Areas of concern mentioned in the article:
- erratic driving
- gave false name which she could not spell
- breath-alcohol reading of 828mcg, when the legal limit for drivers under 20 is 150mcg
- driving aged under 15 and thus without a licence
- possible alcohol-related harm to the fetus
- possible binge drinking (although article says this could have been a one-off binge, ALAC will be relieved)
14 comments:
Clearly she got herself pregnant.
What's missing?
Probably her father and that of the baby.
Chalk up another statistic.
Good call. If her probably underage boyfriend had been there to drive, this would never have happened.
What's missing? Probably loving and responsible parents, a happy childhood, education and contraception; definitely the baby's father and almost certainly a secure, healthy and happy future for her and the baby.
These things may all be missing, but the lack of concern for the girl as a minor in need of care - as a human being, for that matter - is really concerning. This article veers between treating her as a baby-vessel and a criminal. Surely we should be concerned about the child carrying the baby?
And still very few people seem to have noticed the age of this child. Sex without consent is rape. Our law holds that those under the age of 16 are not capable of consenting to sex. So where, oh where is the concern for the fact that this girl has been raped?
Certainly not at Kiwiblog.
And, predictably, Lindsay Mitchell says the DPB is at fault. She almost nearly mentions the possibility of rape, but not quite.
Tricky one. If the father of the baby is underage, it may still of course be rape - but it may also be consensual (insofar as two kids below the age of consent can actually give it). This is still an issue though - it's hardly desirable for a 14 year old to be pregnant or to be having sex (in my opinion, anyway).
All this talk about rape is really only relevant in the context of the legal definition of rape.
Let's face it: a 14-year old getting pregnant, drinking and driving, while not being able to spell her name, is a victim of rape in many more ways than the fact of penetration. If there is any correlation between our 'welfare state' and the existence of this type of excesses than certainly it is time to seriously look at the premises and assumptions underlying that welfare state, and I believe that this is fundamentally where most of the commenters here are coming from.
Eh? You're drawing a pretty long bow if you think this girl was impregnated by the welfare state, Anon.
For beginners, we have no idea what this girl's living arrangement/source of income support is. You seem to be suggesting she's a welfare recipient (or the child of one) because you regard her as a failure, and believe that the two go hand in hand.
Most of the social 'science' which suggests welfare dependence causes negative social outcomes is actually pretty crappy. For example, it seldom accounts for the effects of poverty (which is also experienced by people on low wages, and yet we seem to draw an arbitrary distinction between these two groups for ideological reasons).
"Most of the social 'science' which suggests welfare dependence causes negative social outcomes is actually pretty crappy. For example, it seldom accounts for the effects of poverty (which is also experienced by people on low wages, and yet we seem to draw an arbitrary distinction between these two groups for ideological reasons).
I seem to remember coming across one theory that it is about relativity, rather than just the material consequences. That is, is at what society agrees is the "bottom of the heap" will suffer more than those in the same material circumstances but who hold a different place in society. In our society "welfare dependency" generally isn't viewed that positively and this itself has consequences.
katy
Actually you can't get the DPB if you're under 18. Sorry to burst the Oh Noez: Teenz on DPB!!11!! bubble.
Completely agree, Katy - and you have to wonder what are the effects on kids being raised by solo parents when the likes of Lindsay Mitchell goes out of her way to publicly remind them what losers they will probably turn out.
There's a second article on this today, because she's been caught drink-driving again, and still no mention of concern about the whole underage sex, maybe there's a rape here, thing...
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