Dr. Brian Gibbons visits young women at YWCA Cwmafan

Dr. Brian Gibbons, Assembly Government Minister for Social Justice and Local Government, visited young women from YWCA Cwmafan on Friday 10^th July to discuss issues affecting them in the community.

The Minister met girls and women from YWCA, many of whom were young mums, along with YWCA's Chief Executive, Sarah Payne. They specifically discussed funding and employment opportunities for young women in the area, including apprenticeships in construction.  

Helen Williams said: "It was a really interesting opportunity for the young women to meet Dr. Brian Gibbons. They discussed issues that are important to them, such as employment, and there is potential to take this meeting further."

YWCA Plymouth wins accolade for ITV Fixers film

Three young women from YWCA Plymouth have won an accolade at the Positive Images Awards, after making a film about the dangers of drink spiking.

The film, which has won the Best Broadcast Created by Young People award, was made by Hayley Glover, Jade Ives and Jennie Smith together with ITV Fixers, a television production company set up by the Public Service Broadcasting Trust.

The girls used the film to focus on the widespread problem of drink spiking in clubs and bars and its potentially fatal consequences.

As a way of tackling the problem, the girls and ITV Fixers distributed specially designed posters and coasters entitled ‘Who’s mixing your drink?’ in bars and clubs and they produced a television advert warning against the dangerous consequences of drink spiking.

The awards ceremony, hosted by Children and Young People Now magazine in Westminster, London, aimed to celebrate positive portrayal of young people in the media and to combat the frequently negative press they receive.

Hayley said: “It was a fantastic day, coming to London and getting this award. It’s great that young people are getting recognised for their achievements because it makes us want to do even more.”

Awards judge Louise Taylor said: “This is a positive campaign that has enormous potential to be rolled out further. It covers an area that is not supported enough.

Diversity and Achievements Awards Ceremony wins the day

YWCA Doncaster Women’s Centre celebrated achievements of women from different cultural backgrounds at their annual Diversity and Achievements Awards Ceremony, held on Tuesday 7^th July.

The women received accredited certificates in courses including ESOL English, Citizenship, Parenting & Caring for Your Child, Introduction to Volunteering, Community Leadership, Me & My Health and Counselling skills.

Many women accessing this programme have overcome difficult barriers such as lack of confidence or education opportunities. As a result of the courses, some women have advanced into further education and employment.

Ninda Randhawa, YWCA’s BME Programme’s Manager, said: “After the work and commitment these women have put into these courses, along with the personal challenges they may have faced, we wanted them to recognise their achievements and to feel good and celebrate.”

A multi-cultural culinary feast was served after the awards, followed by global dancing celebrations.

Sarah Payne, the Chief Executive of YWCA, is to chair the new Reducing Re-offending Third Sector Advisory Group at the Ministry of Justice.

Before joining YWCA Sarah was previously the Regional Offender Manager for the South East in the National Offender Management Service. In this position she was responsible for commissioning prison and probation services in 27 prisons and 5 probation areas. She therefore brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in relation to reducing re-offending.

"I am honoured to be selected as Chair of this working group. Although relatively new to the Third Sector, I have always worked with charities in my previous roles" she said. "This group will provide advice to Ministers and senior officials on reducing re-offending and will be an important part of the Government's focus on developing strategies to keep people out of prison."

Tina Jenkins, Head of the Third Sector team within the Ministry's Partnership Strategy Unit, commented: "We had a number of strong applicants from across the Third Sector on the group, and the selection panel had to make some very difficult decisions on appointments. The individuals selected as members, and Sarah in her role as Chair, will help make the group an effective and influential Third Sector voice on reducing re-offending and the role of a diverse third sector."

Fundraising event for Black and Minority Ethnic women’s progra

Girls and women from YWCA Doncaster's programme for Black and Minority Ethnic women will get together for dance, food, beauty treatments and the screening of a Bollywood film to raise money for the centre.

The women will pay a £1 entrance fee and a further 50p for drinks and refreshments. They will also get the opportunity to have hand painting, threading and other beauty therapies before and after the screening of the film.

The money raised will go towards YWCA's programme for Black and Minority Ethnic women, which includes counselling, the Saheli group for young women and the Voice group, which encourages women to influence in the community, and accessible education in ESOL English, money management, health and computing.

Ninda Randhawa, YWCA Black and Minority Ethnic women programme manager said: "The women accessing our programme have moved miles forward through education, confidence-building and interaction with others at the centre.

"It's fantastic that they want to give back and help us maintain the  services and provide women from diverse communities the opportunities to develop communication skills, personal development, confidence and self esteem which support them to overcome barriers of language, discrimination or isolation and fulfill their potential."

Young women mark ten years of National Minimum Wage

Four young women from YWCA centres had the opportunity to voice their opinions to influential decision makers at two events in Parliament last week.

The introduction of the national minimum wage in 1999 had a profound impact on female workers. It brought the basic wages of those in industries traditionally associated with women, such as retail, hospitality and hairdressing, in line with other industries.

YWCA teamed up with UNISON and the British Youth Council to celebrate the tenth birthday of the national minimum wage and discuss how it can be made more effective.

Kayleigh Devlin and Belinda Moreton from YWCA Northampton (pictured left with Sally Keeble MP) and Sheri Dobbs from YWCA Cwmafan attended the reception and mingled with MPs such as Harriet Harman, Judy Mallaber and Hywel Francis. The young women also enjoyed a short tour of Parliament.

During her speech, Sheri explained how she supported the minimum wage but that it still needed to improve. She spoke about her experiences of working on the much lower level of the youth rate of minimum wage which YWCA believes is discriminatory and unfair.

Sheri was involved in YWCA’s More than one rung campaign and told the audience how she thought apprentices should be paid the equivalent of the minimum wage. Helen Berresford, YWCA’s Parliamentary officer, said: “There were many nods of agreement in the room as she spoke!”

At the same time, Charlotte Lowe of YWCA Cwmafan was speaking at the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Children in Wales. Charlotte spoke to a group of Welsh MPs about the different types of discrimination that young women faced.

The meeting was discussing the forthcoming Equality Bill which will exclude young people under 18 from one of the definitions of age discrimination. YWCA believes this is unfair as we know that young women face multiple forms of discrimination.

Charlotte’s direct evidence will form part of our lobbying activity around the Equality Bill and shows once again that our campaigning is built on the real experiences of young women.

Young women speak at Right on the money conference

Young women from YWCA Women's Centre in Tonbridge visited Westminster yesterday to talk about money matters affecting young people at the Right on the Money: helping young people achieve economic wellbeing conference.

Lucy Vermussche, 19, and Kaylie Coombs, 21, sat on a youth panel with their peers discussing how to get better informed about money management and avoiding huge debts.

The conference, sponsored by Barclays, was attended by influential figures in the financial and public sectors including Tom Wylie, chair of FSA young adults policy advisory group, Linda Jack, youth policy advisor of FSA Financial Capability Division and Viv McKee, Director of Policy and Research at The National Youth Agency.

Lucy said: "We wanted to talk about this with people our age and find out about they manage with money and debt. I've had to learn how to handle my money the hard way so I want others to realise how important it is to have a budget and avoid temptations like store cards."

Kayley said: "I never had the opportunity to learn money skills and I have made a few mistakes. I think that schools should do more to teach money management, to stop young people getting into debt like I have. It shouldn't just be about maths - it should be more about life outside school, part of PSHE and life skills- to prepare us for when we leave school."

Von Dawson, Project Manager at YWCA West Kent said: "This was a great opportunity for them to meet a wide, influential audience discussing how money matters to young people.

"Money management is a huge priority for us at YWCA; particularly right now when money is tight and young people are more vulnerable to supposed 'quick fixes' like loan sharks and store card offers.

"The young women feel so strongly about this that they recently made a DVD advising others on the dangers of falling into debt."

YWCA's criticises risky implications of job ads

Young women at YWCA St Helens win funding bid

Young women from YWCA St Helen's Women's Centre have secured over £3,600 from the Youth Opportunity Fund to help teenage girls and women in the area.

The total amount of £3,666.86 will provide YWCA St Helen's centre with three new computers for use at the centre, a chill out zone seating area, redecorating the toilet area and a selection of reading and learning materials.

The young women asked other girls for ideas of what they wanted at the centre, developed the application and pitched their idea to a panel of young people representing the Youth Opportunity Fund. Their idea is aimed to encourage more young women to get involved with the centre which offers support and youth-orientated activities for teenage girls and women, including girls at risk of exclusion at school.

Lauren, 16, was involved in the successful bid: "We're ecstatic that we won this money for the centre- it feels like an amazing achievement. This has been our project from the beginning so we're really proud. We can't wait to get started on it and encourage other girls to come here and find a place where they feel comfortable."

Cath Rusk, YWCA Support Worker, said: "The young women have been fantastic. It has been a totally new experience for them and while anyone would find it daunting to pitch a funding request to a panel, they delivered it excellently. We're really proud of their achievement and look forward to making the centre a more accessible and supportive space for young women."

YWCA has commented on how the government can help apprentices who have lost their jobs due to the recession in the latest issue of Children and Young People Now magazine.

YWCA said: "Employers must take a long-term approach and retain apprentices. They must pay them at least the minimum wage - the majority of the lowest-paid apprentices are young women and some receive less than this."

Girls should have more to do than get drunk, says chief exec

There has been an increase in the number of teenage conceptions

There has been an increase in the number of teenage conceptions in the last year but we feel that this is just a blip in the overall downward trend. We don't feel that there should be any concern that teen pregnancies are on the increase again.

YWCA is pleased that both the Government and members of the public have recognised that that sex education is an important part of the solution. But it is not the complete answer. More will need to be done if we are to see in the number of teenage pregnancies fall further and faster.

It needs to be better recognised and understood that young women who see little hope for their future are most likely to view early motherhood as a positive change to their lives. For young women with low self-esteem, tough lives, low incomes, low educational achievement and low aspirations, motherhood can provide a more prestigious and fulfilling status than the one they currently occupy.

YWCA thinks that as a society, we need to break the cycle of young women's low self-worth, constrained ambitions and trammeled opportunities which combine to blight their futures. The young women we work with face multiple barriers to getting on in life, whether it's in education and at work or in their homes and communities. They often feel that their future holds very little for them to look forward to. Because we believe that every young woman, regardless of her background, has the right to fulfill her potential, YWCA offers intensive support to those young women from disadvantaged backgrounds who need us the most.

We give them a safe place to build their confidence, look at their own skills and build a positive outlook for the future. We help them overcome barriers to education, work and training and help them find a future they can look forward to. In our experience, once a young woman can see positive outcomes in her life, through work and skills, a secure income and community participation, she is less likely to view early motherhood as the only option open to her.

Some of the most vulnerable young women are still getting left behind in the education system. We need to act now as education is changing dramatically. If we do not support those young women who become disengaged from their education we will see no change to the country's teenage pregnancy statistics. By making sure that all young women have access to proper education and support we start to help them move away from the trends that hold them back.

Fun and games to mark women's achievements

YWCA's Wolverhampton centres held two events to mark International Women's Day 2009 supported by Wolverhampton City Council.

On Tuesday 10th March YWCA Wolverhampton at Bilston asked women to bring along another woman to join them in an evening of celebrations. Team games and vase painting was enjoyed by all.

YWCA's Warstones centre marked the occassion with a day of creative activities and a discussion about inspirational women on Wednesday 11th March. The centre offered games for girls aged 11 to 13 in the evening.

Rachel Symons, YWCA Service Manager said, "This is a chance for young women to socialise, get creative and celebrate International Women's Day, a time where all their achievements, however big or small, should be noted and praised."

A response from YWCA

YWCA warmly welcomes today's launch of the consultation paper 'Together we can end violence against women and girls'.

We are particularly pleased to see the recognition that girls need support and preventative action, for example education and public awareness, to ensure they know that violence against women is wrong.

YWCA will be consulting with young women and running a focus group for the consultation to make sure young women are at the forefront of the strategy.

Sarah Payne, YWCA's Chief Executive said: "It is vital that young women are at the heart of this strategy. By changing their expectations of relationships and enabling them to recognise their own self-worth we can change the outlook for many more women in the future."

YWCA also welcomes the acknowledgment of the role of the voluntary sector.

YWCA provides a safe, women-only space where young women can come for support to overcome the violence and abuse they face.

As Ms Payne added, "We run a range of activities with young women that critically analyse the media and encourage young women to question the sexualized images of young women they are presented with. Young women often tell us that the images they see in the media make them feel bad about themselves. We must do more to build up girls' self esteem and confidence so they know they must never accept violence in a relationship."

Rosie, 16, from Wolverhampton YWCA told us, "The images of girls in the media can make you feel really depressed about yourself because you want to look like that. The really sexual images put pressure on girls to be more like that. It sends out a message to blokes that all girls are like that. This can lead to girls getting into relationships and situations they're not ready to handle."

Boredom leads girls to binge drinking

Eighty per cent of the public, in a recent YouGov and YWCA survey, agreed that girls binge drinking is a problem in England and Wales. However, according to the survey people don't just want criticism and punishment for young women - they want to see girls offered ways to change their behaviour.

Boredom, peer pressure and lack of parental guidance are perceived to be the main reasons for young girls aged between 13 and 18 to binge drink according to the survey. Sixty three per cent of those who responded felt that boredom is a key issue around drinking in young women.

To help tackle binge drinking YWCA England & Wales, therefore, calls on parents and the Government to urgently look at how young people spend their days and evenings and to provide alternatives to binge drinking. About two thirds (65%) of those interviewed suggest that young women should be given alternatives, such as youth clubs and cafes, to reduce binge drinking.

"I think most of us accept that the teenage years are a time for experimentation. Which means it is not unusual for young people to try out alcoholic drinks. There has been plenty of talk about punishing young people but more and more the public are recognising that it is education, and support that is needed, not criminalisation." says Sarah Payne, Chief Executive of YWCA.

"Although many people drink because they enjoy it, we believe that young women especially drink because of low self-esteem, low self-confidence and nothing to do. Young women who feel bad about themselves drink to boost their confidence, to make them fit in socially, to block out traumatic things from their past and to forget worries about their future. In our day to day work we constantly see how improving self esteem and offering them alternative activities can dramatically change the lives of young women for the better. We help them develop their skills, socialise, gain work and qualifications. In this way we tackle the root causes of alcohol problems."

YouGov and YWCA's poll also revealed that the public don't want to criminalise young women. When asked what should be done about young girls drinking in public places, such as on the streets or in parks , only one per cent of those surveyed agreed that the police should move young girls on without offering support that would help them. A fifth (20%) suggested that more education and activities on the issue were necessary and nearly a fifth (18%) suggested that parents should be prosecuted if their child were caught drinking.

"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" says Sarah. "Society needs to find ways to reach out and help these young people. If we don't we will be failing them and our future generations."

YWCA believes that the following steps will help reduce this problem:

• Safe, interesting and secure places to go and things to do, especially in the evenings and at weekends;

• High quality education as part of PHSE (Personal Health and Social Education). This should help young people to understand that alcohol can be addictive and alcohol misuse can damage their health and in the case of pregnant women their unborn babies. Discussions should also look at how alcohol abuse can have an impact on friends and family;

• Education should help young women gain an understanding that heavy consumption can often lead them into unsafe situations like dangerous driving, walking home alone at night, unsafe sex, the possibility of unplanned pregnancy or contracting a sexually transmitted infection;

• Education should extend to settings outside the classroom and be available for young people not in mainstream education;

• Local authorities need to make commitments in their Children and Young People's Plans to provide constructive out of hours activities for young women.

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2015 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 10- 12 February 2009. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).

For further information please contact Eoin Redahan, Senior Press Officer, on 020 7031 4379 or e-mail eoin.redahan@ywca.org.uk

Mayor and Mayoress of Northampton to join in celebrations

Young women at YWCA Northampton Women's Centre are celebrating International Women's Day by holding an Open Day on Thursday 5^th March where they will exhibit the programmes they access and give presentations on YWCA's parenting programme for young mums.

The young women, who are mostly young mums accessing the centre's education programmes or young-mums-to-be-courses, have arranged an ongoing PowerPoint presentation showing their activities at the centre. Youth workers will give presentations at 12pm, 1pm and 2pm on their important work with young women in the area including education programmes and outreach work in schools on sexual health.

The Mayor of Northampton, Councillor Brian Markham and The Mayoress will attend the event, along with professionals from neighbouring youth organisations, Connexions and local midwives. The event is also open to the general public.

Milly Barry, 16, is one the young mums who accesses YWCA's services. She says: "I started coming to YWCA when I was five months pregnant and had no confidence about myself of being a mother. Now my son is 13 weeks old and my confidence is so much higher."

Kathryn White, YWCA's Centre Manager says: "We wanted this day to be for the young women to show how others how much of a difference it has made for them to access a safe space where they can meet other women, increase their education and confidence and get vital support. As its International Women's Day on 8^th March we all want to send out a message to other women to celebrate their accomplishments, whether it's raising a child or completing a maths course, and feel ready to tackle future challenges."

YWCA produce supplement for The Telegraph

To celebrate International Women's Day, YWCA agreed to write a piece for a specially-commissioned Sunday Telegraph supplement.

The piece, called 'Bridging the Gap', is the first feature in the supplement and in it we pay tribute to the thousands of young women who overcome seemingly insurmountable odds to get a place on the career ladder. They may not get the plaudits that women executives who make it to the board room receive, but to us their achievement is no less remarkable considering the obstacles they have overcome.

Click here to take a look.

Dancing, henna and quizzes to celebrate women's achievements

YWCA Cwmafan celebrated International Women’s Day on Saturday 7^th March with an action packed open day.

The event was funded by the Welsh Assembly Government and Big Lottery Fund was run in partnership with MENCAP Cymru, Girl guides, CWYVS. The day’s activities included presentations, an Indian dancing workshop, participation games, a quiz on prominent women in politics and history and an open dance session. Representatives from other organisations were on hand all day to provide mehndi, Indian hand painting and crafts.

Young women from YWCA’s participation programme gave a presentation on their recent participation work including trips to parliament to speak to MPs and campaigning for better opportunities for young women from socially deprived backgrounds.  Speeches were made by the chief executive of the Council for Wales of Voluntary Youth Services (CWYVS) Veronica Wilson and two representatives from MENCAP.

Helen Williams, YWCA Programme Manager, said: “International Women’s Day was the perfect opportunity for women in our area to get together, enjoy themselves and also be reminded that there is no limit to the possibilities of what women can achieve. We’re particularly proud of the young women involved in our participation programme, which is so important in giving young women the chance to voice their opinions about what’s going on around them.”

Latest Yougov survey reveals attitudes towards binge drinking

Binge-drinking is seen by Northern England as a bigger problem than in any other part of the country, according to the latest YouGov survey.

Over 41% of people surveyed in Northern England, felt that young women’s binge-drinking was a problem in their area, which is more than London where 30% of people were concerned about it and 32% in the rest of the South, in the survey commissioned by YWCA England and Wales.

A gender gap in peoples’ perceptions was noticeable with 53% of those interviewed in the North surveyed saying girls are more likely to binge-drink with a lesser 34% opting for boys.

Northerners opted for tougher sanctions than other regions to combat binge-drinking with 67% of people calling for more police powers splitting up groups of young people drinking, compared with 53% in London and 57% in Midlands and Wales. 76% of people in the North placed greater responsibility on the parents for their children’s drinking while 65% of people in Midlands and Wales did alike.

Mandy Willis, YWCA’s Regional Development Manager of YWCA’s centre in Doncaster said: “This survey shows that binge-drinking is a real concern in this area. There tends to be a difference between perception and reality when it comes to young women’s alcohol consumption; it isn’t always about girls running amok binge-drinking. The sad truth is that many young women don’t have a safe and supportive home to go to or seek comfort from low self-esteem or stress through alcohol. Parental education about alcohol could be limited for these young women and alcohol is often a means of boosting self-confidence and forgetting their lives for a while.

This is why we need to work, through schools and alternate education, with young people to address why they might need alcohol to feel better, explore real life dilemmas they might face around alcohol consumption and get youth activities thriving in the community.”

Public think girls' binge drinking is a big problem

Eighty per cent of the public, in a recent YouGov and YWCA survey, agreed that girls' binge drinking is a problem in England and Wales. However, according to the survey people don't just want criticism and punishment for young women - they want to see girls offered ways to change their behaviour.

Boredom, peer pressure and lack of parental guidance are perceived to be the main reasons for young girls aged between 13 and 18 to binge drink according to the survey. Sixty three per cent of those who responded felt that boredom is a key issue around drinking in young women.

To help tackle binge drinking YWCA England & Wales, therefore, calls on parents and the Government to urgently look at how young people spend their days and evenings and to provide alternatives to binge drinking. About two thirds (65%) of those interviewed suggest that young women should be given alternatives, such as youth clubs and cafes, to reduce binge drinking.

"I think most of us accept that the teenage years are a time for experimentation. Which means it is not unusual for young people to try out alcoholic drinks. There has been plenty of talk about punishing young people but more and more the public are recognising that it is education, and support that is needed, not criminalisation." says Sarah Payne, Chief Executive of YWCA.

"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. Young women who feel bad about themselves drink to boost their confidence, to make them fit in socially, to block out traumatic things from their past and to forget worries about their future.

"In our day to day work we constantly see how improving self esteem and offering them alternative activities can dramatically change the lives of young women for the better. We help them develop their skills, socialise, gain work and qualifications. In this way we tackle the root causes of alcohol problems."

YouGov and YWCA's poll also revealed that the public don't want to criminalise young women. When asked what should be done about young girls drinking in public places, such as on the streets or in parks , only one per cent of those surveyed agreed that the police should move young girls on without offering support that would help them. A fifth (20%) suggested that more education and activities on the issue were necessary and nearly a fifth (18%) suggested that parents should be prosecuted if their child were caught drinking.

"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" says Sarah. "Society needs to find ways to reach out and help these young people. If we don't we will be failing them and our future generations."

YWCA believes that the following steps will help reduce this problem:-

• Safe,interesting and secure places to go and things to do, especially in the evenings and at weekends;
• High quality alcohol education as part of PHSE (Personal Health and Social Education). This should help young people to understand that alcohol can be addictive and alcohol misuse can damage their health and in the case of pregnant women their unborn babies. Discussions should also look at how alcohol abuse can have an impact on friends and family;
• Education should help young women gain an understanding that heavy consumption can often lead them into unsafe situations like dangerous driving, walking home alone at night, unsafe sex, the possibility of unplanned pregnancy or contracting a sexually transmitted infection;
• Education should extend to settings outside the classroom and be available for young people not in mainstream education;
• Local authorities need to make commitments in their Children and Young People's Plans to provide constructive out of hours activities for young women.

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc.Total sample size was 2015 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 10th - 12th February 2009.  The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all GB adults (aged 18+).

Survey of young women shows disturbing evidence

Disturbing evidence of young women being deprived of money by controlling partners has come to light in a recent survey on money and debt carried out by YWCA England & Wales. The charity fears this could accelerate if the economic crisis deepens.

YWCA wanted to find out how the current crisis was affecting girls and young women emotionally and practically. They was surprised to discover that one third of young women surveyed admitted that their partners had deployed methods such as forcing young women to hand over cash or credit cards, taking benefits or forcing them to sign financial contracts in their name.

Interestingly, despite these admissions, many young women did not want to acknowledge that this was financial abuse, a recognised form of domestic violence, in which someone deprives a partner of enough money to meet basic needs through manipulation and control.

Gabriella was with her partner for nine months and now recognises those patterns:

"My boyfriend constantly asked me for money, which he spent on booze, and I'd have no money for myself. When I told him I didn't have any money left he called me a liar and checked my bank statements. He insulted me until my self-esteem was at rock bottom. I got help from my local YWCA and have built up my confidence since then but I think loads more women out there should be aware that this kind of behaviour counts as abuse and is unacceptable."

YWCA is already running programmes to help young women understand more about money management. It is working closely with charity Refuge, which this week published its own report on financial abuse, to raise awareness about it. It is concerned that, like many forms of abuse, it is largely misunderstood and hidden.

YWCA wants: tackling financial abuse to become part of the National Action Plan on domestic violence; improved financial assistance to women experiencing domestic violence and economic abuse; improved data collection to better reflect the crime itself, by both the police and through the British Crime Survey plus investment in further research; young women and men to receive education on financial abuse as part of their PSHE education on both money and relationships; and professionals such as youth workers, social workers, teachers and doctors to receive training and information so they can identify and support young women at risk of, and experiencing, financial abuse.

YWCA's director of policy said: "What's particularly concerning is that most young women in this kind of situation don't even realise they are being abused. Financial abuse doesn't necessarily involve violence; it is a damaging form of manipulation and control. Our worry is that when a partner feels weakened or diminished at times when money is tight, it could only lead to an escalation of the problem."

We want higher national minimum wage and an end to age bands

Following the success of More than one rung, YWCA continues to campaign on behalf of young women to increase the national minimum wage.

We are part of a group whose goals are: to increase the national minimum wage; extend it to cover apprentices; scrap the age bands that discriminate against young workers and make sure workers know about it and employers pay it.

For more information, see the national minimum wage website.

MP speaks of concerns about young people being moved on

Our concerns about young women being moved on by police but not always to an established place of safety were raised in the committee debate on Policing and Crime Bill by James Brokenshire MP, Conservative Shadow Home Affairs Minister.

He said:
"On the question of 10-year-olds, if there is a risk to their safety-section 27 of the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 specifically contemplates a risk of crime or disorder-do we think that it is acceptable simply to move the child on and displace them in those circumstances?

"It is important that we hear from the Minister how the power is intended to relate to other police powers as well as to social services and everything that goes with them. Certain agencies have picked up on the issue. YWCA said in its briefing notes to the Committee that it
"has serious concerns about reports from some young women that they have been 'moved on' by the police under existing legislation, but not always to an established place of safety. This has meant in some circumstances that young women have been put at risk by being moved to unsafe places like unlit parks or by having to find their own way home. This can put young women into extremely vulnerable positions.

"We believe that an approach of providing a package of support for young people is the best way to ensure that they do not get locked into a cycle of offending. Any 'Direction to Leave' to young people that does enter legislation must include a requirement for young people to be taken to an agreed place of safety."

Youth and motherhood should not be a reason for discrimination

Teenage pregnancy is a complex issue and one we should approach carefully. Screaming headlines do not help. YWCA does not believe that youth and motherhood should be a reason for discrimination. Although overall rates of teenage pregnancy have gone down over the past decade young mothers tell us they still face prejudice on a daily basis. Young parents need support not condemnation.

YWCA believes that becoming a young mum should not automatically be seen as a problem. Young women, who go ahead with their pregnancy, have told us about their determination to be good mothers and offer the best lives for their children.

YWCA’s experience of working with young women underlines established research that those who see little hope for their future are most likely to view early motherhood as a positive change to their lives. For young women with low self worth, tough lives, low incomes and low educational achievement, motherhood can be a more prestigious status than the one they currently occupy.

Local authorities should focus more on making sure all young mothers can access flexible tailored education and support. They should focus on addressing the low educational achievements, low expectations and low self esteem, of disadvantaged young women, as well as improving sex and relationships education so it deals with more than just biology, for example relationships.

YWCA calls on the Government, politicians, the media and opinion formers to examine their attitudes to young parents. We ask them to act responsibly regarding the images they project and the language they use. We do not feel that the recent media frenzy has either help the young parents currently in the spotlight, nor other young people in similar situations, to come to terms with the huge challenge they now have.

We hope that these young parents and the hundreds of others around the country get the support, respect and guidance for their future they need.

Young women from YWCA Plymouth make drink spiking adverts

Young women from YWCA centres in Plymouth, Bristol and West Kent have been behind the scenes in making an advert to highlight drink-spiking with ITV Fixers.

Francesca Fraser, a young mum who attends YWCA West Kent, said: "We feel strongly that drink-spiking is a bigger problem than people realise and needs to be tackled. So many young women I meet at YWCA and around Tonbridge have experienced it or know somebody who has but people don't often report it to the police. Of course people should still have fun and party at Christmas but they need to keep an eye on their drink and need to know what to do if it happens to them or someone they know."

Research from the Roofie Foundation (www.roofie.com) shows that drink-spiking has increased by 160% since the smoking ban was introduced. While drinks are often spiked with drugs such as Rohypnol, most cases of spiked drinks involve the addition of alcohol.

Young women meet with Low Pay commissioners

"We want to work" is just one of the messages given to senior commissioners when young women from YWCA visited the Low Pay Commission on Tuesday 11 December.

Joined by YWCA chief executive Sarah Payne and director of policy and participation Sally Copley, young women from centres in London West, Truro, Wolverhampton and West Kent shared their personal experiences of just how difficult life can be for low paid workers and challenged common stereotypes about young people’s attitudes to work.

Commissioners Frances O’Grady and Susan Anderson heard about young mums desperate to get back in to the workplace but finding obstacles in their way, a lack of apprenticeships for young people and even exploitation of apprentices forced to work without pay to gain experience. Hope, from West Kent told how she has to work four days a week as an unpaid apprentice in a barber shop as part of her college course. Despite this, the college is unwilling to pay education maintenance allowance (EMA) as she only spends one day a week in class.

Stacey, a young mum from London West who has a wealth of work experience, spoke of how she is prepared to take any role just to get back to the workplace but is finding obstacles at the job centre. A lack of suitable work or training opportunities and staff who do not listen to her needs were just some of the problems she has encountered.

The young women spoke about how the national minimum wage affects young people. They maintain that bread and butter costs no less for young people so they should not be paid any less. The stories the young women told challenged common assumptions that young people have financial support from parents and that they lack skills.

Following the meeting, the commissioners reported to Sarah that the group was the best they had met so far. Throughout the meeting they seemed to be shocked by the stories they were hearing and were eager to learn more.

As one of the young women attending the meeting, (I am a former Truro volunteer), I can report on behalf of the group that the meeting was a great success.

We all felt that the commissioners listened to what we had to say and enjoyed the opportunity to tell people with real influence exactly what life is like for those living on a low income and the changes which would help us.

We asked for simple and achievable things such as more apprenticeship opportunities, better pay and more support to get back in to work.

We hope that the Low Pay Commission’s report can help make these changes which would make a huge difference for young women like ourselves who want a better future and the chance to escape poverty while doing something we enjoy.

Everybody left feeling inspired to do more, with Jude from Wolverhampton declaring, “Next up is Gordon Brown!”

Girls meet Low Pay commissioners

Young women from YWCA England & Wales, the charity working with England and Wales' most disadvantaged young women, are meeting today with some of the Low Pay Commission's (LPC) most senior figures to discuss the minimum wage and support for young women as part of YWCA's More than One Rung campaign.

Five young women from YWCA centres around the country, YWCA's Chief Executive Sarah Payne and Director of Policy will meet Commissioners Frances O'Grady and Susan Anderson.

The charity is calling for apprentices' pay to be equivalent to the national minimum wage and to be enforced in the same way as the national minimum wage.

YWCA's Chief Executive Sarah Payne said: "Young women dominate the lowest paid apprenticeships such as hairdressing and early years child care and they often aren't being paid enough to see the course through. They really have to be dedicated to finish their apprenticeships and for some the challenges are just too great."

"The pay they receive during an apprenticeship is just too low. Young women can be working but still not have enough money to live on." Sarah continued. "Apprentice pay and the National Minimum Wage youth rate is based on assumptions that are not true. For example, not all young women have support from their families. And just because you are young does not mean that your bills for living are less. Rent, utilities, food and clothing cost the same whether you are 18 or 45."

YWCA welcomes the opportunity to make the Commissioners aware of the challenges that young women face when they are desperately trying to improve their lives.

YWCA welcomes the Equality Bill

YWCA welcomes the Equality Bill and the opportunity to strengthen and streamline existing legislation in this area. We are especially pleased with the focus on reducing the gender pay gap.

However, we are concerned that young women under the age of 18 may not be covered by the changes and may continue to be affected by age discrimination. We would like to see the Bill outlaw lower rates of national minimum wage for young people and lower levels of benefits for young mothers.

Apprenticeships and the new 14-19 agenda, including diplomas, as part of the Children, Skills and Learners Bill provide an exciting opportunity for young women to learn new skills and find work that's right for them. We want them to have high-quality careers advice that gives them the support and inspiration to make non-stereotypical choices and challenge the gender stereotypes and barriers to work that hold them back.

YWCA supports the Welfare Reform Bill's objective to provide help to people to make the most of their chances of being in sustainable employment. We believe that increased skills and the right kind of support can offer a route into work and out of poverty for disadvantaged young women and their children.

However, we remain concerned that sanctions may be imposed on young women without them having been given the right kind of support in the first place. Tailored support to help build self-esteem and confidence and good quality guidance is as essential as new skills to make sure that young women are not simply pushed into low-paid jobs with no chance of progression.

The Government made a promise to end child poverty by 2020. Imposing sanctions on disadvantaged young women who are unable to take a job is not the way to meet this promise.

YWCA welcomes the Chancellor's commitment in today's pre-budget report to give early increases in child benefit and child tax credit and to reduce VAT. This will help the disadvantaged young women we work with, who are struggling with insufficient funds to take care of themselves and their children.

The Government must take this opportunity to ensure that people on low incomes struggling in the current economic turmoil are not preyed upon by loan sharks and irresponsible lenders. It should determine that banks take a lead in lending responsibly and should use this opportunity to promote safe forms of saving and lending, such as credit unions.'

YWCA is a member of the End Child Poverty coalition and will continue to pressure the Government to keep its promise of ending child poverty by 2020.

Survey of young women shows disturbing evidence

Disturbing evidence of young women being deprived of money by controlling partners has come to light in a recent survey on money and debt carried out by YWCA England & Wales. The charity fears this could accelerate if the economic crisis deepens.

YWCA wanted to find out how the current crisis was affecting girls and young women emotionally and practically. They was surprised to discover that one third of young women surveyed admitted that their partners had deployed methods such as forcing young women to hand over cash or credit cards, taking benefits or forcing them to sign financial contracts in their name.

Interestingly, despite these admissions, many young women did not want to acknowledge that this was financial abuse, a recognised form of domestic violence, in which someone deprives a partner of enough money to meet basic needs through manipulation and control.

Gabriella was with her partner for nine months and now recognises those patterns:

"My boyfriend constantly asked me for money, which he spent on booze, and I'd have no money for myself. When I told him I didn't have any money left he called me a liar and checked my bank statements. He insulted me until my self-esteem was at rock bottom. I got help from my local YWCA and have built up my confidence since then but I think loads more women out there should be aware that this kind of behaviour counts as abuse and is unacceptable."

YWCA is already running programmes to help young women understand more about money management. It is working closely with charity Refuge, which this week published its own report on financial abuse, to raise awareness about it. It is concerned that, like many forms of abuse, it is largely misunderstood and hidden.

YWCA wants: tackling financial abuse to become part of the National Action Plan on domestic violence; improved financial assistance to women experiencing domestic violence and economic abuse; improved data collection to better reflect the crime itself, by both the police and through the British Crime Survey plus investment in further research; young women and men to receive education on financial abuse as part of their PSHE education on both money and relationships; and professionals such as youth workers, social workers, teachers and doctors to receive training and information so they can identify and support young women at risk of, and experiencing, financial abuse.

Sally Copley, YWCA's director of policy said: "What's particularly concerning is that most young women in this kind of situation don't even realise they are being abused. Financial abuse doesn't necessarily involve violence; it is a damaging form of manipulation and control. Our worry is that when a partner feels weakened or diminished at times when money is tight, it could only lead to an escalation of the problem."

Big Lottery funding gives 1000s of girls a voice

YWCA's ambition to see thousands of disenfranchised young women given a platform to speak out and have an influence on the local and national stage has been given a major boost with a £2 million grant from the Big Lottery Fund's National Young People's Fund; the charity's biggest ever single donation.

YWCA is strongly committed to its participation programme which has already seen hundreds of young women engaged in shaping the work of the charity as well as become politically engaged on issues that matter to them. Activities so far this year include young women helping with the recruitment of the chief executive, speaking at Westminster, and campaigning in their local communities.

The Big Lottery Fund grant will enable YWCA to considerably increase its capacity in developing this vital work. Over the next three years, the charity plans to have given nearly 2,500 of the most hardest to reach young women the opportunity and the skills to shape the work of YWCA, as well as become involved in local and national campaigning. It also plans to develop a network of peer mentors to help recruit other young women to get involved.

Amanda Warhaftig YWCA's director of fundraising says: "Young women don't engage because of the persistently low expectations society has of them. They are being held back from expressing their opinions and believing in themselves as agents for change. We refuse to accept this, and our work so far in helping young women to genuinely affect change at all levels has been hugely successful. We are thrilled that the Big Lottery Fund shares our vision."

One young woman who spoke this year to MPs at Westminster as part of YWCA's More than one rung campaign about jobs and skills summed up the value of the programme, saying: "I want to tell others how great the experience was. How I had the chance to ask my question, and was actually listened to. I've learnt that there is a voice out there for young women, and I would never have believed this before."

YWCA welcomes new chief executive and chair of trustees

From today YWCA has a new chief executive: Sarah Payne.

Sarah has spent her career working with disadvantaged people and has had a range of senior roles in the civil service. Her most recent post was as regional commissioner for the National Offender Management Service in the south east of England.

She replaces Shan Nicholas, who has held the post in an interim capacity for the last year.

Sarah said she was "absolutely delighted" to be joining the organisation: "This is an exciting time for YWCA as it embarks on an ambitious plan to significantly grow its work with disadvantaged young women. With a recession looming, the number of vulnerable young women in need of real support is only going to increase, and we are in a strong position to meet that challenge."

YWCA can also announce that Helen Wollaston will replace Christine Freshwater as the new chair of the board of trustees. Christine has decided to step down after 11 years on the board. Helen has vast experience in working at the forefront of equality issues after seven years as the Equal Opportunities Commission's Director of Campaigns. She currently runs her own consultancy promoting equality and diversity, and has been a member of YWCA's board for the last four years.

A positive step for all children and young people

YWCA England & Wales welcomes the announcement of compulsory personal health and social education (PHSE) in schools. Making PHSE, and within it sex and relationships education (SRE), compulsory is a positive step in ensuring young people are better informed when making choices about their lives.

Those who have questioned the starting age of five should bear in mind that this programme is about informing children and young people about safe and healthy relationships and reducing ignorance around sex. Programmes will be age appropriate and are designed with parents to give children high quality education. This allows them to make informed choices later in their lives that are right for them.

The young women we work with at YWCA, including hundreds of teenage mums, tell us that their sex and relationships education was too little, too late and too biological. They feel so strongly about the importance of good quality SRE they regularly take their messages out on the streets and in classrooms, urging their peers to get informed about their sexual health and personal relationships. The Government should be congratulated for listening to the voices of young people seeking guidance in today's complicated world.

Young women try out non-traditional jobs at skills day

Young women from Dagenham donned their hard hats and grabbed their wrenches for a Skills Day at Building Craft's College London on 3^rd July.

The event was organised by SummitSkills, the Sector Skills Council for building services engineering (BSE) and as part of YWCA's More than One Rung campaign to give young women from disadvantaged backgrounds the chance to work their way off the bottom of the career ladder.

Michaela Yeaman, Kelly Forward and Sherelle Samuel-Bissick from YWCA Dagenham, got stuck into gritty jobs like fixing pipes, carpentering and wiring plugs at the event which was supported by British Gas, WISE and Bovis Lend Lease. Lesley Longstone, Director General for Young People at the Government's Department of Children, Schools and Families attended the event and joined in with the practical work.

Sherelle, 16, said: "It's brilliant, this day has totally changed my mind. Before, I wasn't sure what career I could have but now I can wire a plug, I feel I can do anything! You don't see many women in the construction industry, it's unfair because people think these are men's jobs when women can do them equally well."

Sally Copley, YWCA's Director of Policy, Research and Campaigns said: "This is a great opportunity for disadvantaged young women to see new, unthought-of job possibilities and to have a go for themselves! As SEEDA (South East England

Development Agency) has reported skills shortages in the construction and engineering industry in South East England, there is a big need for more women to join this sector."

Kevin Dowd, Operations Manager of Summit Skills said: "One of SummitSkills' goals is to position building services engineering as the sector of aspirational choice for new entrants at all levels and this includes introducing young women to the sector. SummitSkills is pleased to work with YWCA to create opportunities for girls to have a taste of what it is like to work in non-stereotypical roles."

Taking our campaign to Downing Street

YWCA's campaign team visited number 10 Downing Street last week to discuss with one of the Prime Minister's top advisors what could be done to help disadvantaged young women get better jobs.

Sally Copley, YWCA's Director of Policy, Research and Campaigns and Helen Berresford, Parliamentary Officer, spoke with Nick Pearce, Head of Strategic Policy at No. 10, in what was described as an 'extremely constructive' meeting.

YWCA was able to press home the main demands of its current  More than one rung campaign aimed to help disadvantaged young women get off the bottom rung of the career ladder and out of a lifetime of hardship.

The campaign is calling for better careers advice, as well as tailored support to help young women learn more and try out jobs that are not necessarily those traditionally female-dominated like cleaning, catering and caring. These jobs are amongst the lowest paid in the UK today. Yet our research has found that hundreds of thousands of young women are still being channelled into them through poor careers advice and lack of information and support.

After the meeting, Sally Copley said: "The Government is clearly committed to addressing the issue of skills and work for young people. Nick Pearce was receptive to many of our suggestions, and we were extremely pleased to have the opportunity to take our message right to the top."

The new apprenticeship strategy announced by the Government is a huge step forward in providing young people with the path to a decent job. YWCA was pleased to see that many of the things we pointed out to the Government  (as told to us by girls and women) have been considered:

• It has acknowledged how many young women find themselves in poorly-paid apprenticeships and wants to tackle this;
• It has proposed a pilot scheme to help tackle the entrenched problems of gender segregation in certain job sectors;
• In job sectors which have traditionally been dominated by men, YWCA's recommendation is that femal apprentices entering male dominated sectors need support from 'mentors' is reflected.

The strategy also recognises that schoolchildren need information about the different pay rates, working conditions and expectation for different jobs and careers. Once again, this is something we have been calling for.

YWCA welcomes the fact that apprenticeship pay will be looked at in the strategy. However, with many young women still struggling on low apprenticeship wages we are appealing to the Government to set apprenticeship pay at the equivalent of the National Minimum Wage.

The challenge is for this ambitious plan to be fully implemented and YWCA will be following the evolution closely to ensure that it becomes a meaningful option for disadvantaged young women to avoid a lifetime of hardship in poorly paid jobs with no prospects

Sally Copley, director of policy, research and campaigns at YWCA said: "Apprenticeships are clearly an important doorway for young people into a job with future prospects. However there is still an inherent gender injustice that we hope will be genuinely addressed through this plan. The highest paid apprenticeship is in the electro technical field, and is exclusively male. It pays double that of the lowest paid, hairdressing, which is dominated by women. That just cannot be right."