FOR WOMEN

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 197, 20 August 1943, Page 5

FOR WOMEN

YOUTH'S PROBLEMS FOREWOMAN'S VIEWS UNDERSTANDING NEEDED The present moral situation is one which calls for immediate action, and it is high time that we women did something worthwhile about it, says a former factory forewoman. „ In my opinion," she continues, war conditions are not altogether to blame; we have been riding for a fall for a long time, and the present conditions have merely aggravated matters and brought them to a head. "Lack of proper home training, and little or no interest on the part of the parents in their children's future welfare and happiness, have for a long time been a large factor in child delinquency and the unsatisfactory behaviour generally on the part of young people. Far too many of them are pushed out into the world before they are fully fledged. "Many people are of the impression that the leaving age of school children is 15 years, and do not know that it is possible for any child over 12 to get a permit at the Labour Department to start work in a factory. It is quite easy to obtain one of these permits. Only the child's name and age, and the parents' names and address are needed, and in all my experience I have never known the Labour Department to check up on these children, or inquire if they were suited for the work they had undertaken. "Many of them get into jobs for which they are entirely unsuited, and after the novelty has worn off they become dissatisfied and unruly. Before the war, when it was easy for them to make changes, many of them were on the move constantly going from job to job, without learning one type of work properly. Now, of course, in most cases, that is impossible. But many of them are dissatisfied just the same, and in their leisure hours try to find the satisfaction which they lack during the day. No Worth-while Future "I know of a number of such cases, and several where girls have been forced into too-early and ill-advised marriages just because they could not see anything else worthwhile in the future. Lack of proper sex education, or, more specifically, a full realisation of their responsibilities towards sex, is an important factor in the present trouble as well, and girls especially hold their bodies too cheaply, with the resultant immorality which is causing us so much concern. "War conditions and the thousands of servicemen who throng our streets are all that is needed to make these dissatisfied and unfortunate children (for they are mainly children) lose their sense of proportion altogether, and so we have increased numbers in cases of disease and illegitimacy, while most of us know that the abortion racket is flourishing as never before. In spite of all this, most mothers are amazingly apathetic, and do not realise that wartime delinquency is not merely a crop of wild o,ats to be forgotten when family lifeTs more stable. From these tragic youngsters will come our post-war crop of disease and crime.

"What, then, can we do about it? Our first action must be drastic and

immediate. Largely increased numbers of :.\vomen police, assisted by an auxiliary made up of E.P.S. vrorkers and other willing women, couldpatrol the streets constantly and give particular l attention to parks, vacant lots, etc. Any young girl who is found to be behaving in a suspicious manner, or considered too young to be out without proper escort, should be taken home and her parents acquainted with her actions. Stricter control of dance halls and their environs,, and more drastic penalties) for sly grogging would go a long way in making it more difficult for young people to get into the difficulties.

Take Over Dance Halls

"However, we, will have to offer them something else in the way of compensation, so what is wrong with making use of every hall, church halls included, for the important work of entertaining our young folk and keeping them out of mischief. Properly conducted dances should be available every night, Sundays included, and I am sure they would be well patronised.

I am convinced that the majority prefer good clean fun and entertainment, and ohly resort to the other kind for lack of something better. Probably some of the churches will not approve of the above suggestions, but as all the well-intentioned efforts of the past have failed, we must realise that we have to supply the entertainment that is needed whether we actually like it or not. Anything is better than forcing our young people to spend the greater part of their leisure in the streets and .in doorways.

As well as these suggestions, however, it will be necessary for parents to realise their •responsibilities to their young people. Behind every delinquent girl, every tragedy of immorality and disease, stands the shadow of delinquent parents. The mothers particularly must become more conscious of the importance of family life; if not, too many of our mothers of the future will have a sordid background which will prove the cause of misery and disease."