A CALL TO WOMEN.

Press, Volume LVII, Issue 17223, 13 August 1921, Page 9

A CALL TO WOMEN.

TO THE EDITOR Ot "THK PRESS." Sir, —Being interested from a Social Welfare Worker's point of view in the correspondence which has appeared recently m "The Press," may I be permitted through the medium of your paper to endorse all the statements made by Miss Jessie Mackay, of the W.C.T.U and of Miss E. J. M. Cardale. It has l>een my privilege in the Old Country to have been a < member of the Women's Police Service. Many women will say that it is sordid work, and so it is in a great many cases, but it is surely time that women remembered that there are many "unfortunate ones" and they .need a helping hand. The pitiful cases that one has come into contact with in Christchurch, cases of sexuai offences against girls' under the age bf 16 (which as the law stands to-day is the age of consent), only shows i hat the time has long passed when women should get together and take a share in trying to see that more justice is done to some of these poor unfortunato children. The numerous cases of sexual .iffenoos against children which have been before the Courts during the last few weeks provide ample evidence that tho law in relation to cases of this nature needs drastic readjustment. The law as it- stands to-day permits a man to evade the penalty of the criminal code bv putting in a plea that "he had reasonable cause to believe" that the girl was over 18. It is obvious that this provision is tantamount to an admission Dy the law that it will not convict a man who makes such a statement, although at the same time it is equally obvious to a third party that in many cases there could be absolutely no justification whatever attaching any value to such a plea. Mr W. M. Hughes, Prime Minuter of the Commonwealth of Australia, speaking at the Ladies' Lyceum Club. London recently, said: "What havp'the men done who have been entrusted for centuries with the conduct of human affairs. . . . but the opportunities that men have been given of which they so ill-availed themselves should help the women to take courage and go ahead." Let the women take courage (and we shall need much), and go ahead, not minding the criticisms that may be thrown at us by that section of the public that shuts its eyes to horrors and shuts its ears to a whisper of anything "unpleasant." Let us avail ourselves of every opportunity that there is to protect these young girls (some of them mothers at the age of 16 and leas), and see that we make it our business to sign the petition that is being placed before Parliament to have this unreasonable clause deleted from the Criminal Law Amendment Bill.— Yours, etc., M. H. BEGG, Social Hygiene Society, 12 Chancery. Lane, Christchurch. August 12th.