General Chat

Having read all that has been said,and agreeing that there is no excuse for what has been done to those children,and lets face it,they are no more than that,would those same people who say its an age old custom,Allow it to happen to their child?.And just for the Ladies,I have a Large,Rusty,Blunt Knife available,if any of you would like to inflict your own type of punishment to these People??. Hal.

Gwynne Please don't think I am defending the Pitcairn Islanders. There are 2 themes going here. Jim

i only heard this as i was leaving for work so forgive me if i got the wrong end of the stick but did they only get 6 years apiece? seems to me if thats right then thats as much of a crime as what these evil men did! paul...

Hi Jim, The children on Pitcairn were not allowed to "grow up at their natural pace". They were preyed upon by the very people they should have been able to trust. Their childhood was cut abruptly short in the most dreadful way. They were forced to leave their homes and their families to escape from abuse. I can't believe these men are free to roam the island while waiting for their appeals to be heard. Just because "we've always done it" doesn't make it right. We don't hang people for stealing bread any more or burn witches. Neither should we allow adult males to abuse children. Gwynne

Marion, I didn't say we should send kids back up chimneys. I just think the Nanny State has gone over the top...yet again. Did you know that our Country's vastly overstretched Youth Service classes "Youth" as up to the age of 25. No wonder there are so many disfunctional people around. They are not allowed to grow up at their natural pace.

Wendy, I agree with what you say about the taking of innocence. As to the mines and chimneys, I feel our Nanny state has gone too far. Children can learn more lifeskills by helping out their families from an early age than by daydreaming in a classroom. Take Farms as a prime example. Children will feed the Chickens and do a variety of jobs which are suitable to their age. I have seen the children of, particularly Asian, shopkeepers helping in the shop stacking shelves or even serving customers. When my son wanted to leave school and go to work at 14 he was not allowed to and spent the next two years being disruptive and learning nothing. Bless him , he is not Academic.

I absolutely hate paedophiles and would never condone under-age sex. However, are we judging the past by today's standards in this case? When the descendants of the Bounty mutineers settled on Pitcairn Island, there was a lot of strife and disease. At one point only one male remained alive and sex with girls as soon as they reached puberty, in order to procreate, was probably the only way that the community survived. This culture, alien as it is to us, became the norm and has continued over the decades. Surely education is the answer to this problem and not jail sentences, which deprive wives of husbands and children of fathers.

As I said I didn't have the full details. If we are talking about Rape then I agree that is an Internationally recognised Crime. It was just that from the Media I only heard that the argument was about the age of the individuals involved. And, bearing in mind that the age of consent in this country (England) was only raised from 12 in 1928, then it would not appear so unusual for some of the remoter civilisations to still allow it.

Hi Jim, As I understand it the islands are under New Zealand law. The age of consent in NZ is 16. And rape is rape whatever your age. Many of the girls who were abused had to leave the island because of the abuse and the intimidation that followed when they complained to the police. Gwynne

It wasnt just sex Grampa Jim it was rape, and if it was so normal for their society why did the women press charges?Theresa

I havent seen all the details, but several Pitcairn Islanders have been found guilty of having relations with underage girls. They claim that it is normal in their society. While I condemn paedophilia I can't help wondering how another Country can claim the right to tell these people what they can or can't do. In France sex is legal at 14, in England 16, in the USA 18 or 21 depending on which State. Does this mean that the next target for American Interference will be anyone who has had sex with someone under 21? Puzzled Jim