New Zealand boy, 11, fathers child to woman, 36

15 June AFP

An 11-year-old New Zealand boy was reported to have fathered a child with the 36-year-old mother of a school friend, raising questions on why women cannot be charged with rape in the country. Counsellors working in the area of child sexual abuse said the case highlighted a lack of attention to women as potential offenders, according to the New Zealand Herald, which reported the story.

The case has also prompted an examination of the law, under which the crime of rape applies only to men.

Justice Minister Judith Collins said she would investigate, the paper reported. “This case raises an important point. I will seek advice from officials on whether or not a law change is required,” Collins said.

The woman and boy, whose names were not released, live in the main North Island district of Auckland.

The boy's school principal told the New Zealand Herald that he was shocked when the child told him what was happening. “You won't be very happy with me,” he recalled the boy saying late last year. He said he had been having sex with his friend's mother “and it needs to stop”.