Four main hypotheses were explored with this research. Firstly, young people experience a wide variety of forms of
Discrimination. This includes discrimination at the hands of adults with a duty of care. The second is that the power relationships which make this discrimination possible are rooted in culturally sanctioned ideologies in which youth are, at one and the same time, both infantilised and demonised. Thirdly, that discrimination against young people operates at all levels – within their own communities, amongst local and national institutions such as employers, schools, and the police, and amongst intervention agencies, both local and international. And finally, that there is a lamentable absence of post-war initiatives addressing the needs of young people, and more specifically that address the needs of young girls and child mothers.
