The Premier Media Group has released a report which reveals the general public’s views on British teenagers. Britain’s opinion on local teenage curfews, yobbish behaviour, parenting classes and teenage pregnancies are among the results of the report conducted by Communicate Research.
64% of the public responded positively when asked if ‘curfews be introduced in your area to keep teens off the street after 9pm?’ Those with low-income households and those in Wales and the South West were most in favour to want a street curfew in their neighbourhood.
Since the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 was passed in UK, some areas have already implemented curfews in their areas. Premier Media Group's Youthwork Magazine Editor Martin Saunders expressed his concern about the implications for law abiding teenagers. "Like many involved in work with teenagers, I'm very nervous about something that criminalises young people for hanging out with their friends," he said.
"Clearly the public believe that curfews will make their areas feel safer, and they may do so, but they may also antagonise teenagers, further weaken their image of the police, and most likely force the same groups to simply congregate in someone else's neighbourhood. Such measures still avoid the root causes of anti-social teen behaviour."
78% believed that abstinence from sex should be promoted more in the classroom. At 83%, it was revealed that those with children already are more likely to be in favour of promoting abstinence from sex in schools.
"Abstinence from sex is a viable option for teenagers today and is already practiced by many Christians and non-Christians of all ages,” said Peter Kerridge, Premier Media Group Chief Executive. “The church has always promoted abstinence as part of the Christian message, and for good reason but abstinence from sex is also relevant for the secular public as a method to tackle the high numbers of teenage pregnancies in this country.
"Although there are currently several different approaches to sex education in British schools, abstinence from sex has the advantage that if followed, in the case of preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, it has a 100% success rate."
The survey also revealed that 65% of the public believed that the result of yobbish behaviour in children and teens is usually the parents’ fault. 76% of the public concluded that the Government should provide free parenting classes for all new parents to solve this problem.
