Legal age for sex protects children, says McClay

12.00pm

Lowering the legal age for sex to 14 would remove essential protection for children, Children's Commissioner Roger McClay said today.

His comments follow a call by Auckland lawyer Colin Amery, who is representing a man charged after allegedly having underage sex with a 14-year-old girl, for the age to be changed.

Mr Amery said children were better informed and society's attitude about sex had changed.

Mr McClay said he doubted Mr Amery had the best interest of children at heart.

"What is he saying. 'Let's not call it abuse let's call it consensual'?"

Mr McClay said there were not many convictions for young people having sex with each other but many for sexual abuse by older people.

"I just think there are too many people who give up to easily on our children and young people who say 'it's all too hard let's make it all legal'...

"I don't agree. There will be a lot of good reasons why the age of 16 was set."

He said if the law was changed it could open children up to being exploited by the pornography industry and raised concerns about proposed changes to decriminalise prostitution.

Mr McClay said there were already too many cases where caregivers abused or exploited their children and a change would remove the available protection.

Mr Amery's call followed revelations about a legal loophole that meant a 21-year-old Wellington female swimming coach could not be charged after having a sexual relationship with a 13-year-old boy.

The Wellington boy's mother is furious the swim coach, who works for Wellington City Council, cannot not prosecuted.

Mr Amery said inequalities in the law that meant his client faced charges while the Wellington woman could not be prosecuted, needed to be eliminated. However, the real issue was whether 16 was an appropriate age for consent.

"The sexual climate of today is very different and children of 14 have a lot of sexual knowledge these days compared with 1961. At 14, young people have a degree of physical maturity but not necessarily emotional and psychological maturity, and the law has hopelessly failed to keep up with that," he said.

Mr McClay told NZPA he agreed the discriminatory law should be changed but that did not mean dropping the age.

If Mr Amery was sincere about feeling the legal sex age change was warranted he should approach an MP and urge for a debate to be launched, he said.

"Mr Amery is trying to get his client off the hook by suggesting that the law is wrong. That's an old trick, I've tried it when I've had a speeding ticket but it doesn't work."

Mr McClay said he expected parents would be shocked by Mr Amery's call.

"At least it (the 16 age limit) is a peg in the ground. But at 16 they're able to, perhaps, have a longer harder think than what they are at 14."

He said it was a fact that children that young were having sex and figures showed a number of girls became pregnant.

"But does it make it right that our laws should all of a sudden because Mr Amery's client is in trouble be changed?"

Meanwhile, Justice Minister Phil Goff has said he would introduce amendments to the Crimes Act to close the loophole that allows women having sex with boys to escape prosecution. These are due to go to the Cabinet in the next two months.

- NZPA