I am still investigating paternity testing, liability etc and came across this is a booklet from the Auckland Women's Centre.
If you are under 16 & trying to get paternity established,
will criminal proceedings be started against the baby’s
father because you had sex before you were 16?
If the baby’s father is under 17, & you had sex willingly, it is
unlikely that Police Youth Aid would feel it was in the best
interests of either of you to charge him with an offence.
However, if he is over 17, he could be charged because it’s a
criminal offence to have sex with a female under 16 years of
age, even if you were willing. The Police are more likely to
prosecute if there is a larger age gap & they think you may have
been pressured into sex. If you didn’t have sex willingly or you
were forced into having sex, the man committed an extremely
serious crime (called rape) & you may want to talk to someone
you trust about this.
Am I right in assuming then that only the male is culpable for under-age sex?
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I believe they fixed up the male/female inconsistancy in the law a year or so ago
We were aware a few years ago of a case where a friends daughter aged 15 moved in with a 21 year old with his mothers consent. Our friend went to the police and also Winz and neither was interested.
The reason - she was seen to be consenting despite her age.
So pdm, you're saying we effectively do not have an age of consent anymore.
That semed to be clearly the case when this occurred - no one wanted to know.
The days of `unlawful carnal knowledge' with a girl under 16 seem to be gone unless it is considered to be rape.
Eventually the girls mother was able to persuade her to come home but the boys mother resisted strongly for a fair while and she was probably with him for 4 to 6 weeks. The mother went to the police at least twice in that time.
If the girl is older than the boy, and he is under 16, she can be prosecuted - but that is only a very recent change as Mikee mentions.
The real issue is whether there is evidence, and whether the younger party will testify - nobody will care if everyone denies it.
There are really many different families around this sort of thing:
- Some don't care at all what happens, underage sex is endemic and as long as pervy Uncle and Aunty Pimp don't force themselves, no one cares.
- Others care a lot, and will jump on the 16yo boy with his 15yo girlfriend and want to lock him up.
- Others are blissfully unaware that their angels are shagging people over/under the legal age, until she runs off with the 18yo service station attendant, with 2 others and is another statistic on the road toll. The last group are the ones that influence opinion, that create hysteria, when the real problem is in the towns/families/communities where girls under 15 being pregnant is commonplace.
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