Hassles from teachers, neighbours, gardai: the trials of being young

Young people believe they are seen in a very negative light by adults and are treated in a stereotypical and unfair way, according to a report published today, writes Alison Healy

The Inequality and Stereotyping of Young People report says young people see their relationships with figures such as gardaí, teachers and politicians as "unequal, troubled and rooted in stereotypical ideas about their attributes and abilities".

The report's author, Dr Maurice Devlin of NUI Maynooth, conducted in-depth interviews with almost 100 young people in the study, which is published by the Equality Authority and the National Youth Council.

The study highlights the perception that security guards in shops automatically regard groups of young people with suspicion.

The young people surveyed say security guards regularly follow them around shops, and they are frequently told to take their hoods down in shopping centres. This is unfair, they say, as adults are never told how to dress when they go shopping.

They say they are frequently hassled when they hang around their neighbourhoods. This "hassle" is more acute if they are male and in a group. However, they have nothing else to do, they say.

"Everybody stares at you. There's nowhere to go, like," says one teenager. "As adults, they can go to the pub. They've more things to do with their time. We haven't."

Relationships with gardaí vary according to where people live. They are very negative in the most disadvantaged areas but quite positive in better-off areas.

Young people speak in the report about "run-ins" with gardaí and tell how they have been stopped and searched by gardaí when out with friends.

They also single out the media for providing negative portrayals of young people.

The report points to one study of newspapers in 2000 which found that almost one-third of news stories about young people concerned criminal and violent behaviour.

In nine out of 10 cases, the word "youth" is used with reference to a criminal or violent event involving males, whereas "youngster" is used in more benign contexts.

The teenagers' perceptions of politicians' attitudes to them are almost overwhelmingly negative. "Politicians don't really care about young people because they can't vote" is a typical quote.

While some teenagers praise specific teachers, others point to school rules that would never be tolerated by adults. Forbidding children to go to the toilet during a lesson is "just unfair", one student says.

Youth workers are the only group of adults to receive widespread praise. "They don't treat us like we are beneath them," one teenager said.

The report says the Department of Justice should review the age ground in the Equal Status Acts, 2000 to 2004, so that it applies to people under 18.

It says city and county development boards should consult young people and improve resources and facilities.

Gardaí

Sarah: "They get out of the car with an attitude, straight away like. So obviously if they're going to come over with an attitude problem then you're not going to sit there and take it off them."

Sam: "If they don't beat you there on the spot, they'll bring you down the station and beat you."

Politicians

Helen: "I've talked to a lot of politicians in my area, and most of them just smile indulgently and, you know, here's a free sticker."

Security guards

Mark: "My girlfriend is Nigerian...and when we go shopping in town, people will look at you and follow you around. In some shops now, they'll come over to you, I don't know how many times, and ask you do you want help."

Mona: "You walk into a shop with your friends and the security guard is there looking at you and following you around, and some old lady could be over at the other side of the shop shoplifting."

Teachers

Carmel: "All they've got to do is treat us like human beings, treat us like they'd treat their colleagues. Like you see them on the corridor and they're laughing and joking and then they come into class and slam the books down on the table."

The media

Christopher: "It's all trouble, vandalism, joyriding, drinking, drugs, smoking. They never have any of the good stuff we do."

The local community

Susan: "And we're not always doing bad stuff. We're hanging around, we may just be talking, but it's never seen as "Oh, well, they may be talking ... [ It's] oh, you're drunk, you're on drugs, you're smoking something, you're going to break into someone's house ..."