Print friendly
An Invercargill youth worker says children as young as 11 are having sex in Invercargill, which has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in New Zealand.
She wanted to get the message out that children in the city were having sex and many parents did not know it was happening.
“I want to stimulate conversation in the community and get people asking, what is happening to my children, where are they?”
Invercargill Pregnancy Help Inc president Dianne Acker said the agency helped women of all ages but many young teens had sought help, the youngest a 14-year-old.
She was concerned some of the young girls did not have support or basic life skills. She also referred cases of young girls to other agencies.
Pregnancy Help has been operating for more than 30 years and volunteers were seeing more young girls, and many without support, she said.
Southland Boys’ High School rector Ian Baldwin said he believed sex among teenagers was becoming increasingly common.
As children became sexualised earlier in life through television and social media, they made the physical connection, he said. Continue reading
Related Posts:
News category: News Shorts.
