Treoir Newsletter June 2006

STATISTICS
Births to women under 20 in 2005
and 2000
There were 61,042 births registered in Ireland in 2005 . There were 2,427 births to women under 20 which represents nearly 4% of all births.
Of these 2,427 births to women under 20, 93% (2,261) were outside marriage.
Of these 2,427 births in 2005 there were
c 42 to 15 year olds and under
c 182 to 16 year olds
c 388 to 17 year olds
c 772 to 18 year olds
c 1,043 to 19 year olds.

There were 54,239 births registered in Ireland in 2000. There were 3,135 births to women under 20 which represents 5.8% of all births.
Of these 3,135 births to women under 20, 95% (2,977) were outside marriage.
The figures below show that despite popular perceptions the number of births
to women under 20 has decreased in every age group over the last 5 years. Of the 3,135 births in 2000 there were:
c 66 to 15 year olds and under
c 212 to 16 year olds
c 511 to 17 year olds
c 995 to 18 year olds
c 1,351 to 19 year olds.
Meeting of trainers with young parents
The NRCWYP hosted a meeting on 7 th June for trainers who provide significant training and/or education (12 hours training a week or over) to young parents. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss common issues and share experiences of working with young parents with the hope of providing a stronger voice as a group.

Similar themes emerged from all programmes on what worked well e.g.
E personal development skills
E community arts
E mentoring and giving individual support
including in the recruitment phase
E being up front and straight with teen
mothers and giving them a choice
E the experience of being heard is
important to young parents
E flexibility in responding to particular needs.

The reported difficulties included:
E recruiting - especially in rural areas
E childcare
E The interaction of training allowances
on Social Welfare payments,
E Access to transport in rural and urban areas
E domestic violence.

It was agreed that the group meet again on 19 th October in order to
1. share experiences, ideas and resources on personal development skills and materials
2. debate issues surrounding teen mothers and social welfare benefits perhaps with a view to having a unified national voice on this and other issues.

If you would like to be included on the mailing list for this group please contact margot@treoir.ie

Twenty two agencies were contacted in the course of preparing this report in response to the Minister for Children s invitation for submissions on the Children First Guidelines (1999) on the reporting of child abuse. The areas that are of particular interest to Treoir are the definition and recognition of child abuse and An Garda S qoch hna/HSE protocol on the reporting of underage sexual activity i.e. under 17. It is important to note that the age of consent for acts of unlawful carnal knowledge under the age of 17 years refer to the Criminal Law Amendent Act 1935 and not to the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006.

Children First Guidelines (1999)
Section 9.15.2 of the Children First Guidelines (1999) causes particular concern for those who work in voluntary organisations. This section relates to the age of consent which states that: For the purposes of the criminal law the age of consent to sexual activity is 17 years.
This section reiterates the age of consent stated in The Children Act 2001 and The Criminal Law Amendment Act 1935. However, it must be noted that the 1935 Act does not make any reference to an age of consent for boys. In 2001 the Attorney General amended the wording of the Department of Education and Science Relationship and Sexuality Education Resources stating that the age of consent for sexual intercourse is 17 years for girls but 15 years for boys. Respondents had difficulty locating the exact legislation that clearly states the age of consent for boys.

Respondents questioned why the amendment of the Attorney General was not widely disseminated or publicised since it had implications for those providing information and services to teenagers. Moreover, the fact that the age of consent was amended in the

wording in the Department of Education and Science Relationship and Sexuality Education Resources and not, for example in the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1935-caused further confusion leaving it unclear if the guidelines are still relevant or applicable.

Such lack of clarity caused respondents involved in some organisations to seek advice in relation to this matter from solicitors while others sought clarification from the Department of Justice who stated that the age of consent was 17 for both.

A second aspect of the guidelines that caused concern, for voluntary organisations especially, relates to the latter aspect which states that: In any event, investigations should be sensitive to the needs of the child.

The main problem with dealing with such cases in ensuring sensitivity to the needs of the child is assessing whether an under 17 pregnancy is a cause for concern or a child protection/abuse issue while taking on board the fact that a teenager had committed a criminal act. Respondents expressed concern over their own abilities to assess individual cases because an assessor has to use their own experience, interpretation, intuition and instinct and felt that they were not fully equipped to make proper judgements on occasions. A minority of respondents did state that because some of those in voluntary organisations had not attained proper HSE or counselling training, they were more likely to shy away from making an assessment and passing individual cases on to other authorities such as social workers and An Garda S qoch hna. The logic behind this was when in doubt, report all cases.

There were three main opinions from respondents regarding the age of consent:
1) The age of consent should be changed thus solving anomalies surrounding the Criminal law Amendment Act 1935. It would also reflect the reality that teenagers are becoming sexually active at a much younger age.
2) The age of consent should remain as it stands (17 years) because it promoted the delaying sexual intercourse to an age when young people are more mature.
3) Other respondents argued the effectiveness of a legal age in relation to the age of consent. Although child protection was paramount, Respondents stated that a person s age did not necessarily equate to a depth of maturity, arguing that a 14 or 15 year old could be more emotionally mature than an eighteen year old and may be better equipped to make mature decisions. A number of participants believed that mature minors have the capacity to make the decision to be involved in sexual intercourse.

Recommendations
1. For the Guidelines to be effective, there needs to be clarity in their wording in relation to the age of consent especially for those working in voluntary organisations.
2. Respondents from voluntary organisations recommended a national legal framework within the guidelines that workers could use in assessing whether individual cases were a child protection issue. With certain procedures in place, workers would feel more confident in assessing cases and would be able to justify their decisions effectively rather than simply through intuition, experience etc.
3. Although not unanimous, respondents believed that the guidelines are not effective because they are implemented on a voluntary basis and recommended that that they be placed on a statutory footing thus removing any ambiguity around the reporting of child abuse. However, this could have negative implications for those involved with young parents, as it would, in effect, mean the implementation of mandatory reporting of all cases including consensual sexual intercourse under 17 years. In so doing it deter pregnant teenagers availing of services (e.g. antenatal) or could promote the concealment of pregnancies due to fear of involvement of social services and An Garda S qoch hna.

First Report (2000-2005) of the Teen Parents Support Programme
The First Report (2000-2005) of the Teen Parents' Support Programme was launched on May 22nd by Brian Lenihan, T.D., Minister for Children.
The Minister paid tribute to those involved in the TPSP, including the HSE, the Crisis Pregnancy Agency, the maternity hospitals, as well as the various voluntary and community organizations. He said their hard work had ensured the success of the Programme. In particular, Mr Lenihan thanked Treoir for the important role that it has played in the programme s success. If you would like a copy of this Report contact the National Co-ordinator, below. Alternatively you can download it from www.treoir.ie/content/view/17/16/ .

Government Discussion Paper: Proposals for Supporting Lone Parents
This paper has acknowledged the need for teen parents to receive particular supports at an early stage and has recommended the expansion of the TPSP. You may download this Discussion Paper from www.welfare.ie/publications/index.html #l

Programme Developments
The new TPSP based in St. Catherine s Community Services Carlow has now started its service to teen parents. It has also expanded into Kilkenny and hopes to have a separate base in there in the near future. You may contact staff as follows:
Bernie Loughman, Project Leader @ 059-9138700 x 221 bernieloughman@stcatherinescarlow.ie
Ann Marie Doody, Project Worker @ 059-9138700 x 216 annmariedoody@stcatherinescarlow.ie

The Cork TPSP now has its full staff complement and premises at 24 Dunbar Street, Cork.
They plan to start direct services to teen parents in July. If you would like more information contact Teresa Mc Elhinney, Project Leader @086 8278772 teresatpsp@eircom.net
Trish Hurley, Project Worker @086- 8278774 patriciatpsp@eircom.net .
Both Teresa and Trish may also be contacted @021-4966780. The premises at 24 Dunbar Street will be closed for holidays during the month of August.

The Donegal TPSP will be jointly managed by For uige and Balor Developmental Community Arts Group in Ballybofey. Michelle Maguire has been appointed TPSP Project Worker with For uige and Tara Rowan will be the TPSP project Worker with Balor. Currently both Michelle and Tara are based in the Balor Theatre, Main St., Ballybofey and are continuing the service which Tara already offered to young parents there.
Tara may be contacted @086-8555928 tara_balordca@eircom.net
Michelle may be contacted @086-8186345 michelle.maguire@foroige.ie .
At the moment the Donegal TPSP covers the Letterkenny Area, Inishowen and the Finn Valley area.

Margaret Morris
National Co-ordinator, TPSP 01-6700167 tpsp@treoir.ie

Treoir
The National Federation of Services for Unmarried Parents and their Children
14 Gandon House
Custom House Square
IFSC
Dublin 1
Tel: 003531 6700 120
Fax: 003531 6700 199
email: info@treoir.ie
www.treoir.ie

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