YWCA England & Wales

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Categories: alcohol
Monday, 20 July 2009
YWCA announces binge drinking conference

Conference on teen drinking to be held in autumn

In a bid to tackle the reasons for teenage binge drinking, YWCA is hosting a unique conference this autumn to which young women and industry professionals will be invited.

YWCA is concerned that teenagers who drink excessively are exposing themselves to risky situations. which may lead to unwanted pregnancies, anti-social behaviour, injury, assault and death.

"No single person or organisation has the solution to this problem, so we hope that by bringing together so many interested parties, including concerned members of the public, we will be able to come up with  effective solutions which we will then take to Ministers." says Sarah Payne, Chief Executive of YWCA.

"We have been planning this conference for some time now. But the recent tragic death in Newquay have made us all realise the urgency of the problem. Young people will always want to experiment with alcohol so what we need to do is to find a safe way for them to do so. And they need to know that drinking to excess is not necessary for having a good time."

A unique feature of the conference will be that about 10 per cent of the delegates will be young women. They will be there to voice their opinions and share their experiences.

YWCA is currently carrying out research into why young women binge drink and how well they understand the risks. The results of this research, which has never been carried out before, will be presented at the conference.

The conference will be held at Central Hall, Westminster, London on Wednesday 21 October 2009.

More information and online booking here.