Report of the Special Committee on Moral Delinquency in Children and Adolescents Part 2

_(c) Juvenile Delinquency in Maoris and Non-Maoris_

Another ill.u.s.tration 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 s.e.xual 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 s.e.xual 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 s.e.xual Misbehaviour_

When this inquiry was mooted all members of the Committee heard the oft-repeated comment that s.e.xual 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 att.i.tude 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 a.s.sumes 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 circ.u.mstances which have compelled action by the Legislature. The consumption of alcohol by persons in charge of motor vehicles is but one ill.u.s.tration of the way in which an old vice may become such a great evil in altered circ.u.mstances 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 s.e.x 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 a.s.sociated 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 s.e.x. It is unfortunate that in many cases girls, by immodest conduct, have become the leaders in s.e.xual 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 s.e.xual 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 s.e.xual 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 s.e.xual offences.

=(5) Changed Mental Att.i.tude of Girls and Boys=

Perhaps the most startling feature is the changed mental att.i.tude of many young people towards this evil. Some offend because they crave popularity or want to do what their friends are doing. Some a.s.sert 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 att.i.tude. The Committee has not overlooked the fact that in some cases this att.i.tude may have been due to a defensive reaction.

The recent disclosures caused one headmistress of a city college to arrange for s.e.x 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 a.s.sume 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 s.e.x which were well in advance of their years.

This change in the mental att.i.tude of offending children was further exemplified by evidence that, in one series of cases in Auckland, records were kept, and there was some compet.i.tion 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) h.o.m.os.e.xuality=

The Committee has read reports from Great Britain of an increase in h.o.m.os.e.xual 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 s.e.xual misbehaviour can occur between members of the same s.e.x.

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 att.i.tude of mind shown by those who have planned and organized s.e.xual 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 s.e.xual 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 circ.u.mstance 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 s.e.xual 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 s.e.xual 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_