New Zealand. Special Committee on Moral Delinquency in Children and Adolescents

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 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. ”

“ 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. ”