Platform 51

alcohol

Women, especially young women, are taking serious risks by binge drinking. The average weekly alcohol consumption for 11-to 15-year-olds has increased from five units in 1990 to more than eleven units in 2006. More and more tell us they drink to get drunk.

Violence and abuse, alcohol or drug use in the family, low-self-esteem, failure at school, peer pressure and stress are all factors that drive girls and young women to abuse alcohol. Once drunk, they take serious risks with their personal safety, including unprotected or unwanted sex.

We don't tell women not to drink. That's not realistic. Instead, our alcohol education programmes help girls and women to understand the reasons why they drink, the risks they take by drinking and to regulate their own consumption.

Case study: Friday night in the park

Jess is dressed up for a night out – skyscraper heels, spray-on jeans and lipgloss. She’s 14 years old. And a night out means exactly that – walking the streets of her hometown with her mates. It’s 7 o’clock on a Friday night and already there are groups of kids hanging around the local shopping centre; lads in their tracksuits and baseball hats, the girls in their tightest, sparkliest best.

Most of the teens are hugging soft drinks bottles. Their behaviour suggests there’s something stronger than Diet Coke in them. Cathy, Platform 51’s outreach worker in the town, explains that many have found ingenious ways to get round alcohol restrictions: “You can’t just raise the prices and hope it will act as a deterrent; you’ve got to understand why teenagers drink and make them aware of the risks.”

As the evening progresses, it’s clear that alcohol is a crucial part of the teenage scene.

Jess and her mates say there is nothing else to do: “We get bored doing this night after night, but you want to get out and be with your mates, and this is the only way we can.” Her friends agree. One is swaying precariously, while another crumples to a heap on the floor. Behind the swaggering behaviour, most are eager to talk, listen, learn. The majority are not bad kids.

The streets around the shopping centre have recently had a ‘Section 30’ imposed upon them. It means the police can remove people they believe are causing a disturbance and to take alcohol from underage drinkers. Eventually, the police turn up, and herd the groups out of the designated area. They re-group in the park. By 8pm it’s already dark. It’s a potentially dangerous place for girls to be. There are about 60 girls and lads crowded onto the narrow, bush-surrounded lanes of the park. The atmosphere is friendly and boisterous.

The police regard the kids with an impatient, yet somehow sympathetic manner. They recognise the absence of opportunities, but sympathise with the impact gatherings of young people have on residents.

The atmosphere suddenly changes when some of the older lads let off some flares. Somewhere else, a mean-looking dog twitches on the end of its rope lead. Inevitably violence erupts. There is a commotion at the other end of the park and everyone races over to either join in the fight or watch. Police cars appear from nowhere and the melee is broken up. It’s still only 9pm.

Here it is: the ASBO generation. Or is it?  A bit more time with Cathy and the girls and you quickly cut through the clichés.

Once a week, a group of girls from that park turn up eagerly at Platform 51’s centre in the town. A five-week programme at the centre weaves information about sexual health, alcohol and drugs and confidence-building into sessions that encourage the girls to discover their artistic talents. Their drama sessions led to the girls producing and acting their own play about a young woman whose life spirals into misery after being led astray. The course is over-subscribed, and there is an 80% retention rate. The Platform 51 workers see many girls undergo a transformation which makes them more aware of risky behaviour and ask questions their lives.

Platform 51 outreach worker Cathy is perfectly placed to run the course. She was born in the town and admits that once upon a time, she too was hanging around the streets ‘getting wasted’. She understands the mind-numbing boredom and lack of horizon: “When I was their age, I did exactly the same thing. It’s hard to imagine there is life beyond the edge of the estate, when your aspirations are so low.”

Cathy’s life was transformed after joining a Platform 51’s educational scheme. From being an aimless teenager on the brink of becoming a serious binge drinker, she found the confidence to do something with her life and eventually became a Platform 51 outreach worker.

She says: “I can honestly say to young women that I was once where they were.These kids don’t drink because it’s cheap, they do it because there’s nothing else to do and they will always find a way to get hold of it. A lot of the young women we meet have real challenges in their life, and they deserve a break. By coming to Platform 51 they have a safe place to go, learn things that are relevant to them and can gain the confidence to make choices. It maybe a drop in the ocean, but in this town we think we are making a difference.”

Names have been changed to protect identities.