YWCA calls for young women to show leadership in face of binge drinking culture

With young women’s binge drinking in the spotlight following reports from St Johns ambulance crews attending national New Years events, the YWCA of Aotearoa New Zealand is calling for the young women of New Zealand to stand up and be counted.

“While we acknowledge there has been a push from the alcohol industry in New Zealand to target young women, we also believe young women must show leadership and rise above the social pressures of drinking to get drunk,” says YWCA Executive Director Sarah Davies.

The YWCA of Aotearoa New Zealand believes a large part of the binge drinking culture in New Zealand is due to mixed messages around alcohol use. “Young women are being told by celebrity culture and New Zealand society that drinking is glamorous, fun and completely normal but there is little support in place for young women when their actions from drinking result in negative consequences. For this reason, young women need to show some personal responsibility and accept that the change starts with them. Organisations such as the YWCA provide an alternative safe space for young women to start developing the leadership skills needed to rise above social pressures such as binge drinking.”

The YWCA also believes education on the effects of alcohol for young women would be beneficial. “We need to address the root causes as to why young women are drinking so much and educate them on the risks involved with this behavior. There is nothing empowering about being so intoxicated on a Saturday night that you can’t remember who you went home with and how you have caught a sexually transmitted disease. There is a better future for our young women in New Zealand than this.”

ENDS

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