ILLEGITIMACY STATISTICS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 31, 31 October 1917, Page 5

ILLEGITIMACY STATISTICS

STARTLING FIGURES. ■■■■ , •• During his address at the meeting of ' the Society for the Protection of Women .'end Children, the Hon. G. W. Russell, lAlinistor of Internal Affairs, referred to the statistics of illegitimacy. Taking .the four years—l9l2, 1913, 1914, and 1915— no fewer than 2071 illegitimate children ivero born to mothers of 21 "years and under. In tho year 1912 there were four children registered to mothers who were 113 years of age; five to those who were I M years of age; twelve to mothers of ;15 years of age; thirty-one to mothers of IB years of age; ajid 71 to mothers of 17 years. 'In 1913, there were no children . born fb mothers of 13 years of age, but .there were four born to mothers of l< years; in 1914 there wer.e se,yen ohildren iborn to mothers of fourteen" -years, end seven in 1915/ To mothers of 15 years . of age there were born in 1912 a dozan children; in 1913, fourteen; in 19H, seventeen; and 1915. fourteen. To mothers, of 16, in 1912, thirty-one children were born; in 1913. thirty-two; in 39H, thirty-eight; in 1915, thirty. To mothers of 17, in 1912 there were seventyone children; in 1913, fifty-four; in 19H, seventy-three; and in 1915,,8ixty-two. In the four years named there were four children born to mothers of 13 years of age; 20 to mothers of 14 years of age; 57 to mothers of 15 years; 131 to mothers of 16, and 260 to mothers of 17 years. There were altogether 472 children born to mothers' aged 13 to 17 in the four years, and when it was considered that the' age of consent in New Zealand was 16, it would be realised what a state of nffair3 the sad figures he had, quoted revealed. \