Girls drinking becomes a major concern
9 March 2009
In Wales, 74% of those surveyed thought that young people drank because their friends did and because it was 'normal'.
The YouGov study for the women's charity YWCA asked 2,015 adults their views on girls drinking.
YWCA said young women should be warned of the dangers of drinking. Sarah Payne, Chief Executive of YWCA, said the public increasingly recognised that it is education and support that is needed, not criminalisation
.
Although many people drink because they enjoy it, we believe that the one of the issues around binge drinking, by young women especially, is linked to them having low self esteem, low self-confidence and nothing to do.
The charity called for local authorities to provide more constructive activities for young women. It said education should warn of the dangers of binge-drinking - defined in the survey as drinking double the recommended amount of alcohol in one day.
The survey found that over half of the people in Wales said their parents had taught them how to drink safely, with only 13% being taught in school. Ms Payne said we must not assume that all young people have safe and supportive homes to go to. For those who do not, and unfortunately there are quite a few, parental education on alcohol will be limited. Hanging out and getting drunk may even be preferable or even safer to going home
, she said.
A study by the World Health Organisation carried out in 2008 found more children in Wales had been drunk at least twice before their 13th birthday than anywhere else in Europe or North America.
Catriona Williams, Chief Executive of the charity Children in Wales said: the trend towards excessive underage drinking had escalated in recent years. The young drinking culture is very different to that in other parts of Europe and raises the potential for violent incidents and accidents . We also know that young people themselves worry about their younger siblings getting involved at younger and younger ages. The drinking culture amongst young girls is also particularly worrying trend with the potential for casual unprotected sex or unintended pregnancies and Wales has amongst the highest rate of teenage pregnancies in Europe.
She said the charity believed that there should be much stronger enforcement of laws against people selling alcohol to underage drink.