Stop demonising young people – Plaid AM
19 Tachwedd 2008
Plaid Cymru Assembly Member for South Wales West, Bethan Jenkins, has today 17/11/08 called on the public not to demonise young people, following research published by charity Barnardos showing more than half of the population believe UK children are “feral”.
Half of the 2,021 adults interviewed by YouGov for the research also felt children should be regarded as “dangerous”.
Speaking from Neath today, Ms Jenkins who is the Assembly’s youngest member said:
“Society must stop demonising young people. I am extremely concerned by the findings of this research and call on everyone to question their perceptions of young people.
“The truth is that we have record numbers of young people going to university, record numbers of young people achieving academically in schools and in relation to crime young people are more likely to by the victims of crime than other age groups.
“Of course there remains a very small minority of young people who commit crimes, but what this poll shows is that there is a hugely disproportionate reaction to this from the general public. The vast majority of young people are hard-working, law abiding and an asset to our communities.
“We must challenge the false perceptions that exist and celebrate the contribution of young people to our society.”
