are resident in the Hutt Valley. For
instance, 250-300 of the girls at Wellington College come to that
college from the Hutt, and many more children from outside the city
attend other city schools. The exact total is not readily assessable,
but it is known to be considerable. On the other hand, it is not thought
that the rolls of Hutt schools are increased by the attendance of pupils
from outside that district.
Another statement shows that in Wellington city 70.4 per cent of the
total population are adults, whereas in the Hutt only 60.1 per cent are
adults.
If that abnormal distribution of population is a causative factor in
juvenile delinquency, the situation will have to be carefully watched
because:
(i) A graph compiled for the Committee shows that the biggest
number of children is in the two-to-four-year-old group. When one
considers that the delinquency now being considered is in the
13-to-17-year-old group, the period of greatest danger will not be
reached until about another nine years have elapsed. This is a
disturbing prospect and demands serious consideration.
(ii) There are many similar housing settlements in New Zealand.
The absence of public disclosures of delinquency in any of those
places must not be taken to mean that they are free from it.
(iii) In areas settled largely by people with growing families the
rate of increase is striking. In planning one post-primary school
the rate of 0.7 children to a family was adopted. Three years
later the rate was found to be 1.5 per family.
_(b) Absence of a Community Spirit_
In the normal development of towns and suburbs a community spirit comes
from an ability to make one's own choice of dwelling. A newly-married
couple prefers one district or one suburb to another, either because
their relatives or friends are there, because it is handy to the
husband's work, because of "the view", or for similar reasons. The house
they build or buy or rent was the house of their choice. In that way
they develop pride of ownership or of possession. They join such of the
local churches, societies, and clubs as already exist, and themselves
organize and support other agencies of community value.
In quickly settled housing areas this community spirit has not yet had
time to develop. The people have not chosen to live there: a house has
been "allotted" to them. With a feeling of relief that their immediate
problem is solved, they move in; but they soon find themselves in an
area without any established traditions or the buildings associated with
those traditions. Churches, schools, halls, and monuments are entirely
non-existent or very new. The areas left for sports grounds, parks, and
reserves are still largely undeveloped. The occupants of the new houses
have not the financial capacity to provide these things, and there are
seldom any private benefactors, because there is not a stratum of
wealthy people in or near these settlements who might be benevolently
inclined to help the district where they reside. The help which the new
residents can give, or obtain from the State, churches, or other
organizations to provide a community fellowship, must fall far short of
what is usually obtainable in areas which grow up normally and
naturally.
_(c) Overcrowding of Houses_
Houses in the new areas are often found too small as the boys and girls
grow up. The result is streets of overcrowded homes unsuitable for
family life. The tendency for the young people to seek their pleasures
away from their home and district is therefore greater than it is in
mature communities.
_(d) Tendency to Form Groups or Gangs_
Where a large number of children live near one another, and many of them
are left by their parents to their own devices, the formation of groups
or gangs is inevitable. Some of these children are not moulded into the
activities of churches or other helpful organizations. They simply
coalesce by the accident of their circumstances, and make their own fun,
in which, unfortunately, the influence for good of the better among them
is often outweighed by the misbehaviour and dangerous propensities of
others.
_(e) Emotional and Mental Factors_
New housing areas tend to be populated by a large proportion of those
people whose outlook on life has been affected by disturbances in their
early married years. Marrying during, or soon after, the Second World
War, they were obliged to live in small apartments or transit camps and
were thereby unable to live the normal life of a married couple. Either
because of this, or because of conditions existing in the housing areas,
there does not seem to be the same group willingness to improve their
conditions as is seen in older communities. Indeed, individual cases
show a virtual lack of self-reliance.
There is the further factor that when the breadwinner has to travel a
long distance to work he is not able to spend as much time with his
family as is desirable, or to share in the work of the community.
_(f) Little Variety in Amenities_
Young communities cannot immediately provide, from their own resources
and enthusiasm, all the amenities normal in an established settlement.
Necessarily, these must be added one by one, and in the meantime the
residents have to participate in a restricted range of activities.
* * * * *
All the above matters show how difficult it is to expect a community
spirit in any area which is just an aggregation of houses. Many years
must pass before there can be anything like a desirable balance of
community interests in such an area. Juvenile delinquency in new housing
settlements might conceivably be reduced, if, in future, State houses
were not erected in extensive blocks, but were built in such smaller
numbers as could be more easily integrated into existing communities of
people.
=(2) Recreation and Entertainment=
As in other forms of delinquency, the recent outbreak of immorality or,
more correctly, the revealed evidence of it has directed the minds of
many to an assumed dearth of organized recreation and entertainment.
Such a thought more easily rises to the mind when it is known that many
cases have occurred in new settlements where the building of State
houses has gone far ahead of the ability of the community to arrange for
the provision of playing fields, halls, and clubs.
Further, those who have special ideas of the importance of hobbies, pet
animals, square dancing, and things of that sort have been active in
urging upon the Committee that greater attention should be given to such
matters as possible ways of alleviating the trouble.
It is true that a child who joins sporting and other clubs, or has its
mind directed towards hobbies or other interests, is less likely to
become a delinquent than one whose thoughts are not similarly occupied.
But it is wrong to assume that the present trouble can be cured by the
extension or encouragement of such activities. The reason is that the
pre-delinquent is not attracted by such forms of recreation or healthy
pleasure. If he is persuaded to join a club or society, he may soon make
such a nuisance of himself that the leader will be obliged, for the good
of the club, to rebuke him or warn him that he will not be allowed to
attend in future unless he behaves. The pre-delinquent, therefore,
either does not join, or else soon leaves, a club where he cannot feel
happy. He is inclined toward a friendship with somebody else whose
nature is compatible with his own. From this companionship a group of
wayward children may be formed. They incite one another; they conspire
together; they attract the attention of others; the group may become a
gang. From the pairs, the group, or the gang, mischief or immorality
soon begins, while all around there are many clubs and societies
suitable and available for them.
Furthermore, single-sex clubs will not provide the answer for those who
desire the companionship of the other sex. In our society, boys and
girls must meet socially. It is part of the growing-up process and, if
supervised carefully and unobtrusively[4], the mixing of boys and girls
can be very advantageous.
From the evidence given by witnesses, the following four points emerge:
(_a_) The school today provides so many interests and activities
that the time of the pupil is fully occupied. Since it is
essential to retain the family group as much as possible, in
general, children should not be encouraged to go out excessively
on week nights. The competition of organizations for good school
children as leaders can become unsettling to the young.
(_b_) Adolescents who have left school provide a field in which
club organizations are able to provide interests and activities
for those who have left the directed conditions of school life and
are entering on the freedom of adulthood. Many of these activities
will be for both sexes and their success depends upon trained
leadership.
(_c_) There is much advantage in having the clubs and
organizations within a community locally co-ordinated. Over
lapping can be avoided, facilities are more easily provided, and
the opportunity is given to youth to share in the interests and
efforts of the adult community.
(_d_) The Committee warmly commends the work of all those
societies and clubs which have been active in promoting the
well-being of young people. Chief among the difficulties faced by
these character-building organizations which have made
representations to the Committee is the lack of trained
leadership. Their appeal is for more leaders and for some means by
which these leaders may be trained.
But however desirable and commendable all these services to youth
are, and even allowing for the fact that without them some
children might slip into bad ways, their further development will
not provide the cure. Indeed, much of the immorality which has
occurred has been among children who have had the fullest
opportunity for healthy sport and recreation.
=(3) Liquor and Gambling=
It was strongly urged by religious and benevolent organizations, and
also by many private people, that juvenile delinquency could be
attributed in part to the effects of drinking and betting.
The Committee realizes that drinking and gambling to excess may well be
symptomatic[5] of the type of home where there is child neglect. There
is no need to stress the obvious. But the matter does not rest there.
Much danger is inherent in the view that no social occasion is complete
without liquor. It has come to the notice of the Committee that many
parents are conniving at the practice of having liquor at adolescent
parties. Such parents are being unfair to young people, and the
Committee considers that if right-thinking parents took a firm stand in
this matter a sound lead would be given to the community as a whole.
_X. The Home Environment_
=(1) Feelings of Insecurity: The Unloved Child=
A harmonious emotional development during childhood is one of the most
important factors influencing human behaviour. Any child who feels
unloved, unwanted, or jealous of the care and attention given to other
members of the household suffers from a feeling of insecurity. This
feeling of insecurity renders the child more susceptible to influences
leading to delinquency.
The mother's attitude to the child is of prime importance. There is a
psychological link between mother and child from the very moment of
birth--a link that can be substantially strengthened by breast feeding
as far as it is practicable. The attitude of the mother to the child,
even before birth, may well have a marked effect upon the child's sense
of security. If pregnancy was not welcomed by the mother, her child may
come into the world under a distinct handicap, that of being an unwanted
child. Subsequent adjustment may not be as satisfactory as she imagines
it to be.
There is often, however, a vast difference between the parents' love of
a child and the child's subsequent idea of being loved. The love that
every child needs is affection combined with wisdom--a wisdom that will
show itself in a watchful concern for the child's well-being throughout
childhood to late adolescence. It can be summed up as the kind of love
found in a warm family life where all the members--father, mother, and
children--are in a proper relationship the one to the other. This
relationship is mere difficult to obtain where the child was unwanted or
where one parent becomes unwilling to share with the child the love
which he or she formerly alone received from the other parent.
A child living in an abnormal family environment, whether that
abnormality arises from the birth of the child or the maladjusted
personality of a parent, is the type of child which may later seek
compensation in irregular sexual behaviour. But the child who, during
its early years, lives in an environment where it feels secure, loved,
and accepted is not likely to become a deviant.
Evidence has been presented to the Committee of many cases of
delinquency which may fairly be traced to one of the following causes:
_(a) Emotional Disturbances_ that have arisen out of a divorce,
separation, or remarriage. An emotional upset may arise from a
home that is broken by a divorce or separation or, equally
important, from a home in which tension follows discord between
the parents.
_(b) Poor Discipline_ arising out of a parental notion that love
for the child can be shown by gifts in money or kind, or by
allowing the child to do what it wants to do. Many of the parents
of delinquent children are in that category of people who have
been far too indulgent with their children and have been unable to
say 'No'. It is a big mistake to suppose that the respect and love
of a child will be lost by firm, kindly guidance. The Committee
has evidence that a large group of delinquents detained in an
institution attributed their situation to the failure of their
parents to be firm with them in early life.
_(c) Lack of Training for Parenthood:_ It was somewhat alarming to
find that many parents have found the responsibilities of home
life too much for them. They had entered into matrimony without
having had their attention drawn to the ways in which a home can,
and should, be managed.
The duties which one spouse legally owes to the other are fairly
well known. Thanks particularly to the efforts of the Plunket
Society, great help is available in the rearing and management of
babies. But there is a big gap in the knowledge of the art of
home-making possessed by many parents. Much of that gap has been
filled in by the school, the church, and various youth
organizations, but the more these outside agencies do the less
inclined are some parents to shoulder their own personal
responsibilities. The home should be the place in which all these
activities are co-ordinated: they should supplement home training
and not subtract from it.
_(d) Lack of Responsibility:_ There was no need for anybody to
stress this factor before the Committee--it stood out as a matter
of grave concern. Many of the parents of children affected by
recent happenings throughout the Dominion showed a deplorable lack
of concern for their responsibilities not only to their own
children, but to the associates of their children. It is one thing
to trust a youth; it is quite another thing for parents to go away
for a day of golf or to spend their week-ends away from home
leaving the boy to his own devices. It is one thing for Mrs A to
give her daughter permission to stay the week-end with Mrs B's
daughter, and for Mrs B, to give permission for her daughter to
stay the same week-end with Mrs A's daughter. It is quite another
thing when neither Mrs A nor Mrs B shows that interest in their
daughter which would prevent their being shocked on finding from
the police weeks later that the week-end was spent with other
adolescents in the house of Mr and Mrs X, while those parents in
turn had trusted their son. A simple inquiry by the parents of A,
B, or X during or after the week-end could not be resented, and,
indeed, children would respect their parents more if such an
inquiry were made.
Of lesser import, but still indicative of a lack of awareness of
responsibility, is the attitude of parents who give money to their
children to go to the pictures in order to get them out of the way
without even bothering to look at the programme to see if it is a
suitable one for children.
Admittedly, parenthood, if it is not to end in disaster or the
fear of disaster, is a great responsibility. It involves a
continual struggle against harmful influences from outside. It
demands also parental interest in the activities of the children
and sometimes a measure of self-denial for the children's sake.
Wisdom and experience combine in suggesting to all parents that
they should guide their children, and not be governed by them.
Those who read this report might usefully ponder the question
whether the ever-increasing way in which responsibilities in
character building are being assumed by schools, libraries, clubs,
and many other organizations has not made parents less heedful of
their own personal responsibilities for the training of their
children.
While the Committee realizes that the care shown by some parents
for their children has proved to be inadequate, there are many
parents who are examples of what parents ought to be. Above all,
the Committee wishes to stress that parents should not suffer from
feelings of inadequacy owing to a spate of modern knowledge often
expressed in semi-technical terms. Parents should enjoy their
children, and this enjoyment will lead to increasing co-operation
within the family.
=(2) Absent Mothers and Fathers=
Many persons have expressed the opinion that sexual immorality among
young people arises, in part, from the fact that mothers are frequently
absent from their homes at times when their children need their care and
guidance.
Mothers who leave children to their own devices are in three categories:
(_a_) Nearly one-third of the delinquent children whose cases were
considered by the Committee belonged to homes where the mother
worked for wages. Another survey showed that, in a closely
populated area, 25 per cent of the mothers of pupils of a
post-primary school went out to work. Some mothers may need to
work; but many of them work in order to provide a higher standard
of living than can be enjoyed on the wages earned by their
husbands, or because they prefer the company at an office, shop,
or factory to the routine of domestic duties.
(_b_) The second category comprises those wives and mothers who
extend their social, and even their public, activities beyond the
hour at which they should be home to welcome their children on
return from school. Happy and desirable is the home where the
children burst in expectantly or full of news concerning something
that interests them!
(_c_) The third category of absentee mothers consists of those who
give their children money to go to the pictures, while they
themselves go to golf, or to a football match, or pay a visit to
friends.
When dealing with this kind of thoughtlessness it should be pointed out
that fathers are not free from blame. As breadwinners they have
necessarily to be away from home throughout the day, but they have
opportunities in the evenings and at week-ends to identify themselves
with their children's interests and activities.
A satisfactory home life can be attained only by the co-operation of
both parents in the upbringing of their children.
=(3) High Wages=
In striking contrast to the contention that the cost of living is so
high that mothers are obliged to work is the complaint that many young
people have too much money. This applies both to school children and to
boys and girls who have commenced working.
It cannot be denied that many children have too much spending money, and
that others show too great a desire to have it.
It is also a well-known fact that many children are not content to do
normal tasks at home when they are able to obtain good pocket money by
doing odd jobs for others.
The starting wage for adolescents is often somewhat high, and thrift is
not practised by them. A few years hence, these adolescents may be in
the ranks of those who complain of their inability to obtain homes. This
has prompted people to urge that a compulsory savings scheme should be
instituted to guard young people from the evils of misspent leisure and
to develop in them that sense of reliability which is so often lacking.
There is certainly something wrong when mothers work to increase the
income of the household while youths, who may be paid nearly as much as
parents with family responsibilities, spend their earnings on expensive
luxuries.
If juvenile delinquents were admitted to probation instead of being
admonished or placed under supervision, it might be practicable for the
Courts, in suitable cases to make it a condition of probation that the
offender paid a portion of his earnings into a compulsory savings
scheme. Even if such a procedure could be devised it would apply only to
those who have become delinquents when the major consideration should be
given to the problem of the pre-delinquents. This is a matter to be
considered further in Section XVI of this report.
_XI. Information on Sex Matters_
For many years the expression "sex instruction" has been used and
understood by most people. The Committee makes clear its appreciation of
the fact that the term is inadequate as not indicating that the sexual
relations of man and woman should be a harmonious blend of the physical
and the spiritual. Many parents of children will agree that they
themselves obtained only a knowledge of the mechanical aspects of sex
from school companions. Even this information was often gleaned from
undesirable conversations. Such parents wish that their children should
receive this knowledge in a totally different fashion.
The terms "sex instruction" and "sex knowledge" are employed here for
other terms are not yet in common usage.
In some of the cases investigated by the police the children concerned
appear to have been very ignorant of the rudimentary facts of the
subject. In other cases they showed knowledge far in advance of what
would be expected. This advanced knowledge was, however, only in respect
of isolated portions of the subject.
The striking contrast between ignorant and precocious children confirms
the view that a statement is required as to when the information should
be given, who should give it, and what should be its source.
=(1) When Should This Information be Given?=
The best time to give any information is when a child asks a question.
The simple answer giving no more than is necessary is the desirable one.
The question "Mummy, where do babies come from"? should not involve a
dissertation on sex. If this method of approach is clearly understood,
the parent need never be worried about the time to impart information.
=(2) Who Should Give This Information?=
As children show varying degrees of curiosity concerning the subject at
varying ages, the initial information should not be given as part of
school instruction, but should come from a parent or parent-substitute.
Since parents are obviously those best suited for imparting this
knowledge, why do they so frequently fail to carry out this duty--a
failure that is not restricted to any intellectual or economic group?
First, there is a sense of guilt in parents concerning sexual relations,
born out of their own unfortunate initiation into a knowledge of a
subject discussion of which was generally frowned upon in their young
days.
Secondly, there is a real difficulty. As the sex organs are also the
channels for the elimination of waste, exaggerated modesty often hinders
discussion.
Thirdly, there is often a genuine ignorance on the part of parents
concerning what to say in answer to the natural questions of a child and
what terms to use in reply--terms that will be neither embarrassing to
the parent nor unintelligible to the child.
Fourthly, many parents are not convinced of the necessity for any
special action by them. They feel that, as the child grows, it will
assimilate this knowledge, but they do not give consideration to the
source from which the knowledge may be obtained, or the manner in which
it will be imparted.
=(3)The Source of Information=
There is a need for reliable sources of knowledge for the parents.
Suitable literature with a matter-of-fact approach that may yet include
the spiritual factor will remove self consciousness. An indirect
approach is not helpful. Specimen conversations between parent and child
can be readily adapted for any family.
Not all available literature on this subject is of equal quality.
Several religious organizations already have publications suitable for
the members of their respective denominations. The Committee is also
informed that the Federation of Parent-Teacher and Home and School
Associations, in conjunction with several experts, is now in the course
of publishing pamphlets suited to different age groups.
The barrier between parent and child can be lifted by meetings where
talks are given and films shown. Heads of schools, in conjunction with
Parent-Teachers' Associations could invite, on separate occasions,
mothers with their daughters, fathers with their sons, or both parents
together. The special value of such gatherings would be to enable those
with adolescent children to do what they regret having avoided doing in
earlier years.
It will be argued that, whatever is done to help parents, there will
still be a proportion likely to baulk at giving the information. Some
may even remain indifferent. There could be no objection to some
unaccompanied girls or boys attending the meetings for parents and
children. The Committee states its views on sex instruction in schools
elsewhere in the report. It is stressed here that sex instruction given
in the absence of the parents may well increase the number of parents
who neglect what should be a jealously guarded privilege.
In conclusion, parents should remember that, even though adolescents may
appear to possess a great deal of knowledge, it may be factually
inaccurate and, above all, may require putting into correct perspective.
This applies particularly to the older adolescents who have been
involved in criminal charges. That group may have practical experience
of the mechanics of sex; what they require is a more wholesome outlook
on the intimate relations of man and woman.
_XII. The Influence of Religion on Morality_
A common element in many of the statements made to the Committee is a
desire for a better spiritual basis in our society on which a sound code
of morals may be built.
=(1) The Need for a Religious Faith=
The consensus of opinion before the Committee is that there is a lack of
spiritual values in the community. This is not merely because the
majority of people do not go to church, but because of the general
temper of society and standards of morality. Most people would affirm
some sort of belief in God, but are unable to relate it to their daily
lives.
It may be a matter of argument that morality is dependent on religion,
but the structure of western society and our codes of behaviour have, in
fact, been based upon the Christian faith. If this faith is not
generally accepted, the standard of conduct associated with it must
deteriorate.
Signs are not lacking that people are turning away from a purely
materialistic conception of life, and seeking a more spiritual basis for
conduct.
The recent disclosures in the Hutt Valley indicate a largely nominal
church affiliation in most of the cases under review. Although it was
stated that thirty-six per cent of the offenders attended church or
Sunday School regularly, and that sixty-four per cent had never attended
or had ceased to attend, closer examination of the individual cases
would be required before any deduction could be drawn from the figures
given to the Committee. It is, however, safe to assume that there was
little religious teaching; and it is unfortunately true that there was a
failure to observe moral standards. The acceptance of the Christian
position cannot fail to promote good conduct in all fields including the
relationship between the sexes.
=(2) The Need for Religious Instruction=
The Committee considers that the Nelson system of religious teaching in
schools should be encouraged and developed. In so far as the basic
philosophy of education in New Zealand may not be religious, the
Committee notes that a conference between the Department of Education
and the New Zealand Council for Christian Education is being arranged.
Church activities among youth affected were criticized on the grounds
that they appealed only to the "good boys and girls", or to those who
already belong to a church. This situation presents a challenge which
needs to be met, and it will demand, in particular, a consideration of
how young people are to be encouraged to spend their time on Sundays.
=(3) The Need for Family Religion=
As family life is vital in this inquiry something must be said about
religion in the home. It is clear that, other things being equal, a home
with a real religious atmosphere is a good safeguard against immorality,
and a sound background for moral teaching, particularly for the
development of knowledge about sex.
The practice of family religion is to be strongly endorsed.
_XIII. The Family, Religion, and Morality_
=(1) The Importance of the Family=
From all that has been above written it will be seen that there is not
any one cause of the sexual delinquency among children which has
provoked this inquiry. There are many predisposing and precipitating
causes. If there be any common denominator in the majority of cases
studied by the Committee it is lack of appreciation by parents of their
personal responsibility for the upbringing and behaviour of their
children or, if they do appreciate their responsibility, they are unable
to guide them correctly and to maintain control of them. This finding is
in harmony with the current of public opinion expressed in the
statements that "it all comes back to the parents" or "the parents are
to blame". That much cannot be gainsaid.
But what is the root cause of this failure or inability on the part of
present-day parents? This is an aspect of its assignment to which the
Committee has paid great attention.
It should be made quite plain that the Committee does not subscribe to
the view that the sexual immorality which has recently been brought to
notice is entirely of the pattern which prevailed in former generations.
Nor can the Committee be content with platitudinous recommendations as
to how this immorality among young persons may be kept in check within
the existing processes of the law. It is the view of the Committee that
during the past few decades there have been changes in certain aspects
of family life throughout the English-speaking world leading to a
decline in morality as it has generally been understood. A remedy must
be found before this decline leads to the decay of the family itself as
the centre and core of our national life and culture.
=(2) The Place of the Family in the Legal System=
The emphasis which the Committee places upon this section of its report
calls for a statement of the place of the family in English law.
The family (meaning thereby the father, mother, and children) from time
immemorial has had a definite and recognized status in our national
life--a place which it has not always occupied or enjoyed in other
cultures and other systems of law. There is in our culture an air of
sanctity about the home where parents and children dwell. The rights of
a parent against any intrusion into his family affairs have been
expressed in such statements as "A man's house is his castle".
Our law of domestic relations centres upon the home. When the
Legislature or the law-courts have interfered in the conduct of a home
it has only been because one member of the family has failed to
discharge the duties which an individual is required to perform towards
other members of the family or towards society. Speaking generally, the
rights and duties of individual members of the family have been
preserved and enforced in our statute law. Illustrations are to be found
in the Infants Act, the Destitute Persons Act, the Child Welfare Act,
the Family Protection Act, and the Joint Family Homes Act.
The policy of English law is, and always has been, to keep the family
together and to uphold the rights of parents. Those rights have
correlative duties attaching to them. It is the failure of some parents
to perform those duties which has now become a matter of grave concern.
The irony of the situation is that this slipping of parental
responsibility has occurred contemporaneously with the granting of
financial and other help to parents. Family allowances and State homes
should be concomitants of an increased sense of responsibility. Despite
all that the State has done, and is doing, for families, the moral
standards of the community have somehow been undermined. Is this because
of a general lowering of the moral standards of adults? Is the attitude
of children towards sexual matters a direct reflection of the thoughts
and conduct of their elders? To borrow the words of a Jewish proverb
"the apple never falls far from the tree". It has been firmly urged upon
the Committee that there has been a "breakdown of the moral order and
moral standards". That may be putting the matter too strongly, but there
can be no denying the fact that the sanctions of morality today are not
as strong as they were, say, forty or fifty years ago.
=(3) The Sanctions of Religion and Morality in Family Life=
Up till early in this century the chief sanctions operating in society
were those dictated either by religion or by wisdom and past experience,
i.e., religious sanctions and moral sanctions. The standard of religious
morality is that which is prescribed in the Bible, interpreted perhaps
in different ways by different denominations at different times. The
standard of conventional morality is that which has been handed down
from generation to generation. There have at times been differences
between the religious standard and the conventional standard. For
instance, the Church has always reprobated adultery, but even as late as
the nineteenth century society accepted, without very much concern, the
conduct of a man who had both a legal wife and a mistress. Despite those
occasional differences between the religious standard and the
conventional standard, our system of morals has been based on the
standards of Christianity.
=(4) The Moral Drift=
During last century it was strongly urged by some scientists that a
religion based on faith was untenable. Man, it was contended, should
accept only what could be proved by reasoning from observed facts. Once
again there emerged, particularly in scientific and literary circles,
the belief that there could be a code of morals entirely devoid of
religious content.
This intellectual standpoint helped to undermine the authority of the
churches. The views of the scientists were not the cause of, but
undoubtedly did accelerate, the drift from organized religion.
There is evidence of the effects of beliefs developed during the present
century in another field of learning, that of psychology. On the one
hand, it is held that there was in former days suppression of the
natural development of human personality and, on the other, that a great
deal of misery has been caused by feelings of guilt. Ill health, even
mental illness, has been attributed to these two factors.
Between the two world wars much of the material of the new psychologists
began to drift into circulation in so-called popular editions. Doubtless
much of the writing was from reputable sources, but the new views, good
in origin, began to suffer as had religious faith in the past from poor
exponents.
A desire for scientific accuracy is understandable, a wish to understand
the working of the human mind wholly commendable, but many people whose
loose behaviour was instinctive, rather than inspired, now had
apologists for their conduct. The moral drift had become moral chaos.
_XIV. Changing Times and Concepts_
Since the beginning of the twentieth century the undermentioned aspects
of a changed social order have become evident. It is not within the
province of this Committee to make an appraisal of the tenets implicit
in any of them. Ecclesiastics may preach against the sins involved;
opposition may arise to the philosophy of education; commercial and
professional interests may inveigh against the inroads of the State, but
this Committee is concerned only in their effects on the sexual
behaviour of young people whose habits and characters are being
affected. It is now necessary to examine them.
=(1) Contraceptives=
Perhaps the first major shock to "respectable" society regarding sex was
when it became known, soon after the beginning of the First World War,
that the Army authorities were distributing "condoms" to troops about to
go on leave. Probably this was the first recognition by the New Zealand
Government of contraceptives. This decision by the Army was accepted by
society, not without misgivings, on the basis that it was much more
important to guard against the spread of venereal disease than to
endeavour to enforce continence among the troops. Society was obliged to
choose between two evils, and it chose what it regarded as the lesser.
Contraceptives thereafter came into common use, are now purchased by a
majority of married couples, and by many unmarried persons. Their
acceptance by the married has posed some problems which have required
the attention of the Courts in England. It was not foreseen, when they
came into use, that questions would arise as to the validity of certain
marriages where one party used contraceptives to avoid having children.
The Committee has found a strong public demand that contraceptives
should not be allowed to get into the hands of children and adolescents.
Whatever views may be held concerning the use of contraceptives by older
people (married or unmarried) no responsible father or mother would
countenance their possession by their young sons and daughters.
The Committee is unanimous that adolescents should not buy or have
contraceptives in their possession.
=(2) The Broadening of the Divorce Laws=
The subject of divorce was very fully discussed in the Houses of
Parliament in England, in New Zealand, and elsewhere after the First
World War.
If parents are unable to live happy lives together or to become
reconciled after differences have arisen, the interests of the children
may be improved, or may be worsened, by a legal separation or a divorce.
Tension in the home may be just as big a factor in the causation of
delinquency as a divorce or separation of the spouses.
Juvenile delinquency in all its forms is frequently associated with
homes where the marriage is broken either by a divorce, separation, or
discord. It is not so much the separation as the tension which precedes
and succeeds it that results in children getting out of control.
The matter is noted here solely because, if parents cannot agree
together, they are less likely to discharge their duties to their
children. Greater is the responsibility which rests upon them in these
unhappy circumstances. If parents are unwilling to shoulder the extra
burden caused by the break-down of their marriage, some action by the
State may be required if it seems likely that children may suffer.
=(3) Pre-marital Relations=
One aspect of the moral drift is the number of people who entertain the
nebulous idea that it is somehow not wrong to have pre-marital relations
or to live together as man and wife without marriage.
Such a view is opposed to all the ideas of chastity which are inherent
in our morality. Apart from that, an irregular sex relationship may be
psychologically[6] disadvantageous.
However much adults may desire a good moral standard to be observed by
children and adolescents, they have no right to expect it unless they
conform to proper moral standards themselves.
=(4) "Self-expression" in Children=
Early in this century psychologists said that the repressive influences
of early discipline were stultifying to the development of the child.
They advocated that the child's personality would mature better if
uninhibited. This has been interpreted by many people to mean that you
should not use corrective measures in the upbringing of children and
that their natural impulses must not be suppressed. Some of these people
have even thought it wrong to say "No" to a child.
People brought up in this way have now become parents. It is difficult
for them to adopt an attitude to their children which does not go to
extremes either way. As a revolt against their own upbringing, they are
either too firm in their control or too lax. Children brought up in both
of these ways have been featured in the case notes of delinquent
children placed before the Committee.
=(5) Materialistic Concepts in Society=
Education, medical and hospital treatment, industrial insurance,
sickness and age benefits, and other things are all provided by the
State, when the need arises, without direct charge upon the individual.
The virtues of thrift and self-denial have been disappearing. Incentive
does not have the place in our economy which it used to have. The
tendency has been to turn to the State for the supply of all material
needs. By encouraging parents to rely upon the State their sense of
responsibility for the upbringing of their children has been diminished.
The adolescent of today has been born into a world where things
temporal, such as money values and costs, are discussed much more than
spiritual things. The weekly "child's allowance" is regarded by some
children as their own perquisite from the benevolent Government.
The dangers inherent in this materialistic view is that many young
people who could profit from further education do not feel a sufficient
inducement to continue study. They leave school too soon, and the
broadening influences which could come from further education in the
daytime, or the evenings, is lost to them. In the result, these young
people, having too much interest in material things, and not enough in
the things of the mind and the spirit, become a potential source of
trouble in the community.
One suggestion made to the Committee was that saving and thrift should
be encouraged, or that this might be enforced through the Children's
Court in cases where it is found that offenders have fallen into
criminal immorality through having more money than suffices to pay the
reasonable necessaries of life. While the powers of the Children's Court
might be extended or used for this purpose in extreme cases where
adolescents are brought before the Court, the best help can come from
wise action by parents to prevent their powers of direction and control
being undermined through young persons having too much freedom and too
many of the material things which are not necessary for their
well-being.
_XV. The Law and Morality_
=(1) History of the Law Regarding Morality=
At no time in the history of the British Commonwealth have Parliaments
or the law-courts endeavoured to impose a system or code of morality on
the people. Men are not required by the governing powers to observe the
moral law, any more than they are required to attend Divine worship. But
Parliament, in the shaping of legislation, and the Judges in the
administration of justice, have frequently had regard to that
indefinable sense of right and wrong which becomes implanted in the
human breast. Furthermore, the law, while not coercing any one into
following a particular course of moral conduct, has, nevertheless,
always been careful to restrain people from acting in such a way as may
cause offence to those who do observe the principles of religion or of
morality.
Offences against religion (for example, blasphemy and disturbing public
worship), and offences against decency and morality (for example,
indecent exposure, indecent publications, and prostitution) are strongly
reprehended.
In determining what conduct on the part of an individual should be
condemned the law has always endeavoured to maintain a balance between
freedom of the individual and the rights of the community not to be
harmed by the exercise of that freedom.
The law is not interested in sin, or even immorality, but it is vitally
interested in the effects of them. A person may stay away from church,
but he must not scoff at the Holy Scriptures. He may bathe in the nude,
but not at a public beach or near where persons are passing. A human
model may be posed for an artist, but must not be exhibited in a shop
window.
One other feature of the law regarding morals is that there are some
things which adults are not restrained from doing but which the law will
not suffer to be done by minors. Common examples are found in the
restraints which are imposed on children smoking, or entering upon
premises open for "drinking" or betting.
Similarly, through reason and experience, the law has found it necessary
to set some limits on the right of an individual to do what he likes
with his own person. The community has an interest in the life of every
citizen. More particularly may this be said to be so when the State
spends much money on the education and health of the people. Suicide
has always been wrongful; attempts at suicide are therefore punishable,
partly because the State has an interest in maintaining human life, and
partly because suicide is a result of sin and a breach of morality.
=(2) Protection of Women and Girls from Defilement=
At common law the woman was always regarded as the mistress of her own
person. Consent was therefore a defence to a charge of rape. The
Legislature subsequently interfered for the good of society and in the
interests of morality by legislating against abortion, against
soliciting for the purpose of prostitution, against the keeping of
brothels, and against procuration for the purpose of carnal knowledge.
The next development of consequence in the law on this matter was in the
Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885 (England). This statute, which was
subsequently followed in New Zealand, made it a criminal offence to have
carnal knowledge of girls. The penalties were graded according to the
ages of the girls involved.
As an indication of the seriousness with which the law, by successive
stages, has regarded sexual offences it is convenient here to summarize
the penalties set out in sections 212 _et seq._ of the Crimes Act
(N.Z.).
Rape Imprisonment for life.
Attempted rape Imprisonment for 10 years.
Carnal knowledge of girl under 10 Imprisonment for life.
Carnal knowledge of girl 10 to 11 years Imprisonment for 10 years.
Attempted carnal knowledge of girl
under 12 years Imprisonment for 7 years.
Carnal knowledge of girl 12 to 16 years Imprisonment for 5 years.
Indecent assault on female Imprisonment for 7 years.
The above are the maximum penalties. The modern tendency is to inflict
much lesser punishment upon an offender, to grade the punishment having
regard to such matters as the damage done, the past history of the
offender, and the prospect of reform.
=(3) Consent as a Defence=
The consent of a girl under 12 years of age cannot be raised as a
defence to any defilement charge.
But where the girl is over 12 and under 16 her consent may be raised as
a defence if:
(_a_) The girl is older than or of the same age as the person
charged; or
(_b_) It is made to appear to the jury that the accused is under
the age of 21 and had reasonable cause to believe that the girl
was of or over the age of 16 years.
The law on this point is not uniform throughout the Commonwealth. In
Victoria the defence of consent is available only when the girl is older
than, or of the same age as, the accused (_vide_ Crimes Act 1928, Vict.
3664, sec. 45). The Committee has been officially informed that this law
(most rigid when compared with the defence of consent available in this
Dominion) has been working well since it was first enacted about fifty
years ago.
In England the defence of consent is available to any accused under the
age of 23 years, but only on the first occasion on which he is charged
with the offence.
In an English case, _R._ v. _Banks_, (1916) 2 K.B. 621, this defence of
consent was raised by a man who said that he had no idea that the girl
was under the age of 16 and that he did not think about her age at all,
but that she had the appearance of a girl of 16. The Court of Criminal
Appeal held that he was properly convicted. On the other hand, the Court
of Appeal in New Zealand in _R._ v. _Perry and Pledger_, (1920) N.Z.L.R.
21 (despite the argument of the Solicitor-General to the contrary),
decided that, if in the eyes of the jury the girl might well be taken by
an ordinary person to be of the age of 16, that would be evidence (not
necessarily proof) of a reasonable cause for the belief that she was of
that age. Hence it comes about that under our law it is not necessary
for an accused person to go into the witness box or to call any evidence
to show that the girl appeared to him to be over the age of consent. The
nature of her clothing, red on her lips, the fact that she is said to
smoke and drink, and evidence on other similar matters, enable a verdict
of acquittal to be given.
=(4) Weaknesses in the Law=
_(a) Operation of the Rule Regarding Age of Consent_
The readiness of juries to acquit in cases of carnal knowledge of, or
indecent assault upon, girls may be due to several facts, of which the
following may be mentioned:
(i) The failure of the law to make it an offence for a
sophisticated girl to entice a male into carnal knowledge of her.
(ii) The modern practice of not publishing the names of the girls
involved.
(iii) The fact that the defence of consent is available to persons
under 21 years of age is a factor making it more difficult to
obtain a conviction when the person charged is over 21 years.
_(b) Girls Not Liable for Permitting Indecency or Carnal Knowledge_
The law has always been chivalrous to females. It is not an offence for
them to allow to be done to themselves things which, when they are done,
render the other party liable to heavy terms of imprisonment.
There is also a practical reason why the State has not legislated
against females on this point, viz., the anticipated difficulty of
obtaining convictions if the female, when called as a witness, is able
to plead that she should not be required to testify lest by doing so she
might incriminate herself. This practical objection, however, would lose
all force, both as regards cases where the accused are under 21 years
and those in which they are over 21 years, if the proposed offence by
females were restricted to girls under 16 and thus triable in the
Children's Court, and not by indictment. The judicial process in the
Children's Court is, or can be, such a speedy process that the Crown
would not be hampered in making its charge against the male in the
ordinary Criminal Court by the possibility that the case would fail if
the girl pleaded that she should not be required to answer questions.
_(c) Girls Not Liable for "Indecent Assault" on Boys_
It should also be made an offence punishable in the Children's Court for
any girl to indecently assault a male.
Under section 208 of the Crimes Act every person, male or female
(including a boy under 14 years of age), may be convicted and sentenced
to seven years imprisonment for an indecent assault on a female. Under
section 154 a male may be sentenced to ten years imprisonment for an
indecent assault on a male (consent is not a a defence); but a female
cannot be convicted of "indecent assault" on a male if he permitted the
act.
This anomaly may have arisen because, in ancient times and, later, when
the criminal law was set out in statutory form, it was not considered
likely that females would descend to conduct which would entice males
into the commission of one of these offences.
Having regard to the evidence before the Committee that many boys have
been tempted and encouraged into sexual crime by the indecent conduct of
girls themselves, in picture theatres and elsewhere, the time has
arrived when boys should be protected by letting the girls know that
they too commit an offence when they act towards boys in an indecent
manner.
=(5) Proposed Reforms=
(_a_) It should be made an offence punishable in the Children's Court
for a girl whose age is under 16 years to permit a person to have carnal
knowledge of her or to handle her indecently.
(_b_) It should also be made an offence punishable in the Children's
Court for any girl to indecently assault a male.
(_c_) Consideration should also be given to the desirability of amending
sections 208 and 216 of the Crimes Act and section 203 of the Justices
of the Peace Act. There are three courses which might be followed:
First, to allow the law to remain as it is.
Secondly, to strike out the proviso which permits this defence of
consent to be raised in cases where the accused is under 21 years
and older than the girl.
Thirdly, to alter the wording of the provision regarding age of
consent from--
" ... it is made to appear ... that the accused was under 21 and
had reasonable cause to believe that the girl was of or over the
age of 16."
to--
" ... if the accused (being a person under the age of 21 years)
took all reasonable steps to ascertain that the girl was of or
over the age of 16 years and did as a result thereof believe
that she was of or over the age of 16 years."
Any legislation such as is suggested in this subheading would involve an
amendment of the Crimes Act and not merely an amendment of the Child
Welfare Act. The Committee therefore suggests to the Government that
further information be obtained as to how the law regarding "age of
consent" is operating in other jurisdictions and that the information so
obtained be submitted to the Law Revision Committee for its
consideration.
_XVI. Child Welfare in New Zealand_
=(1) History of Legislation=
In order the better to understand the limits and extent of the powers
under the Child Welfare Act, and how these powers are capable of
improvement and extension, it is desirable to set out briefly the
history of the law pertaining to institutions and homes established in
New Zealand for children in need of care or correction.
The first provisions were contained in the _Neglected and Criminal
Children Act 1867_. This statute provided that boys and girls under
fifteen years of age could be committed to industrial schools or
reformatories for periods up to seven years. In 1873 the Master of any
Industrial School established under the Act became _in loco parentis_ to
children of parents who, because of their criminal and dissolute habits,
were unfit to have the guardianship of their children.
In 1874 a _Naval Training Schools Act_ was passed under which boys of 10
to 14 years of age, convicted by magistrates for reasons varying from
vagrancy to bad associations, could be detained in naval training
schools or on training ships and apprenticed to the sea.
In 1882 the _Industrial Schools Act_ was passed making better provision
for the control, maintenance, education, and training of children under
the apparent age of fifteen years who were found to be destitute,
neglected, uncontrollable, living in a detrimental environment, or
associating with persons of ill repute, and also for children who had
committed offences against the law. Prior to the passing of this Act
several homes, orphanages, and schools had been established in various
parts of the Colony by religious organizations and benevolent societies.
They received financial aid out of a vote for charitable institutions
administered by the Colonial Secretary.
The _Private Industrial Schools Act_ of 1900 was introduced as a result
of public resentment against the treatment of boys in a private school.
For the protection of inmates a right of inspection of these private
schools was given to Judges, Members of Parliament, and other named
persons.
The _Industrial Schools Act_ of 1908 was mainly a consolidation of the
law up to that time but the age of children subject to the Act was
increased to 16 years.
The _Child Welfare Act_ of 1925 and the amending Act of 1927 made
substantial changes in the attitude of the State towards children who
had erred. They gave legislative expression to a new world-wide desire
for a more scientific approach to the social problem of dealing with
children who had manifested anti-social tendencies.
The new features provided for in these Acts were:
(_a_) A special branch (later renamed a Division) of the
Department of Education to be known as the "Child Welfare Branch"
was established. The Branch or Division consisted of the
Superintendent of Child Welfare, who, under the control of the
Minister and the Director of Education, was charged with the
administration of the Act; a Deputy Superintendent; and such
Welfare Officers, managers, etc., as might be required.
(_b_) Power was taken for the creation of Children's Courts.
=(2) The Children's Court=
The idea of treating children who misbehaved as "delinquents" rather
than as offenders against the law arose in Illinois in 1899. This
experiment in social welfare was followed in other States of America,
and the principle was introduced into New Zealand in 1925.
There has been, and still is, much misunderstanding concerning the
procedure in these Children's Courts and the duties of Welfare Officers.
As some recommendations about to be made by this Committee could not be
properly appreciated without a knowledge of the procedure of that Court,
and the way in which Welfare Officers perform their duties, it is
desirable to make the following brief explanation:
Under the Act of 1925 it is the parent and _not_ the child, who is
summoned to appear before the Children's Court. Section 13 (1) of the
Act reads:
On the complaint of any constable or of any Child Welfare
Officer that any child is a neglected, indigent, or delinquent
child, or is not under proper control, or is living in an
environment detrimental to its physical or moral well-being, any
Justice may issue his summons addressed to any person having the
custody of the child requiring him to appear before a Children's
Court at a time to be named in the summons, _either with or
without the child_, in order that the child may be dealt with in
accordance with the provisions of this Act.
This new feature in our law did not displace the jurisdiction of
Magistrates to deal with offences charged against young persons. Any
doubt regarding the continuance of their powers was removed by the
passing of the Child Welfare Amendment Act of 1927. All offences by
children (except murder and manslaughter) are therefore still dealt with
by a Magistrate, but in the Children's Court. In other words, it is not
at present mandatory upon a parent to attend the Children's Court when a
child is charged.
In practice it is frequently found that the parent comes to Court with a
child who is charged with a breach of the law. This may be due to a
family interest; it may be due to a direction by a Magistrate in some
district that he will not deal with a child in the absence of the
parent; it may be due to a misunderstanding of the law that, because a
parent is summoned for having a delinquent child and may be required to
bring the child with him, therefore when the child is summoned the
parent must also attend.
This distinction between summoning the parent of a delinquent child to
the Children's Court and bringing an offending child up on an offence
can best be illustrated by what happened in the cases of carnal
knowledge and indecent assault which were brought prominently to the
notice of the public recently.
The offending boys were charged under those sections of the Crimes Act
which prescribed maximum penalties of five or seven years imprisonment.
In most cases convictions were recorded and the boys were admonished and
discharged; in a few cases the charges were dismissed; in other cases
the boys were committed to the care of the Superintendent or placed
under the supervision of a Child Welfare Officer.
The girls, not having committed a breach of the Crimes Act or any other
statute, could not be charged. Their parents were, in appropriate cases,
summoned to Court upon the complaint that they had the custody of a
"delinquent", or a child not under proper control.
That the above distinction is not merely a formal one is shown by the
fact that an offending boy's name, and the decision of the Court
regarding him, is always recorded in the _Police Gazette_. As the girl
is not charged as an offender her name is not so recorded, even although
(as shown in Section V (2) of this report) it may have been the
misbehaviour of the girl which led the boy into the commission of the
offence charged against him.
When a sophisticated girl entices a boy into the commission of an
offence it is anomalous[7] that his name should be recorded in the
_Police Gazette_ while the girl, who may be the real offender, is not
charged and, even when the girl is committed to the care of the State,
her offending is not recorded in the _Police Gazette_.
=(3) Corporal Punishment Abolished=
By the Statutes Amendment Act 1936 the power which formerly existed for
the Court to order a whipping was abolished in so far as children are
concerned. (The penalty of whipping was later abolished in all other
cases by section 30 of the Crimes Amendment Act 1941.)
Representations have been made to this Committee that the abolition of
corporal punishment as a deterrent may have led to an increase in sexual
misbehaviour. It was pointed out that parents and school teachers may
resort to physical chastisement where thought desirable, and it was
suggested that a Magistrate should have power to order a whipping in
suitable cases.
There is, however, a big difference between a parent or teacher himself
punishing by the cane or strap soon after the offence, and a Magistrate
ordering a beating to be inflicted by a complete stranger at a later
date.
The Committee, therefore, does not recommend the restoration of corporal
punishment. It merely notes the matter here as part of the history of
the law relating to child welfare and to show that the representations
on this point have been considered.
=(4) Defects in the Act and its Application=
Several matters have come to the notice of the Committee during its
investigations which prompt it respectfully to point out to the
Government that the present statutory provisions are out-moded and that
the time has arrived for a complete redrafting of the statute to remove
anomalies and to suit the needs of the times.
The terms of the order of reference scarcely require the Committee to
make detailed recommendations. It should suffice to point out certain
respects in which the Act itself might be improved and a new meaning
given to "child welfare" which might go a long way towards reducing the
amount of juvenile delinquency.
_(a) "Child Welfare" a Misnomer_
The preamble to the Act of 1925 describes the limited nature of its
intention. It is:
An Act to make Better Provision with respect to the Maintenance,
Care, and Control of Children who are specially under the
Protection of the State; and to provide generally for the
Protection and Training of Indigent, Neglected, or Delinquent
Children.
In other words, the Act aimed at dealing with children _after they have
become delinquents_. The new provisions for the welfare of children were
grafted on to statutes which were designed for "neglected" and
"criminal" children and for the establishment of "industrial schools".
The Act did not purport to have regard for the welfare of children who
_might_ become delinquent. It did not contain any provisions for the
doing of preventive work. That being so, it is not surprising to find
that it operates in different ways in different districts. The Committee
was impressed by the preventive work done in some districts, although
the officers doing this work were unable to point to any provisions in
the Act which required them to do it. In these circumstances it is not
possible to blame any Child Welfare Officer for failing to do preventive
work which, under the statute, he is not obliged, and, indeed, has no
authority to perform.
_(b) "Child Welfare" Merely a "Division"_
The Superintendent of Child Welfare is under the control of the Minister
of Education and the Director of Education. But his duties do not appear
to be integrated with those of the Education Department. The work of the
Division appears to be more associated with the police and the Courts
than the Education Department. In former times "industrial schools"
conveniently came under the Education Department. But nowadays, when
very many of the children committed to the care of the State are boarded
out among foster-parents, the work of the Child Welfare Division is more
closely associated with that of "Justice" than "Education".
The establishment, a few years ago, of a Ministry of Social Welfare, and
the urgent need for more preventive work to be done, suggest the
possibility of better administration if "Child Welfare" were given an
independent status under the control of the Ministry for Social
Welfare.
_(c) No Regulations Under the Act_
The Acts of 1925 and 1927 made provision for the gazetting of
regulations. In particular, clause 45 of the 1925 Act contemplated
regulations (_inter alia_) "regulating the appointment and prescribing
the duties of Child Welfare Officers". After the lapse of twenty-nine
years those duties have still not been defined and gazetted.
Furthermore, "Child Welfare Officers" are, under section 6, "officers of
the Public Service". It is astounding, therefore, to hear that, year by
year, "Honorary Child Welfare Officers" are appointed. The Committee has
been informed that this year 179 people were appointed or reappointed as
"honorary" officers, although there is no statutory authority for their
appointment and their duties are not prescribed.
The Superintendent, in his evidence regarding honorary Welfare Officers
stated: "Some of them have nominal office only. They have the name and
that is all it amounts to". Such a position cannot be regarded as
satisfactory. If any of them do perform useful functions (as to which no
opinion can be here expressed) at least their duties should be defined.
It is very easy (as happened a few weeks ago) for a person to pose as a
Child Welfare Officer in such circumstances as pertain at present.
_(d) No Special Selection of Magistrates_
The Act contemplates (section 27 of 1925 and section 16 of 1927) that
Magistrates shall be specially appointed to the Children's Court. In
practice, however, all Magistrates have been given jurisdiction to sit
in the Children's Court. As a result, the practice and procedure of the
Court varies throughout the Dominion.
_(e) Separate Court Buildings Not Used_
The Act also contemplated that, when a Children's Court was established,
it should not be held in an ordinary Court building. There is a
provision that if a Court has not been established in any district the
proceedings should be in a room other than the ordinary Court Room.
Serious complaints were made to the Committee that some children in the
Hutt cases had to remain in the precincts of the Magistrate's Court at
Lower Hutt awaiting an opportunity for the cases as regards them to be
called. After the children and parents had waited about for a long time
most of these cases were adjourned till another date, when again much
the same sort of thing happened. One special purpose of the Children's
Court was defeated by the fact that the Children's Court in that city
was held in the ordinary Court building.
_(f) Should Proceedings be Open to the Press_
There may be reasons why a Children's Court should be open to the public
even although the publication of names is prohibited. Under section 30
press reporters may not attend a sitting of the Children's Court unless
"specially permitted or required by the Court to be present". It has
often happened that a series of offences has created considerable
apprehension in the public mind. On investigation they have been found
to be due to the work of a gang or to the influence of some definite
adverse factor in the community. The public has a right to know how
child offenders have been dealt with. The Committee does not recommend
any alteration in the provision prohibiting the publication of the name
of any child or of any name or particulars likely to lead to
identification. Subject to this, it is desirable that reporters should
be allowed to attend. The Court should not be a completely secret
chamber, the decisions of which have to be gathered by rumour or by the
seeking of information through interviews away from the Court.
_(g) No Follow-up Procedure_
When children are placed "under supervision" there is not any procedure
whereby reports are submitted to the Court or other body concerning
their welfare or their doings. Again, when children are committed to the
care of the State or are under supervision as a result of delinquency
they may lawfully be transferred from one institution to another or may
be boarded out in foster-homes without any intimation being made to
their own parents. If a child is boarded out in another district it may
be enrolled at a school without the principal being given such
information as might enable him to be of assistance in its reclamation.
The Committee feels that there should be some person or body apart from
the departmental officers to whom a child could turn for help if it is
unhappy in its new surroundings or feels that it is not being properly
treated.
=(5) Changes Proposed=
In the foregoing subsections it was sought to show how it came about
that the statute itself is not a completely satisfactory one. Some of
its provisions were adapted from earlier statutes which dealt with
"neglected" and "criminal" children, and "industrial schools".
In the course of the history of the legislation the age of a "child" has
been progressively raised from 14 to 15, to 16, to 17, and to 18 years.
Many of those dealt with would scorn to be regarded as "children" in the
outside world, but they are glad to have the advantages accruing from
being dealt with in a Children's Court.
It is pleasing to know that some officers of the Division are
concentrating upon preventive work, but just where, and how such work is
being done, and the effect of it cannot be measured.
The Committee makes the following recommendations for amendments to the
existing legislation:
_(a) The Creation of a New Offence_ under which children of either sex
who are guilty of indecent behaviour may be charged as "delinquents" in
lieu of the present procedure under which the boy must necessarily be
charged and gazetted as a criminal while the girl is not charged at all.
A suitable amending clause would be:
Every child shall be deemed to be a delinquent child within the
meaning of the Principal Act who--
(i) Being a male, carnally knows or attempts to carnally know
any female child under the age of sixteen years;
(ii) Being a female, incites or encourages a male to carnally
know her and permits or suffers him to do so;
(iii) Indecently assaults any other child.
It shall not be a defence to an information or complaint under
this section that any child consented to the act.
_(b) The Attendance of Parents at a Children's Court Should be Made
Compulsory:_ There is not at present any provision whereby the parents
of a child who commits an offence must attend Court. The provision in
section 13 (1) that the Justice may require the person having the
custody of a "delinquent" child to attend, with or without the child,
does not meet present needs.
The Committee therefore recommends the acceptance by the legislature of
the following new provision:
In every case in which a complaint or information is laid
against any child, or against the parent or guardian of a child,
under section 13 of the principal Act, the Justice before whom
the said complaint or information is laid shall issue his
summons to at least one of the parents of the said child or to
the guardian or other person having the custody of such child to
appear before the Children's Court with the said child.
_(c) The Court Should Have Power to Make Orders Against the Parents of
Offending or Delinquent Children:_ Suitable clauses in this connection
submitted for the consideration of the Government are:
(1) Where a child is charged with any offence for the commission
of which a fine or costs may be imposed, if the Court is of the
opinion that the case would be best met by the imposition of a
fine or costs, whether with or without any other punishment or
remedy provided by the principal Act, the Court may order that
the whole or any part of the fine or costs awarded to the
informant or complainant be paid by any parent or guardian of
such child unless the Court is satisfied that such parent or
guardian has not conduced to the commission of the offence by
neglecting to exercise due care and control of the child.
(2) In the case of a child charged with any offence the Court
may, in addition to or without entering a conviction against the
child, order that the parent or guardian give security for the
good behaviour of such child in the future for such period as to
the Court may appear just and expedient.
(3) The Court may also in its discretion make an order directing
that the children's benefit or family benefit payable to the
parent or guardian in respect of such child by the Social
Security Commission be suspended until the parent or guardian
gives the security required by the preceding subsection hereof
for such future further or other period as the Court may think
fit or until the Court is assured that the said parent or
guardian is exercising due care and control of the child.
(4) A copy of any order made in directing the suspension of the
payment of any children's benefit or family benefit shall
immediately be forwarded by the Court to the Social Security
Commission.
(5) The Court may suspend the coming into force of any such
order or may at any time terminate the period of suspension or
revoke any order made by it, whereupon the Commission of Social
Security may pay to the parent or guardian all such benefits or
allowances as would have been payable but for the order of
suspension from the date of the said suspension or from such
other date as the Court may think fair and just.
(6) Nothing herein shall be deemed to effect or limit the powers
vested in the Social Security Commission by sections 62 and 72
of the Social Security Act 1938.
(7) An order under this section may be made against a parent or
guardian who, having been required to attend at the Court with
the said child, has failed to do so, but, save as aforesaid, no
such order shall be made without giving the parent or guardian
an opportunity of being heard.
(8) A parent or guardian may appeal to the Supreme Court against
any order made under this section.
_(d) When Any Child is Expelled From School Notification of the Fact
Should Immediately be Given to the Child Welfare Division:_ The
following draft clause expresses what the Committee has in mind:
When any child under the school leaving age has been expelled
from school for any reason or any other child has been suspended
or expelled for immoral behaviour, it shall be the duty of the
principal or the governing body of the school or other person
(whichever has the power to suspend or expel), to inform the
Superintendent of Child Welfare or the nearest Child Welfare
Officer of the fact that the said child has been suspended or
expelled from the school, and the said Superintendent or Child
Welfare Officer shall immediately on receipt of such information
take such action as may be proper or desirable in the interests
of the said child.
_(e) Whenever Any Child Has Been Found by the Court to Have Committed an
Offence or to be a Delinquent Child or a Child Not Under Proper Control
the Principal of the School Should be Informed:_ The suggested clause
might read as follows:
Whenever any child has been found by the Court to have committed
an offence or to be a delinquent child or a child not under
proper control and is either a pupil of a school or is
subsequently enrolled as a pupil it shall be the duty of the
Superintendent of Child Welfare to inform the principal of such
school of the nature of the offence and the circumstances which
led to the delinquency in order that the principal may assist
the said child and protect the other pupils of the school.
_(f) That the Statute Should be Completely Redrafted and the Child
Welfare Division Reorganized on an Autonomous Basis:_ In this redrafting
and reorganization special regard should be had to:
(_a_) The precise duties expected of every Child Welfare
Officer, whether he or she be a member of the Public Service or
an "honorary Child Welfare Officer".
(_b_) The provision of Children's Court rooms away from the
Magistrate's Court or the holding of sittings of the Children's
Court on days when no other Court business is being conducted.
(_c_) The selection of Magistrates who are specially qualified
to perform the duties required of a Justice of the Children's
Court.
(_d_) The opening of proceedings to accredited representatives
of the press, who should not, however, be permitted to publish
the names of persons brought before the Court whether as
offenders, parents, or witnesses, or any facts by which they may
be identified.
(_e_) The taking of the opinion of a school principal on any
recommendation affecting the future of one of his pupils.
(_f_) Provisions for a right of appeal from any decision of the
Children's Court or from any decision of the Superintendent
regarding any child.
_XVII. Summary of Conclusions_
1. Sexual immorality among juveniles has become a world-wide problem of
increasing importance, but the great majority of the young people of
this Dominion are healthy-minded and well-behaved.
2. As sexual immorality is generally clandestine, is often not criminal,
and even when criminal may not be detected, there are not any statistics
from which it can be shown whether, or to what extent, it has increased.
3. During recent years the pattern of sexual misbehaviour has changed:
it has spread to younger groups; girls have become more precocious;
immorality has been organized; the mental attitude of some boys and
girls towards misconduct has altered; and there is evidence that
homosexuality may be increasing.
4. The new pattern of juvenile immorality is uncertain in origin,
insidious in growth, and has developed over a wide field.
5. Objectionable publications ought to be banned by establishing a
system for the registration of distributors of certain printed matter.
Urgent action is necessary so that publications now banned in other
countries will not be dumped into this Dominion.
6. The absence of regulations necessary to make the Film Censor's
recommendations effective deprives parents of the protection which the
Legislature intended for them.
7. The possibility that children may hear radio programmes unsuitable
for them calls for firmness and discretion on the part of parents and
more care by the Broadcasting Service in arranging and timing
programmes. Serials and recordings giving undue emphasis to crime or sex
are not desirable, nor is the frequent repetition of recordings that are
capable of misinterpretation, particularly in times like the present.
8. Advertisers should realize that the increasing emphasis on sex
attraction is objectionable to some and, possibly, harmful to others.
9. Although television may not be introduced into New Zealand for some
time, plans to cope with its effects on children should be made well in
advance of its introduction.
10. There should be a closer bond between school and home. The system of
visiting teachers should be expanded and as much liaison as possible
established between them and public health nurses.
11. The evidence that the propinquity of boys and girls at
co-educational schools contributed to sexual delinquency was not
convincing.
12. The value of insisting upon all children remaining at school till
they are 15 years of age should be further investigated. When the
underlying cause for an application for exemption is misconduct, the
exemption should only be granted subject to supervision by a Child
Welfare Officer.
13. Whenever a pupil under the care or supervision of the Child Welfare
Division is enrolled at a school the principal should be informed of any
matters pertaining to the pupil which are within the knowledge of that
Division. He should also be consulted as to any recommendation which it
is proposed to make to the Court in respect of any of his pupils.
14. The school is not the proper place for fully instructing children
about sex, although it may be a convenient place in which mothers and
daughters together, fathers and sons together, or parents together, may
listen to addresses or see appropriate films. This would help to break
down some of the barriers of self-consciousness.
15. In the new housing settlements the younger age groups predominate.
They are without the stabilizing influence of older people and
established institutions.
16. The work of all organizations which aim at building character is
warmly commended as they help to prevent children from becoming
delinquent; but facilities for recreation and entertainment will not
cure juvenile delinquency.
17. Liquor and gambling are symptomatic of some homes where there is
child neglect. The Committee deprecates the growing practice of parents
conniving at the consumption of liquor at young people's parties.
18. Tension in the household, separation of the parents, lack of
training for parenthood, the absence of a parental sense of
responsibility or poor discipline all help to create an unsatisfactory
home environment; the child of such a home often feels unwanted or
unloved. This unsatisfactory environment or feeling of being unloved is
productive of much delinquency.
19. Nearly one-third of the delinquent children whose cases were
considered came from homes where the mothers, possibly out of necessity,
went out to work. Fathers themselves are also to blame when they neglect
the opportunities available in the evenings or at the weekends to
interest themselves in the welfare of their children.
20. The high wages paid to adolescents on leaving school are an
important contributing factor especially when those youths have not been
trained in the virtues of thrift and self-reliance.
21. In many of the cases investigated by the police the children have
either been ignorant of the functions of sex or have too advanced a
knowledge of its physical aspects. When, how, and by whom the
information should be given is very important.
22. The present state of morals in the community has indicated the value
of a religious faith, and of family religion. Encouragement should be
given to the work of the New Zealand Council of Christian Education.
23. There has been a decline in certain aspects of family life because
of a failure to appreciate the worth of religious and moral sanctions.
24. During the past forty years new concepts have entered into society.
These concepts resulted from the unsettlement following two world wars.
The changes were the increased use of contraceptives, the broadening of
the divorce laws, an increase in pre-marital sexual relations, and the
spread of new psychological ideas.
25. The Committee is unanimously of the opinion that adolescents should
not buy or be in possession of contraceptives. There is, however, some
difference of opinion as to how this decision could be made effective.
26. The state of the law regarding indecent conduct on the part of boys
and girls operates very unfairly. Boys who admit this offence are
charged in the Children's Court under sections of the Crimes Act for
breach of which they are liable to terms of imprisonment of five to
seven years. Their names and particulars of the offence are recorded in
the _Police Gazette_. The girls (some of whom may have incited the boys
to offend) cannot be charged; if they are brought before the Court at
all, it is only when their parents are summoned for having delinquent
children and their names are not gazetted.
27. The Child Welfare Act should be broadened to provide for the doing
of preventive work. At present it provides only for the correction of
children who have committed offences or who are delinquents. There are
also grave weaknesses in this statute and in the whole procedure for
dealing with offending and delinquent children.
_XVIII. Recommendations_
=(1) Proposals for Legislation=
(_a_) The definition of "obscene" and "indecent" in the statute law
relating to printed and published matter should be enlarged so as to
cover all productions which are harmful in that they place undue
emphasis on sex, crime, or horror.
(_b_) All distributors of books, magazines, and periodical (other than
newspapers and educational or scientific publications) should be
required to register their names and the names of their various
publications. If they offend against the proposed law regarding
objectionable publications, their licences to produce or distribute
should be cancelled.
(_c_) A new offence should be created whereunder boys and girls who are
guilty of indecent conduct with one another should both be liable to be
charged as delinquents in the Children's Court and the practice of
recording the names of boys in the _Police Gazette_ as having been
summarily dealt with should cease.
(_d_) In all cases where children are summoned to Court their parents
(if available) should be required to attend with them.
(_e_) The Court should have the power to require the parent or guardian
of an offending or delinquent child to pay the fine or costs and to give
security for the future good behaviour of the child unless the Court is
satisfied that the conduct of the parent or guardian has not conduced to
the child's wrong doing.
(_f_) The Court should also be given power to direct that the children's
benefit or family benefit payable to any parent or guardian by the
Social Security Commission be suspended until he gives the security
required by the Court or for such further or other period as the Court
may order. The material interests of the child should be preserved by
enabling the Court to suspend the operation of the order, or to cancel
it upon being satisfied that the parent or guardian has given the
required security to exercise due care and control.
(_g_) Effect should be given to the recommendations regarding enrolment
or expulsion of children as set out in Section XVI (5) (_d_) and (_e_)
of this report.
(_h_) The Child Welfare Act should be completely recast in such a way as
to remove the weaknesses indicated in this report and to suit modern
needs. "Child welfare" should be given an autonomous status under the
Minister of Social Welfare.
=(2) Proposals for Administrative Action=
The following outlines of administrative action are not dependent upon
the amending of any Acts of Parliament such as were recommended above:
_(a) Police Department_
The training and duties of policewomen should be considered with a view
to deciding the best method of dealing with girls involved in sexual
offences.
_(b) Department of Internal Affairs (Films)_
To facilitate the practical working of film censorship steps should be
taken to gazette the outstanding regulations empowered under the
relevant Acts of 1934 and 1953.
_(c) Broadcasting Service_
It is suggested:
(i) That the service ensure that the concept "Crime must never
pay" is more prominently featured in crime serials.
(ii) That a married woman be immediately appointed to the
auditioning panel.
_(d) Censoring Authorities_
Any Departments concerned with censorship should maintain a liaison to
produce as far as possible a uniform interpretation of public opinion
and taste.
_(e) Department of Education_
(i) The Department of Education should discuss with the Department of
Health the respective duties of public health nurses and visiting
teachers to prevent overlapping and to ensure the best possible
employment of these officers.
(ii) Following upon the conference outlined in the previous paragraph
the appointment of additional visiting teachers should be accorded
priority.
(iii) The Department should consider what type of officer is best suited
to help with problem pupils in post-primary schools.
(iv) The Department should request that residences be set aside for some
teachers in housing settlements.
(v) In areas where there is a lack of facilities for recreation and
entertainment the Department should consider the possibility of making
school grounds and buildings available to responsible organizations.
_(f) Research into Juvenile Delinquency_
A long-term project for the investigation of juvenile delinquency in all
aspects should be undertaken.
=(3) Parental Example=
New laws, new regulations, and the prospect of stricter administration
may help to allay the well-founded fears of many parents for the future
of their children. It would, however, be a pity if parents were thereby
led into any relaxation of their own efforts. Wise parenthood implies
firm control and continual interest in the doings of sons and daughters.
But what is most needed is that all people should, by right living and
by the regularity of their own conduct, afford the best example for the
conduct of the rising generation.
_XIX. Appreciation_
As a supplement to this report the Committee desires to place on record
its thanks to all those who have assisted it in discharging its
responsibilities.
The many organizations and witnesses who have expressed their views have
been most helpful, and the Committee is also obliged to all those who
have sent letters, books, and papers for consideration. The many press
clippings of editorials, news articles, and letters to editors have
enabled the Committee to obtain an understanding of public sentiment on
various matters.
The heads of Government Departments have answered every inquiry for
information which has been submitted to them.
The Public Service Commission has placed facilities at the disposal of
the Committee and has released stenographers and typists from their
ordinary duties to enable this report to be presented on the date fixed
by the Committee early in its deliberations.
In particular, the Committee expresses its great appreciation of the
manner in which Mr L.J. Greenberg has performed the secretarial duties.
He has dealt with correspondence, and has shown a splendid sense of
timing in arranging for the appearance of witnesses.
=APPENDIX A=
=Table of Sexual Offences for Which Proceedings Were Taken in New Zealand=
_1920 1925 1930 1935 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944_
Rape and
attempted rape 11 16 16 19 12 6 22 40 34
Carnally knowing
girls under 16 14 55 68 86 99 41 69 69 71
Attempts to carnally
know girls under 16 7 9 8 14 15 6 5 5 2
Indecent assault:
Females 63 98 107 122 153 113 171 105 134
Indecent assault:
Males 12 47 38 46 103 104 118 68 61
_1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953_
Rape and
attempted rape 27 14 32 14 24 31 29 35 19
Carnally knowing
girls under 16 59 73 66 61 82 90 81 106 109
Attempts to carnally
know girls under 16 17 18 14 13 7 27 23 36 33
Indecent assault:
Females 112 104 147 164 153 149 183 175 311
Indecent assault:
Males 119 89 109 110 86 82 91 122 183
=APPENDIX B=
=List of Witnesses, Submissions, and Order of Appearance=
One hundred and forty-five (145) witnesses appeared before the Committee
in Wellington, Christchurch, or Auckland, and 18 of these witnesses were
recalled on one or more occasion.
_(a) Witnesses_
Witnesses are grouped as follows:
_Government Officials_--
Departmental Heads: Broadcasting, Education, Police.
Other Officers: Customs, Film Censor, Police (4), Superintendent
of Child Welfare 10
_Educational Authorities_--
New Zealand Council of Christian Education
New Zealand Council of Education Research
New Zealand Educational Institute (2)
Professor of Social Science
Director of Physical Education
Tutor, Adult Education
Director, Catholic Education
Child Welfare Officers (5)
Chairman, Board of Governors
Principals (9)
Inspectors (4)
Visiting Teacher
Federation of Parent Teachers Association 29
_Welfare Organizations_--
Religious--
Christian Endeavour Union
Methodist
Presbyterian (2)
Roman Catholic (6)
Salvation Army (8) 18
Other--
Boy Scouts (2)
Crichton Cobbers Club (2)
Girls' Life Brigade
Hutt Valley Youth Survey
Nursery Play Centres (3)
Orphanages (3)
Sea Cadets (2)
Youth Hostels (2)
Y.M.C.A. (3)
Y.W.C.A. (4) 23
_Church Bodies_--
Inter-Church Council on Public Affairs (2)
Hutt Valley Ministers Fraternal (4)
Baptist
Church of England
Methodist
Presbyterian (6) 15
_Women's Organizations_
Anglican Mothers' Union (2)
Catholic Women's League
National Council of Women (2) 5
_Commercial Interests_--
Booksellers (3)
Chemists' Guild
Film Distributors and Exhibitors (7)
Milk Bars (3)
Newspaper Editor 15
_Professional Societies_--
Christchurch Psychological Society (4)
New Zealand Paediatric Society 5
_Civic Leaders_--
Mayor, Lower Hutt 1
_Sporting Bodies_--
Wellington Hockey Association 1
_Miscellaneous Groups_--
Communist Party of New Zealand
New Zealand Rationalists Association 2
_Private Individuals_ 21
Total 145
(_b_) SUBMISSIONS
Practically all the above witnesses, jointly or severally, provided
written submissions, and some provided more than one submission. In all
there were 83 written submissions from 77 witnesses or groups of
witnesses.
In addition, 120 submissions were received from individuals or
organizations that did not appear before the Committee. Many other
persons wrote to the Committee, and a large number supplied samples of
publications containing material considered harmful.
Submissions may be grouped as follows:
(1) Those supplied by the witnesses whose names are marked with an
asterisk (*) in the list showing the order of appearance.
(2) Those supplied by the 120 other individuals and organizations
listed below.
Anglican Provincial Youth Council (J.C. Cottrel, Secretary), Auckland.
Archibald, Jean K., Teacher's College, Ardmore.
Arnold, Miss E.S., Children's Editress, Nelson Evening Mail, Nelson.
Associated Booksellers of New Zealand (D.K. Carey, Secretary),
Wellington.
Associated Churches of Christ in New Zealand (Religious Education
Department), Christchurch.
Auckland Provincial Public Relations Office Inc. (George F. Gair),
Auckland.
Bell, Gordon C., 6 Kohia Terrace, Auckland.
Bennett, L., Lower Hutt.
Blamires, Rev. E.O., 13 Lighthouse Road, Napier.
Brewerton, N.V., Box 2192, Auckland.
Brough, Miss Aileen, 68A Wrigley Street, Tauranga.
Burns, J., 575 New North Road, Kingsland.
Caldwell, C.L., 9 Market Road, Auckland.
Cane, Mrs C.M., 35 Waldegrave Street, Palmerston North.
Carrington, Hon. C.J., P.O. Box 36, Tauranga.
Catholic Youth Movement (Father Curnow), Christchurch.
Child Welfare Officer (A.L. Rounthwaite), Whangarei.
Child Welfare Officer (P. Goodwin),
Chiropractic Health Institute Inc., Auckland.
Christian and Co., Ltd., Devonport Road, Tauranga.
Clark, T.J., 10 Church Road, Templeton, Christchurch.
Clift, F.H. (Hon. Secretary, Wellington Headmasters' Association),
Wellington.
Cosgriff, P.B., 69 Hinau Street, Riccarton, Christchurch.
Cousins, P.W., 4 Matai Road, Wellington.
de Lacy, T.J., Taihape.
Dewar, G.E., 65 Rhodes Street, Waimate.
Dobbie, Mary, 24 Patterson Street, Sandringham, Auckland.
Donovan-Lock, Mrs A., 103 Wrigley Street West, Tauranga.
Duffy, G., Hon. Secretary, Christchurch District Peace Council,
81 Gasson Street, Christchurch.
Duffy. J.A., 67 Wellesley Road, Napier.
Edgar, M.R., Kaukapakapa (North Waitemata Circuit of the Methodist
Church), Waitemata.
Eisey, C.A., 400 South Road, Dunedin.
Emmett, John D., Waikuku Beach, North Canterbury.
Faith, Mrs L.C., President, Catholic Women's League, "Fairview",
Te Horo.
Faram, Mrs T.C., 14 Portage Road East, Papatoetoe.
Fere, Dr M., 113 Seaview Road, New Brighton.
Feron, L.J. (and 32 other petitioners), No. 2 R.D., Governors Bay,
Christchurch.
Flint, E.W., West Coast Road, Oratia.
Fottrell, C.P., 18 Devon Street, Wellington.
Frost, Mrs A., "Truth" (N.Z.) Ltd., Wakefield Street, Wellington.
Graaf, Th. L.D., Beach Road, Otumoetai.
Greenwood, Rev. F., 37 Charlotte Avenue, Wellington.
Gilberd, D., No. 4 R.D., Whangarei.
Gilbert, Miss G.M., 23 Reading Street, Wellington.
Hall, Miss B., 1A Apuka Street, Wellington.
Hansen, Harold, Orini.
Harris, E.L., 4 Riddiford Street, Wellington.
van Harskamp, J., 22 Lombard Street, Greymouth.
Hastings Housewives Union (Alva Hogg, Hon. Secretary), Hastings.
Jamieson, Miss C., National Council of Women, Manawatu Branch,
70 Albert Street, Palmerston North.
Jebson, Mrs E.D., President, Methodist Ladies Guild, St. Paul's,
London Street, Hamilton.
Jessett, F.W., 5 London Terrace, Putaruru.
Joblin, A.E.R., Headmaster, Hokowhitu School, Palmerston North.
Jones, Ernest L., 1010 Taita Drive North, Lower Hutt.
Jones, P.H., 31 Jollie Street, Christchurch.
Kennedy, Mrs M., No. 4 R.D., Morrinsville.
Kidd, Mrs A.W., J.P., "Glenavon", Middlemarch.
Knight, Brian, Brian Knight Clinic Psch., 124 Symonds Street, Auckland.
Lovell, W.P., Taupiri.
Luekens, K.M., "Tuirangi", Auckland.
Mackie, Mrs H., 165 Grafton Road, Wellington.
Macky, Mrs V., 144 Mountain Road, Auckland.
Marsden, E.E., Box 150, Napier.
Martin, C.G., 39 Union Street, Foxton.
Martin, W.E., 7 Whitby Terrace (St. John Ambulance), Auckland.
Methodist Central Mission (Rev. W.E. Falkingham, Superintendent),
Christchurch.
Michie, L.A., 28 Tautari Street, Auckland.
McAven, J.S., 164 Long Drive, Auckland.
McBride, Frances, 18 Gladstone Road, Auckland.
McCaw, Mrs M., 11 Seddon Street, Timaru.
McCool, Mrs M.M.T., Raukawa Road, Ashhurst.
McDonald, A.P., Headmaster, Shannon School, Shannon.
Mclver, Mrs I., Westney Road (2), Mangere.
McLachlan, A.A., former Magistrate, 57 Brunswick Street, Lower Hutt.
McLean, O.G., 5 Thames Street, Hamilton.
McLevie, Rev. E.M., St. Barnabas' Vicarage, Wellington.
Neame, Mrs M.K., "Darwin", Maunganui Road, Mount Maunganui.
Norris, Mrs E., 60 Melbourne Road, Wellington.
North Canterbury Methodist Women's Guild Fellowship, Christchurch.
North Shore Ladies' Representative Committee (Miss R.L. Muskett), Auckland.
New Zealand Canoeing Association (D.J. Mason, President), Auckland.
New Zealand Libraries Association (H.W.B. Bacon, President),
Wellington.
New Zealand National Party (Women's Division), Auckland.
New Zealand Bible Testimony, Box 555, Palmerston North.
Palmerston North Headmasters' Association (L.M. Morine), Palmerston North.
Poole, L.; 5 Curran Street, Auckland.
Potts, Nora Cramond, 23 Towai Street, Auckland.
Public Opinion and Gallup Polls (N.Z.) Ltd., Auckland.
Raeston, K., 68 Fitzherbert Street, Petone.
Rallison, W., Post Office, Frankton.
Reid, Mrs, "Reidhaven", Arrowtown.
Ridder, E.H.C., Christchurch.
Salmond, W.R., Acting Session Clerk, Tasman Presbyterian Church, Upper
Moutere.
Scherer, Sister L.A., 216 Great North Road, Auckland.
Seymour, Douglas, Box 79, Hamilton.
Senior, Gerard, Chaplain, R.N.Z.N., H.M.N.Z.S. _Black Prince_, Auckland.
Solway, R., 28 Opapa Street, Titahi Bay.
Taylor, Mrs G.E., 111 Upland Road, Wellington.
Taylor, Miss J., "Melody Cottage", 156 Barnard Street, Wellington.
Teasdel, W.J., 31 Waipapa Road, Wellington.
Thompson, R.J., 89 Owens Road, Epsom, Auckland.
Tole, J.G., 12 Seaview Road, Remuera, Auckland.
Trio Publications (C.R. Dunford), Christchurch.
Venoe, Miss J.C., Francis Street, Blenheim.
Wanganui Girls' College Board of Governors, Wanganui.
Waikato Justices of the Peace Association, Hamilton.
Ward, Rev. N., Miller Memorial Congregational Church. 9 May Avenue, Napier.
Warren, Rev. P.H., The Church of the Ascension, Auckland.
Wells, Miss E., 175 Long Drive, Auckland.
Wellington Diocesan Youth Council (Miss H. Sewell), Wellington.
Werren, Rev. J.S., South Auckland Methodist Church, Hamilton.
Western, Miss M., P.O. Box 382, Auckland.
White, A.W., Principal, Technical High School, Stratford.
Wilkes, T.G. (General Secretary, New Zealand National Party), Wellington.
Williment, F., Wellington.
Williams, G.T.P., 139 Eruera Street, Rotorua.
Women's Christian Temperance Union (Mrs H.N. Toomer, Dominion President),
Wellington.
Y.M.C.A. New Building Campaign Committee (Mr J.C. Bonham), Auckland.
Youne, Mrs R.A., 4 Hackthorne Road, Christchurch.
(_c_) ORDER OF APPEARANCE OF WITNESSES
*Mr E.H. Compton, Commissioner of Police.
*Mr G.E. Peek, Superintendent of Child Welfare Division.
Mr F.T. Castle, President, Wellington Chemists' Guild.
*Senior Sergeant F.W. LeFort, Officer in Charge, Petone Police Station.
*Mr G.W. Parkyn, Director, New Zealand Council for Educational
Research.
*Mr D.K.D. McGhie, Social Science Bursar, Chairman, Hutt Valley
Youth Survey.
Mr E.W. Mills, Principal, Hutt Valley Memorial Technical College.
Dr C.E. Beeby, Director of Education.
*Mr E.S. Gale, Assistant Comptroller of Customs.
*Mr B.C. Penney, President, New Zealand Educational Institute.
Mr G.R. Ashbridge, Secretary, New Zealand Educational Institute.
*Mr J. Ferguson, District Child Welfare Officer, Wellington.
*Mr G. Mirams, Film Censor, Wellington.
Mr G. Briggs, National Secretary New Zealand Y.M.C.A.
Mr A.L. Lummis, Elbes Milk Bar, Lower Hutt.
Mr L.F. Elbe, Elbes Milk Bar, Lower Hutt.
Mr W.L. Ellingham, Elbes Milk Bar, Lower Hutt.
*Rev. R.S. Anderson, Presbyterian Church, Naenae.
Mr J.D. Murray, Presbyterian, Church, Naenae.
Mr M. Buist, Presbyterian Church, Naenae.
Mrs J.B. Christensen, Former member of the Senate Sub-committee to
Investigate Juvenile Delinquency in United States of America.
*Mrs R. Wolfe, Private Citizen, Lower Hutt.
Mrs S. Smith, Private Citizen, Lower Hutt.
Mr W.B. Davy, Private Citizen, Lower Hutt.
*Father D.P. O'Neill, Director of Catholic Social Services.
*Miss E. Newton (Former Teacher), Wanganui.
*Miss H. Kirkwood, Post-primary Inspector of Schools.
Mr W. Yates, Director of Broadcasting.
*Mr K.G. Gibson, Commissioner of Boy Scouts' Association.
Mr R.E. Glensor, Dominion Secretary of Boy Scouts' Association.
*Mr H.T. Robinson, Private Citizen (Technician, Dominion Physical
Laboratories).
*Mr R.A. Loe, General Manager, Gordon and Gotch Ltd.
*Mr J.K. Torbit, Private Citizen, Khandallah.
*Mrs Birchfield, Communist Party of New Zealand.
*Rev. M.A. McDowell, Hutt Valley Ministers Fraternal.
Rev. G.E. Dallard, Hutt Valley Ministers Fraternal.
Rev. C.W.R. Madill, Hutt Valley Ministers Fraternal.
Rev. Mr Hartford, Hutt Valley Ministers Fraternal.
*Mr F.S. Ramson, Principal, Hutt Valley High School.
Mr R.A. Usmar, New Zealand Motion Picture Exhibitors' Association.
Mr H. Taylor, New Zealand Motion Picture Exhibitors' Association.
Mr N. Hayward, New Zealand Motion Picture Exhibitors' Association.
Mr N.E. Wrighton, New Zealand Motion Picture Exhibitors'
Association.
Miss C. Conway, Catholic Youth Movement.
*Father Fouhy, Catholic Youth Movement.
Mr T. Fox. Catholic Youth Movement.
Professor W.G. Minn, Chair of Social Science, Victoria University
College.
Mrs A.M. Richardson } President and Programme Secretary, National
Miss A.M. Blakey } Y.W.C.A. of New Zealand.
*Mr T.H. Whitwell, Senior Inspector of Schools, Wellington.
*Miss R. Reilly, Visiting Teacher, Wellington Education Board.
*Rev. J. Grocott, New Zealand Inter-Church Council on Public Affairs
and New Zealand Council of Christian Education.
Rev. D.M. Williams, New Zealand Inter-Church Council Public
Questions Committee.
Rev. M.J. Savage, New Zealand Inter-Church Council Public
Questions Committee.
*Mr. W. Olphert, Sea Cadets.
Mr. R. Sanders, Sea Cadets.
Miss J.W. Whitton, Former Police Woman.
*Rev. A.J. Johnson, Senior Youth Director, Methodist Church of New
Zealand.
*Mr G.A. Pitkethley, General Secretary, Hutt Valley Y.M.C.A.
Mr H.J.M. Christie, Chairman, Youth Department, Hutt Valley Y.M.C.A.
Mr P. Dowse, Mayor of Lower Hutt.
*Superintendent D.R. Sugrue, In charge of Christchurch Police District.
Mr H.A. Adams, President, Christchurch Psychological Society.
Mr B.F. O'Connor, Secretary, Christchurch Psychological Society.
Mrs Young, Member, Christchurch Psychological Society.
Miss Saunders, Member, Christchurch Psychological Society.
*Mr T.C. Cutler, Vice-President, Youth Hostels Association.
Mr J.L. McKie, Secretary, Youth Hostels Association.
*Mr P.A. Smithells, Director, School of Physical Education, Otago
University.
Mr J.C.H. Chapman, Farmer, Kurow.
*Rev. C.R. Harris, Methodist Minister, Riccarton.
*Mrs W. Averill, President, Young Members Department, Anglican
Mothers' Union.
Miss M.J. Havelaar, Branch President, National Council of Women.
*Mrs W. Grant, President, Y.W.C.A., Christchurch.
*Mrs R.W. Lattimore, President, Catholic Women's League.
*Major H. Goffin, Divisional Commander, Salvation Army,
Canterbury-Westland.
Captain E. Orsborne, Youth Director, Salvation Army, Canterbury-Westland.
*Mr J.R. O'Sullivan, District Child Welfare Officer, Christchurch.
Mrs M.E. Barrance, Child Welfare Officer, Christchurch.
*Mr J.F. Johnson, Senior Inspector of Schools, Canterbury.
*Rev. W.M. Hendrie, Youth Director, Presbyterian Church of New
Zealand.
*Rev. T.C. Campbell, Superintendent, Presbyterian Social Services
Association.
Mr J. Bruorton, Crichton Cobbers Club.
Mr J. McCracken, Crichton Cobbers Club.
Miss K.J. Scotter, Principal, Girls' Training School, Burwood.
*Mr W.H.E. Easterbrook-Smith, Senior Tutor Adult Education (Hutt
Valley, Wairarapa).
Miss N.J. Clark, Principal, Wellington Girls' College.
*Mr K.A. Falconer, Secretary, Wellington Hockey Association.
*Commissioner Hoggard, Territorial Commander, Salvation Army.
Colonel B. Cook, Secretary, Salvation Army.
Major R. Usher, Salvation Army.
Brigadier B. Nicholson, Salvation Army.
Dr N.H. Gascoigne, Director, Catholic Education.
*Mrs H. Bullock, Anglican Mothers Union and National Council of
Women.
Miss Forde, National Council of Women.
*Senior Superintendent P. Munro, In charge of Auckland Police District.
Mr S.L. Vaile, President, New Zealand Booksellers' Association.
*Miss G.M. Gebbie, Organizing Secretary, Girls' Life Brigade.
Detective D.J. Brewer. Police Department, Auckland.
*Mr G.C. Smith, District Child Welfare Officer, Auckland.
*Mr J. Nesbitt, Teacher, Te Papapa School.
Mr S.H. Craig, President, New Zealand Motion Picture Distributors'
Association.
Mr Phil Maddock, General Manager, J. Arthur Rank Organization.
Mr A. McClure, Managing Director, Warner Bros. Ltd.
*Rev. F.R. Bolmor, Minister, Presbyterian Church, Mount Roskill.
*Mrs A.J. McClure, Mount Albert Baptist Church.
*Dr B. Friedlander, Dental Surgeon, Auckland.
Mr A.E. Campbell, Chief Inspector of Primary Schools, Department
of Education, Wellington.
*Miss G.M. Rohan, Retired School Teacher, Auckland.
*Mr C.R. Bach, Teacher, Otahuhu College, Auckland.
*Mr E.V. Dumbleton. Managing Editor, Auckland _Star_.
*Mr A.G. Long, Nursery Play Centres Association.
*Mr J.C. Reid, Lecturer in English, Auckland University.
*Dr E.M. Blaiklock, Professor of Classics, Auckland University.
*Professor A.G. Davis, Dean of Faculty of Law, Auckland University.
*Mr M.F. Smith, National Secretary, Christian Endeavour Union.
*Mrs O. Bickerton, Liaison Officer, Auckland Nursery Play Centre
Association.
Mr A. Gray, President, Auckland Nursery Play Centre Association.
Dr Elizabeth Hughes, Vice-President, New Zealand Paediatric Society,
Auckland.
Miss C.R. Ashton, General Secretary, Y.W.C.A., Auckland.
Mr L. Adams, Onehunga.
Mr M.D. Nairn, Headmaster, Mount Albert Grammar School,
Auckland.
*Mr P.T. Keane, Headmaster, Kowhai Intermediate School.
*Mr A.S.R. O'Halloran, President, New Zealand Rationalists
Association.
*Mr W.A.T. Underwood, Principal, Hamilton East School.
*Dr R.J. Delargey, Catholic Youth Director.
*Father L.V. Downey, Director, Catholic Social Services.
*Mr C. Bennett, President, Auckland United Orphanages Council.
Mr R.S. Harrop, Hon. Secretary, Auckland United Orphanages
Council.
Mr R.B. Giesen, Member, Auckland United Orphanages Council.
Mr A. Gifford, Retired Chemist, Auckland.
*Mr B.M. Kibblewhite, Former Vice-President, Teachers' Training
College.
Mr A.S. Partridge, Vice-President, Auckland National Council Parents
and Teachers' Association.
*Major H.G. Rogers, Matron, Salem House, Salvation Army.
Captain T. Smith, Matron, Bethany Hospital, Salvation Army,
Auckland.
*Mr C.R. Shann, Engineer, Private Citizen, Auckland.
Mr J.A. Lee, Writer and Bookseller, Auckland.
*Rev. T.C. Somerville, Convener, Auckland Presbyterian Youth Committee.
Mr J.R. McClure, Lecturer, Teachers' Training College, Auckland.
*Mr H. Binstead, Retired Principal of the Manukau Intermediate School.
*Archdeacon A.E. Prebble, Vicar of St. Marks, Remuera.
*Mr T.C. Ward, Headmaster, Epuni Primary School, and President,
Hutt Valley Headmasters' Association.
Mr N.J. Caldwell, Headmaster, Rata Street School, and ex-President
of Hutt Valley Headmasters' Association.
*Mr I.B. Johnson, Headmaster, Naenae College, Lower Hutt.
Mr W.B. Dyer, Chairman of the Board of Governors, Naenae College,
Lower Hutt.
BY AUTHORITY: R.E. OWEN, GOVERNMENT PRINTER, WELLINGTON.--1954 _Price
3s._
[Transcriber's notes:]
There were no footnotes in this text. Most [#] markers indicate spelling
mistakes, the original spelling is listed below.
[1] was: intercouse
[2] was: recomendation
[3] handwritten addition to the text, which has been left, as it is
fully in context.
[4] was: unobstrusively
[5] was: symtomatic
[6] was: psychologicaly
[7] was: anomolous
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Report of the Special Committee on
Moral Delinquency in Children and Adolescents, by Oswald Chettle Mazengarb et al.
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