JUST UNDER 100 years ago, August 1885, 100,000 people took to the streets of London to demand the raising of the age of consent from 13 1o 16. Nine processions wound their way from different parts of London to Hyde Park, accompanied by 34 brass bands. There was waggonette filled with carrying the slogan Innocents Be Slaughtered?' Legislation protect innocents' TUS FCU Many people see this campaign as a victory in the struggle against exploitation, comparable to the child labour laws and affording necessary protection to children from sexual exploitation.
Yet a humane, report from the National Council for One Parent Families, published last week, recommends the repeal of the age of consent law: It points out that Ine law does nue to prolee young people, but does a great deal to make their lives more difficult.
Fear of prosecution makes it less likely young people will nave access to contraceptives, more likely they will have unwanted pregnancies and be fearful of admitting early pregnancy so that the problems raised can be dealt with. An immense area of police to back sanctions against 'wayward' youth.
This report's recommendations are made in response to the real this 'protective' law brings. large little girls consent 'Shall the century ideological working class, 'the imposition of through successiul society undertaken country safe for capital: Labour longer down to earth cities. The tion docile workers.
schooling system developed.
the family.
puffing femininity parental pressure of young people asserting their rights to make their own sexual choices. 1 in 8 of the young women under 16 at the moment have sexual relations of some kind. Harassment repression of young people expressing their own sexuality is what The background to the age of the massive 19th assault on the involving the the bourgeois family. This itself was part of the tremendous restructuring or to make the could agricultural workers be sucked into the hungry problem was the disciplining and ideological integraof entirely new generations of Children were taken out of the labour force and a mass Women were driven out ot the world of work to take responsibility for child care in Pan, Just as this redoubled oppression of women was linked to a massive ideals ot and sacred motherhood, children were segregated, regulated and repressed, a glowing idealization of the golden faery world of the child was developed. Romantic about childhood, still very strong today, were first generated in the mid 19th Century.
But the 'little angels' did not live in a Lewis C'arroll idyll. A savage attack on children's sexuality was launched to establish the childhood realm of purity and innocence.
At the same time as the nation wept over the death of Little Nell, Dr. Baker Brown, , the President of the London Medical SOCARON carrying out countless elitorectomies on littie girls. Peter Pan As the nation thrilled to device. WElC being marketed with sharp sicer. Icell ol which set off loud alarms to be attached to little boys' prevent : then getting Masturbation, unremarked by prevlous generations, was proclaimed to lead to insanity, epilepsy and death.
Il ls againsl inis Dackground La the campaign to raise the age of consent should be seen. It did have an Cuadole sexual morality mobilization of women.
But the other paedophilia.
brutally consent, Wrecker.
1885 marchers also carried banners reading to 95 'Equal Rights for Men and Women'.
An attack on the double standard of WaS begun by elements in the campaign — the Salvation Army, the threats of police and prosecution ba up the arbitrary power of teachers a parents over young people is a res of this historic victory of bourge ideology. Readers will remember recent amazing case of the nationw hunt to run down a young couple w had quite rationally decided to away together.
Paedophilia Seperate needed of many of the ramificatic Of these questions. Gays for exam for whom the age of consent is face many other specific inequiti There is also the related question Those, however who see spectre of the child molester and I buggered toddler lurki behind any threat should consider originated these figures. My guess Black Rapist and It is worth remembering that all the sexual offences against you people under 13 that come to court per cent do CIOU invo penetration let alone demonstral violence or coercion. A rather high proportion of evident violence against adults!