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diff --git a/14760-0.txt b/14760-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e44808b --- /dev/null +++ b/14760-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,4093 @@ +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14760 *** + +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. + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 14760 *** |