posted on May, 3 2003 @ 04:58 AM
The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) confirmed a father's age was irrelevant when it demanded child support contributions.
Under the New Zealand Crimes Act, a 12 yr old girl could be considered a victim of a sexual crime if an 18 yr old man had sex with her. But sex
between women and children is not prohibited, as in a case involving a female swimming coach who had sex with a 13 yr old swimming champion.
A boy who get a woman pregnant could be hit with heavy penalties if he did not make arrangements to pay support. Most boys would be expected to pay
more than $13 a week-the minimum IRD requires from liable parents.
The current act goes against the principle of child law. Which generally held that a child had to understand the implications of his actions before he
was held responsible for them.
The IRD has expressed "That children had the right to be financially supported by their parents, wheather the parents played a part in their life or
not".
Should we be making exceptions for very young parents.............They to have a right to childhood and adolescence, and they also need to be held
accountable, but to what degree.