readingevils unheard groups

7/27/2019 readingEvils Unheard Groups

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Experiences o social evils

A decline o community, values and the amily :participantsfeltimportantneighbourlyand

familyrelationshipshadbrokendownandmoralvalueshaddeclined,leavingthemisolated.

Individualism and consumerism :ariseinselshnessandtheinuenceofcelebrityculture

wasexperiencedashavinganegativeeffectonsociety.

Young people, drugs and alcohol, crime and violence :youngerparticipantsfelttheywere

negativelystereotypedastroublemakers.Peopleofallageshadbeenaffectedbymisuseof

drugsandalcohol,whichwascloselyrelatedtotheirexperienceoffamilybreakdown,

povertyandcrimeandviolence.

Poverty :thenegativematerialandsocialimpactofpovertywasexperiencedacrossallage

groups,andpeoplefelttheirliveswereheldbackbyit.

Immigration :migrationwasseentobringsomebenetsbuttherewerealsocomplaintsthat

immigrantsweregivenunfairpriorityforhousing,employmentandbenets.

Coping with social evils

What people do :participantsdealtwithsituationsbypositiveandnegativemeans.Some

copedbystayingpositiveornotthinkingabouttheirsituation.Waysofcopingincluded

escapismsuchasalcoholventingfrustrationemotionallyorthroughphysicalactivity,or

turningtoviolenceorcrime.

Where people look or support :participantsturnedtofamily,friendsandsupportservices.

What should be done about social evils?

Government and politicians :thegovernmentisseentohaveakeyroletoplayinaddressing

socialevilsbyenforcingdiscipline,educatingfamiliesanddistributingwealthmorefairly.

Media :participantswantedlessglamourisationofcelebrityandmorepositivenews.

Business and fnancial institutions :banksareviewedaspenalisingpeoplewithdebt

problems,andbusinessesshouldcontributetolocalcommunities.

Religious institutions :thechurchcouldhelpputmoralbrebackintosociety.

Role o the individual :therewasastrongsensethatindividualactionhasanintegralroleto

playintacklingsocialevils

This paper focuses on the social evils of British society as experienced

by people whose voices are not usually heard. Researchers used

workshops/discussion groups with lone parents, ex-offenders,

unemployed and other vulnerable and socially excluded people to

explore personal experiences of living and coping with social evils.

Suggestions for overcoming them point to a combined individual and

collective responsibility to drive forward social change.June 2009

www.socialevils.org.uk

Living with social evils thevoices o unheard groups


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Introduction

WhenJosephRowntreesetuphisthree

charitabletrustsmorethanacenturyago,he

didsowiththeaimofaddressingtheunderlyingcausesofweaknessorevilinthe

community.Heidentiedtheevilsofwar,

poverty,slavery,excessivedrinking,gambling

andthedrugstradeasbeingchiefamong

these.Now,ahundredyearslater,theJoseph

RowntreeFoundationiscarryingouta

programmeofworktoexplorewhatpeoplein

Britainseeasbeingthesocialevilsfacing

societytoday.

Therstphaseoftheprogrammeconsistedof

twomainstrands.Therstwasaweb-based

consultation,askingthegeneralpublictolist

theirtopthreesocialevils.Thesecondstrand

involvedseekingouthard-to-reachgroupsof

peoplewhosevoiceswereunlikelytobeheard

throughtheweb-basedconsultation.Itfocused

onthesehard-to-reachgroupsthrougharst

roundofeightdiscussiongroupsandexplored

theirviewsonthemainsocialproblemsfacing

Britishsocietytoday.

Thesecondphaseoftheprogrammeaimedto

furtherthedebate,engagingotherorganisations

inconsideringthendingsofphaseone,and

lookingforwardtoimplicationsandpossible

solutions.Thisinvolvedthreestrandsofwork:a

seriesoflectures/debates,coveringsomeofthe

moreabstractthemesthatemergedduring

phaseone;aseriesofthink-piecesonselected

topicsthataroseduringphaseone;andfurther

workshops/discussiongroupswithhard-to-

reachgroups.Thispaperfocusesonthe

ndingsfromtheworkshops/discussiongroups.

Tensocialevilsemergedfromphaseoneofthe

researchandtheaimofthephasetwo

workshops/discussiongroupswastofocusonpeoplespersonalexperiencesoflivingwith

theseevils,howtheycopedwiththemandwhat

ifanythingcouldorshouldbedoneabout

them.

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4/34

andskillstofulltheirpotential.Itprovides

adiverserangeofserviceslinkedbythe

themesoflearning,workandprogression,

inordertohelpdisadvantagedpeople

backintoemployment.RedKiteLearning

helpedtosetuponediscussiongroupin

Londonwithunemployedpeople.Within

thisdiscussiongroupparticipantshadarangeofdifferentexperiences,including

prison,homelessness,drugandalcohol

addictions,mentalhealthissuesand

learningdifculties.

Supporting Others through Volunteer

Action (SOVA)Anationalvolunteer

mentoringorganisationthatuses

volunteerstooffermentoringand

education,supportdisadvantagedor

excludedpeople,rehabilitateandresettle

offenders/ex-offenders,reduceand

preventcrime,andprovidevariedand

innovativeservicestohelppeoplereturn

towork.SOVArecruitedunemployed

peopletoattendtheworkshopinWales.

One Parent Families Scotland (OPFS)

Anationalvoluntaryorganisation,

registeredasacharity.OPFSmembers

includeindividualloneparents,various

organisationsworkingwithloneparents

andotherswhosupportthecauseoflone

parents.OPFSofferstrainingandadvice

onissuesrelatedtobeingasingleparent

throughatelephonehelpline,an

interactivewebsiteandvarious

publications.OPFSrecruitedagroupof

lonefatherstoattendtheworkshopin

Edinburgh.

Gingerbread/One Parent Families

(Manchester)Acharitythataimstobuild

afairersocietyforallfamilies,inwhich

loneparentsandtheirchildrenarenot

disadvantagedanddonotsufferfrom

poverty,isolationorsocialexclusion.

Gingerbreadoffersinformationandadvice

toloneparents,throughtheLoneParent

Helpline,awiderangeofpublications,an

interactivewebsiteandonlinehelpdesk,

freelone-parentmembershipandspecial

events.Gingerbreadrecruitedagroupof

loneparentstoattendtheworkshopin

Manchester.

Powys Youth Oending Service

(YOS)Amulti-agencyservicewith

representativesfromsocialservices,

police,probation,healthandthecharity

PowysChallenge.Itsmainfunctionisto

preventtheoffendingandre-offendingof

youngpeopleinPowys,byoffering

variousservicestoyoungoffendersand

thoseconsideredtobeatriskof

offending.PowysYOSrecruited

Table 1 Prole o participants

Category Number

Group

Unemployedpeople 7

Ex-offenders 9

Youngpeoplelivinginahostel 15

Youngoffenders/youngpeople

atriskofoffending 10Loneparents 8(+1

daughterof

loneparent)

Carers 10

Gender

Male 32

Female 28

Geographical location

London 16

Manchester 17

Wales 13

Scotland 14

Age

Under24 26

2450 26

Over50s 8

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vulnerableyoungpeopletoattendthe

workshopinWales.

Voice o Carers Across Lothian

(Vocal)Acharitableenterprisethat

supportscarerslivinginEdinburghand

theLothiansbyprovidinginformationand

advice.Vocaldealswithpracticalissuessuchasbenets,serviceprovisionand

understandingmedicalconditions,aswell

asprovidingemotionalsupportinthe

formofcounselling,grouptherapyand

advocacywork.Vocalrecruitedagroupof

carerstoattendtheworkshopin

Edinburgh.Thiswasanoldergroupthan

theothers,withawiderangeoflife

experiences.

Intotal,60peopletookpartinthethree

workshopsandtwodiscussiongroups.The

sampleproleofparticipantscapturedabroad

spreadofcharacteristics,ascanbeseenin

Table1.Whileparticipantswereidentied

accordingtotheparticularissuethatwascore

toeachorganisation,suchasunemploymentor

loneparenthood,inrealityparticipants

experiencesspannedseveralcategories.For

example,therewereunemployedex-offenders,

unemployedpeopleandyoungpeoplewith

experienceofhomelessnessandunemployed

loneparents.However,foreaseofclassication,

theyhavebeengroupedinthesampleprole

accordingtothemainfocusoftheorganisation

thatrecruitedthem.

Data collection

Inthreeofthefourlocationsaworkshop

approachwasused.Inthefourthareatwo

separatediscussiongroupstookplaceinstead

ofaworkshop,duetothedifcultiesofgetting

peoplefromdifferentorganisationstotravelto

oneplaceforaworkshop.Duringeachofthe

workshopsanddiscussiongroups,an

introductionwasgiventothestudyatthe

beginning,presentingthetenmainsocialevils

thatwereidentiedduringphaseoneandgiving

anexplanationofeach:

adeclineofcommunity

individualismandselshness

consumerism

adeclineofvalues

thedeclineofthefamily

youngpeopleasvictimsorperpetrators

misuseofdrugsandalcoholpovertyandinequality

immigrationandresponsestoimmigration

crimeandviolence.

Participantsattendingtheworkshopswere

separatedintotwoorthreediscussiongroups.

Duringthesesmallgroupdiscussionsandthe

discussiongroupsinLondon,theaimwasto

explorewhatparticipantspersonalexperiences

wereofthesesocialevils.Researcherstriedto

avoidalongdiscussionaroundwhetherthese

aresocialevils,asthishadbeenthefocusof

phaseoneoftheresearch.Theaimofthisstage

wastondouthowpeopleliveandcopewith

theissues,andtosuggestpossiblesolutionsfor

addressingthem.Thesmallerdiscussion

groupswerethenreconvenedatdifferentpoints

throughouttheworkshoptoreportbacktothe

groupasawhole.

Thediscussiongroupswererecordedand

transcribed.Framework(amethoddesignedby

NatCenforanalysingqualitativedata)wasthen

usedtoexplorethekeythemes.Thiswasdriven

bythreecorequestions:

Whatwerepeoplespersonalexperiences

ofthesocialevilsdotheseissues

resonateintheirownlivesand,ifso,how?

Howdopeoplecopewithlivingalongside

thesesocialevilshowdotheydealwith

them?

Whatmightbedonetoaddressthese

socialevilswhatarethepossible

solutions?

Therestofthispaperisstructuredaroundthese

threequestions.

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Experiences o social evils

Tensocialevilsemergedduringphaseoneof

theresearchandtheaimofthissecondphase

ofworkwastofocusonpeoplespersonal

experiencesoflivingwiththeseevils.Asinthe

phaseonediscussiongroups,participantsalso

talkedabouttheirwiderviewsofthetensocialevilsandtheimpacttheyhadonsociety.Some

socialevilsresonatedmorethanothersin

peoplespersonallives.Participantsviewsof

thesocialevilswereoftendiscussedinrelation

totheirownexperienceortheexperienceof

eithertheirfriendsorfamily.

A decline o community

Discussionofthisissuewaslargelybasedon

howwellpeoplefelttheyknewtheirneighbours

andothersintheirlocalcommunity.Peoples

experiencesvariedgreatly.

Oneperspectivewasthattherewasstilla

strongsenseofcommunitywherepeople

lookedoutforeachother,whereasanother

wasthatsuchexperienceswererare,as

illustratedbyonemanwhoexplainedthatheno

longerknewhisneighbours:

I dont even know my neighbour, I

mean it has gone. At one time beore,

you know I can remember way back,

you know, but you knew your

neighbour, you could pop round, the

kids could play in the streets and that,

its all gone, all gone.(Man, lone parent)

Threemainthemesemergedashavingan

impactonhowwellpeoplefelttheyknewtheir

neighbours:typeoflocation,howlongpeople

hadlivedinanareaandsocialchanges.Itwas

feltthatlivinginaruralareamadeiteasiertobe

acloser-knitcommunitythanlivinginabigcity,

wherepeopleweremoresegregated.

Afurtherviewwasthatlong-termresidencyin

anareacouldfosterastrongsenseof

community.However,thisviewdidnotreect

everyonesexperiences.Onewomandescribed

how,despitelivinginthesamevillagefor30

years,thecommunityfeelingcreatedby

everybodyknowingeachotherhadbeenlostas

thevillagehadgrowninsize.

Olderparticipantsinparticulartalkedofasense

thatthelevelofcarepeopleshowedforeach

otherhaddiminishedovertime.Onewoman

describedhowpeopleusedtoborrowitems

suchassugarandmilkfromtheirneighbours

andhelpeachotherout,whereasnow

neighbourswouldbeshockediftheyturnedto

themforhelp.Asduringphaseone,therewasa

senseamongstparticipantsthatthedeclinein

communitycorrespondedwitharisein

selshness,epitomisedbyaneverybodyfor

themselvesattitude.

Wheredeclineofcommunitywasdiscussed

morewidely,theotherissuethatemergedwas

thesocialandphysicaldeclineofthe

community.Participantsfelttherewereno

longerenoughactivitiesorfacilitiesforyoung

people.Forexample,youngpeoplefromrural

areasdescribedhowtherewasnotalottodo

otherthansitaround,talkandsmoke,

resultinginthemcongregatinginthetown

centre,whichoftenledtofearandstereotyping

fromolderpeople(discussedinmoredetail

later).

Individualism and selfshness

Individualismwaslessexplicitlydiscussedthan

someoftheothersocialevils.However,arisein

selshnesswasassociatedwiththedeclineof

community.Therewasalsoaviewthatthere

werealotofpeoplewhowereoutforwhatthey

cangetintermsofnancialormaterialgain.In

onediscussiongroupayoungmanexplained

howheworkedtohelphismotherpaytheirbills,

aviewthatsurprisedanotheryoungmanwho

thoughthewasmadfordoingthis,ashetook

20aweekfromhismother.

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Consumerism and greed

Consumerismwasdiscussedmainlyinrelation

toyoungpeople.Olderparticipantstalked

abouthowcelebritycultureaffectstheway

youngpeoplebehave,becausetheyfeelthey

havetohavethelatestdesigneritems.Peer

pressurewasperceivedasmakingyoung

peoplemorematerialistic.Loneparentsdiscussedtheirpersonalexperiencesoffeeling

underpressuretobuytheirchildrendesigner

clothes.Youngpeopleacknowledgedthisand

spokeaboutthepressuretheyfelttohavethe

latestthingsinordertotin.Celebrityculture

inparticularwascriticisedbecauseitmade

peoplethinktheyhavetohaveitall.

Nevertheless,itwasstrikingthatotheryoung

people,inparticularthoselivinginahostel,

describedhowtheyneededclotheslike

everyoneelse,butthattheydidntcarewhether

theyweredesigneritemsbecausetheywould

muchratherhavearoofovertheirheads,

warmthandfood.Thisillustratestherelative

importanceofdifferentthingsinpeoplesday-

to-daylivesandhowpeopleprioritisewhatthey

haveandhavenotgot.

A decline o values

Discussionofthedeclineofvaluesreecteda

senseofgenerationalshift.Olderparticipants

tendedtotalkabouttheirexperiencesofthis

issueinrelationtoyoungerpeople.Theyfelt

youngpeoplelackedrespectanddescribed

whatitwaslikeforthemgrowingup:

I used to get the strap and would be

scared to death o doing wrong.

(Man, lone parent)

Disciplineandmoraleducationweresaidby

olderpeopletohavedeclinedconsiderably.It

wasarguedthatbothshouldcomefrom

parentsandbereinforcedatschool.However,it

wasfeltthatthiswasunderminedbyparents

workingratherthanspendingtimewiththeir

children.Suchfactorscouldcreate

dysfunctionalfamilies,andthepatternwas

beingpassedontothechildren.

Arecurrentperspectivewasthatpolitical

correctnesshadgonetoofar,andthatasa

consequenceyoungpeopleknewtheycould

getawaywiththings.Onemandescribedhow

hiscarhadbeenscratchedbutwhenhereportedittothepolicetherewasnothingthey

coulddo.Similarly,anotheroldermanrecalled

anincidentonabuswhereyoungpeoplewere

causingtroubleandwhenheaskedthemto

stop,nooneelsewaswillingtosayanything

throughfearofgettingintotroublethemselves.

Theseexperiencesweresaidtobeinstark

contrasttotheirownchildhoodswhen

participantshadknownthattheywouldbe

punishedforwrongdoing:

[You] knew not to get into trouble or

youd pay your penance.

(Woman, lone parent)

However,youngpeoplestronglyfeltthatrespect

shouldbemutualandtheydescribedasenseof

despairinrelationtothewayolderpeople

perceivedthem,manyofwhomfeltstereotyped

anddiscriminatedagainst(discussedfurther

below,underYoungpeopleasvictimsor

perpetrators).Youngpeoplelivinginahostel

agreedthatvaluesweredifferentfrom50years

ago,butalsobelievedthatyoungpeoplewere

forcedtogrowupalotquickertoday.Forsuch

youngpeoplethisspokevolumesabouttheir

ownexperiencesofhavingtofendfor

themselves,asoneyoungwomanexplained:

Fity years ago a 16-year-old would

have been living at home yes it just

wasnt heard o people living in

hostels and stu, it wasnt heard o

because, like, we are still classed as

children back in them days.

(Young woman, living in a hostel)


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The decline o the amily

Personalexperienceoffamilybreakdownwas

widespreadacrossanumberofgroups,notably

youngpeoplewithexperienceofhomelessness

andex-offenders.Threemaincausesforfamily

breakdownemerged:drugsandalcohol,

violenceandbroadersocialchanges.

Drugsandalcoholfeaturedwasacommon

causeoffamilybreakdownparticipantslives,

whetheritwastheirownuseofdrugsand

alcoholortheuseofothers.Forexample,one

youngmandescribedtheimpacthisdruguse

hadonhisfamily:

You dont go, go and see your kids

and you dont do nothing, and then

your kids are thinking, why, why is my

dad not coming to see me? This, this is

one o the issues that Ive got at the

moment, but Ive made a point o

going and seeing them regardless.

(Young man, living in a hostel)

Incomparison,otherstalkedabouthowfamily

membersdrugandalcoholaddictionshadled

toviolence,homelessnessandprison

sentences.Theseexperiencesweregenerally

expressedbyyoungpeopleinrelationtotheir

parents.

Amongsttheyoungpeople,violentfamily

backgroundsorfamilydisruptions,suchasthe

arrivalofstep-parents,hadledthemtorun

awayfromhome,spendperiodsoftime

sleepingonthestreets,orstayingawayallnight,

gettingmashedwiththeirfriendstoforgettheir

problemsathome.

Peoplealsospokeaboutbroadersocial

changes,whichhadimpactedonfamily

structures.Theseincludedsmallerfamiliesthat

weremoredisjointed,largelyduetopeople

havingtomoveforwork,andthecostofliving.

Discussionoftheincreasedlevelofteenage

pregnancieswasalsoprominent,althoughthere

wassomedebateastowhetherthiswas

actuallythecase,orifitwassimplyincreased

mediacoverage.Olderpeopleinparticular

describedhowdifferentthingsusedtobefor

themgrowingup:

I I became pregnant as a teenager I

would have been orced out by my

amily and been considered a social

outcast. Sex was something or

marriage and we were terried o it.

People dont seem to see it as letting

down their amily any more.


Inadditiontothecausesoffamilybreakdown,

participantsalsodiscusseditsimpactontheir

lives.Acommonthemewasthatpeoples

experiencesincarehadmadethemfeel

unloved,insecure,aloneandangry,asthis

exchangebetweenagroupofex-offenders

illustrates:

F: So even beore that, I was [in

care] or our years.

M: [Ive] been in childrens homes as

well.

F: Ive just said that, didnt I, Ive been in

care, thats why I think thats why I turn

to violence and to the drink, just I

thought I was me own and no one

loved me or anything, so. But thennow...

M: Insecure eelings.

F: Yeah. So angry.

M: Angry at the world.

F: Im a very angry person.

Inphaseone,therewasaviewthatsingle-

parentfamilieswithaworkingmotherandan

absentfathercouldleadtoyoungpeople

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gettingintotrouble.Thiswasaconcernthat

resonatedwithpeoplespersonalexperiencesin

phasetwo.Femalerespondentsinparticularfelt

fathershadanimportantroletoplayinthe

familynetworkandthatyoungmengrowingup

withoutfatherslackeddiscipline.

Ive seen the riends that have one-

parent amilies, and Ive seen the ones

that are a amily unit, and every single

time, the amily unit is stronger, the kids

are nicer. The whole network works

because you need a amily unit

(Woman, unemployed)

However,somemaleparticipantsstrongly

disagreedandfeltthat,despitenotknowing

theirfathers,theyhadturnedoutalright.

Young people as victims or perpetrators

Theageofparticipantswasastrongindicatorof

theirviewsandexperiencesofyoungpeople.

Olderpeoplegenerallysawyoungpeopleas

perpetratorsofsocialevilsanddescribedhow

theyweregettingawaywithmurder,withbad

languageandantisocialandthreatening

behaviour.Onefemalecarerdescribedhowshe

likedtobeindoorsbysevenoclock,asshedid

notlikewalkingpastthosehoodiesbecause

theywouldnotletherpassbywithoutabuseor

swearing.However,whileoneperspective

amongstolderparticipantswasthatthiswas

somethingnew,analternativeviewwasthat

olderpeoplehadalwaysfearedyoungpeople,

andthatitwasmerelythecontextand

appearancethathadchanged.Forexample,an

older,unemployedmanrecalledbeingchased

whenhewasyoungerforhangingaround

outsidepeopleshomes.Heclaimedthat

peopleusedtofearskinheadswhereasnowit

washoodies,andhefeltnothinghadreally

changedexcepttheclotheswornbyyoung

people.Notwithstandingsomedisagreement

aboutwhethersuchfearswerenew,older

participantssharedtheviewthatcommunity

declineandthelackofprovisionforyoung

people,suchasboxingandfootballclubs,

meanttherewasalackofleadershipforyoung

peopleintodayssociety.

Perhapsnotsurprisingly,youngpeoples

perspectivesandexperiencesvariedgreatly

fromthoseoftheolderparticipants.Therewas

astrongsenseofdiscriminationonthepartofyoungerparticipants,whoarguedthatpeopleof

allagescausedtroubleandcommittedcrimes,

butthattherewasatendencytoautomatically

blameyoungpeoplebasedonstereotypes,

withoutreallylookingintothecauses.There

wasevidentirritationthatyoucouldbejudged

inrelationtoothersoronthebasisofsuspicion.

Forexample,oneyoungwomanclaimedshe

didntwanttobejudgedbysomethinga

differentyoungpersonhaddone,whileayoung

manthoughtitwaspatheticthatolderpeople

wouldcrossthestreettoavoidagangofyoung

people.

Participantsaccountsrevealedasenseof

frustrationaboutbeingjudgedonthebasisof

appearance.

People think youre a crim i you wear

tracksuits, trainers or a hoodie.

(Young man, oender/at risk

o oending)

Judgementsaboutappearancecouldhave

materialconsequences.Forexample,one

youngwomandescribedtheproblemsshehad

experiencedndingworkbecauseoftheway

shedressed.Forher,aviciouscirclewas

createdbythefactthatinordertobuyclothes

togetabetterjobshewouldneedtogeta

scraggyjobrst.

Althoughthegeneralviewamongstyoung

peoplewasthattheywerevictims,therewas

alsoanacknowledgementthattheycouldbe

perpetrators,asoneyoungmanargued:

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You dont see a 30-year-old man in a

suit going out and robbing another

30-year-old man in a suit, do you know

what Im saying? So the youths are to

blame. Im a youth mysel yeah, but I

can saely say, yeah, but the youth

these days are corrupt. Theyre

seriously corrupt.


Aviewsharedacrossallagegroupswasthat

themediawaslargelytoblamefordistorting

perceptionsofyoungpeople,bygiving

disproportionatecoveragetoasmall

percentageofyoungpeoplewhohadactually

goneofftherails.Thisrelatestotheissueof

whoistoblameforsocialevilsandpossible

solutions,questionswhichareexploredfurther

oninthispaper.

Misuse o drugs and alcohol

Closelylinkedtopeoplesexperiencesoffamily

breakdownwasdrugsandalcohol(discussed

previously,underThedeclineofthefamily).

Participantsaccountsalsorevealedacloselink

betweendrugsandalcoholandcrimeand

violence,aspeopledescribedhowthey

becameviolentwhendrinkingortakingdrugs

(exploredinmoredepthbelow).However,two

maindimensionsemergedinrelationtothis

issuetheirownpersonalexperienceofusing

drugsandalcoholandtheirexperiencesof

othersusingdrugsandalcohol.

Personalexperiencesofdrugmisuseand

alcoholfeaturedheavilyinthelivesof

participants,notablyyoungpeople,unemployed

peopleandex-offenders.Therewasawide

varietyofreasonsforusingdrugsandalcohol,

suchasboredom,beingincare,bereavement,

peerpressure,stressandescapism,asthe

followingexamplesillustrate:

I drink a lot, cos I get so stressed. And I

smoke a lot.


One thing leads to the other. Boredom

leads to drugs and alcohol.

(Man, unemployed)

It calms me down, cannabis.

(Man, ex-oender)

With me losing children, like twins and

that in the past they were stillborn,

when Mum was seven months

pregnant I used to hide behind

drugs, me.

(Man, ex-oender)

Amongstyoungpeople,drinkingwascommonly

viewedasasocialactivity,ashighlightedinthe

followingaccount:

Drinking is more about getting drunk

with your mates and having a laugh.

(Young man, oender/atrisk o oending)

However,participantswhohadexperienced

theirdrinksbeingspikedviewedtheincreased

availabilityofdrugsandalcoholinclubsand

barsnegatively.Thus,similarlytothe

experiencesofparticipantsinphaseone,

alcoholwasconsideredproblematicwhenused

toexcess.

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Otherpeoplesuseofdrugsandalcoholwas

theotherkeydimensioninparticipants

accounts.Thiswasespeciallytrueofyoung

peoplewhotalkedabouttheirexperiencesof

relationshipsinvolvingdrugs,describedbyone

womanashorrendous,andthenegative

effectsdrugshadontheirfamilymembersand

friends,suchascrime,violence,homelessness,losingfamily,divorceandunemployment.One

youngpersonexplainedhowhehadseenhis

unclelosehisgirlfriendandchildduetoheroin,

whilstanotherrecalledthephysicalimpact

drugshadonagirlsheknew:

she used to look like alright, yeah,

and like, now shes got a kid, yeah, and

you should see the state o her, her

ace is all sunken in Yeah, shes dead

pale, shes absolutely scruy and she

looks like a skeleton, shes just like just

looking at er, you just think, Ooh my

God, I never want to be like that, and

its just seeing, like, that just stops you

rom doing that no, just seeing how

they are and theyre like, theyre

desperate and theyre looking on the

foor or pennies and that to get money

or their drugs.

(Young woman, oender/at risk o

oending)

Amongsttheseyoungpeopletherewasa

generalviewofwhatcouldbeworththat?,

whyareyoutakingit?,whatsthepoint?.

Peoplealsospokeatlengthaboutthe

signicantnegativeimpactsthatdrugsand

alcoholhadhadontheirlives.Participants

talkedaboutbeingputoffdrugsafterseeing

otherpeopleusingthem,periodsofdepression,

notbeingabletofunctionwithoutadrinkand

losingpeople.Oneex-offenderdescribedhow

drinkinghadnearlyruinedhislife:

I got drunk a hell o a lot, Ive been

dead because someone spiked me

GHD, it was 100 per cent vodka, and I

downed a ull shot glass, so Im lucky to

still be here.

(Man, ex-oender)

Poverty and inequality

Peoplesexperiencesofpovertyspannedall

groupsandallages.Participantstendedtotalk

abouttheconstrainingforcesofpoverty,and

twomainthemesthematerialandthesocial

impactofpovertyemergedinrelationtothe

effectithadontheirlives.Theimpactofpoverty

wasparticularlyprominentinthelivesofyoung

people,affectingtheiridentityandself-esteem.

Youngpeoplelivinginahostelspokeaboutthe

difcultiesofdependingonbenetsandthe

signicantimpactthishadontheirlives,both

materiallyandsocially.Oneyoungwoman

explainedthatitshardlivingon48aweek,

asonceshehaddonehershoppingshehadno

moneyleftforclothesortogooutwithfriends.

Participantssharedtheviewthattheywere

worseoff(nancially)workingthanlivingon

benets.However,theyfounditboringand

depressingnothavinganythingtodoandgot

annoyedwhenpeopletoldthemtogetajob

andassumedtheywerelazy.

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Olderparticipantsdescribedhowtheir

circumstanceshadchangedovertimein

relationtopoverty,summedupbythismans

experiences:

Two months ago, I was more likely just

like you, three-bedroom house, ull-

time job, amily. Now Im homeless,

skint, spending my daytime looking or

a room just to close the door behind

me rather than sleeping in a park.

Thats what I do every day I always

had a pound note. Now, I havent even

got a penny in my pocket rom day to

day. Im always on the ponce, Imalways looking around trying or

something to do, someone to eed me,

someone to give me a drink, someone

to give me a bus ticket. I used to do all

that on my own, and now or my

daughter to [oer money] to me, I eel

ashamed o mysel.

(Man, unemployed)

Povertyandthefactorsthathadgivenrisetoit

weredescribedashavinganegativeimpacton

personalidentityandattitudesdisplayedby

otherpeople.Forexample,onewomanwhose

circumstanceshadchangedfeltshehadlost

heridentityandpowerandobservedthatthe

wayinwhichotherpeoplerespondedtoher

hadchangedsignicantly:

Well because I dont have a job, and

Im a carer. I you meet people they just

assume that because you are not

working you are the scum o the earth,

you are divorced, you are the scum o

the earth, you know the whole thing.

(Woman, carer)

Therewasaclearsense,asduringphaseone,

thatpeoplesexperiencesofpovertywerealso

shapedbytruncatedopportunitiesandnot

simplyrelatedtowhattheycouldnotafford.

Youngpeopletalkedabouthowalackofmoney

heldthembackasitmadeitharderto

continueineducationandgotouniversity,

whichsubsequentlymadeitdifculttogetajobbecausetheyhadlimitedqualications.Other

youngpeoplefelttheyhadnochoicenotto

workandfelttheywerevictimsbecauseoftheir

situation(youngwoman,livinginahostel).

Suchexperienceshighlighttheconstraining

forcesofpovertyinpeoplesday-to-daylives,

summedupbythisman:

Povertys a trap, once you get into it,

its hard to get out o it.

(Man, lone parent)

Immigration and responses to immigration

Althoughitwasfeltthattherewerepositive

aspectstoimmigration,suchasimmigrant

workerswillingnesstodothelow-paidjobsthat

peoplebornintheUKwouldnotdo,andwider

economicbenets,accountsofimmigration

werepredominatelynegative.Peoplespoke

abouthowthemake-upofsocietyhadchanged

overtime.Asoneunemployedmanclaimed:

youneverseenacolouredpersoninWales,

onetimethatwasveryrare.OtherEnglish

participantsdescribedhowpeopleinWaleshad

takenadisliketothemwhentheyrstmovedto

WalessimplyforbeingEnglish.

Immigrationwaslargelydiscussedinrelationto

threemainissues;housing,employmentand

benets.Therewasaclearsenseofunfairness

amongstparticipantsaboutthewayimmigrants

weretreatedincomparisontothemselves.For

example,youngpeoplelivinginahostelwho

hadbeenonahousingwaitinglistfortwoyears

stronglybelievedthereasonwhytheydidnot

haveaatwasbecauseatswereallocatedto

immigrantsrst.Similarly,anoldermalecarer

explainedhowheappliedforcouncilhousingin

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the1980sbuthadbeentoldthatbecausehe

wasBritishhewouldbeputatthebottomofthe

list.Thiswasanexperiencewhichhefound

annoyinginitselfandfrustratingbecauseithad

ultimatelyresultedinhimgivingupagood

careerandmovingbacktothecommunityin

whichhehadgrownup.

Participantstalkedatlengthabouttheir

experiencesoflosingoutonjobstopeoplewho

werenotbornintheUK,asthisexchange

betweenyoungoffenders/youngpeopleatrisk

ofoffendinghighlights:

F: They get housing quicker as well

and like jobs quicker and were put to

the back o the queue really, yes.

M1: Oh yes, denitely.

M2: I reckon its pretty harsh.

F: Because theyre taking it o us.

M2: Because its like people who

actually live in this country whos

desperate or jobs and then some []

comes along and just gets it.

Perceivedunfairnessextendedtobenet

provision.Participantsfeltthattheyreceived

lowerbenetsthanimmigrantworkersandthey

expressedconcernsthattheirbenetswouldbe

loweredduetomoreimmigrantsentering

Britain.

Anunemployedfemaleasylumseekerfrom

Somaliasharedtheseconcerns,indoingso

makingadistinctionbetweenherownposition

asanasylumseekerandthepositionof

economicmigrants.Shedescribedhowshe

hadhadtoleaveSomaliafearingpersecution,

butcriticisedotherimmigrantswhodidntface

suchproblemsintheircountryoforiginwho

movedtoBritainandmilk[ed]thesystem.

Crime and violence

Peoplesexperiencesofcrimeandviolence

werecloselyinterwovenintheirday-to-daylives

withanumberoftheothersocialevils,notably

drugsandalcohol,discriminationagainstyoung

peopleandpoverty.

Drugsandalcoholappearedtobeacatalystfor

crimeandviolenceinpeoplesexperiencesas

bothvictimsandperpetrators.Participants

talkedaboutcommittingcrimetosupporttheirdrughabits,orbecominginvolvedincriminal

activityandviolencewhilstundertheinuence

ofalcohol,asdiscussedbytheseex-offenders:

M1: Ive known people, Ive pulled dirty

syringes [out].

M2: Yeah, Ive known that.

M1: And security guards have gone tograb hold o it.

M2: And stabbed him with it.

M1: And youve stabbed him, you

know with a dirty syringe.

M3: Thats horrible, that is horrible.

M1: Thats how low you can get to

M2: Its the drugs and alcohol that

brings a lot o the crime into it.

Ontheotherhand,peopledescribedtheir

experiencesofbeingvictimsofviolentattacks

orrobberiesfrompeopleusingdrugsand

alcohol.Oftenthesewerepeopletheyknewor

familymembers.

However,crimesunrelatedtodrugsandalcohol

werealsowidelydiscussed.Participants

describedtheirexperiencesofbeinginprison

andcommittingcrimes,suchasrobbingcars,

shopliftingandvandalism.Theseactswere

oftenprovokedbyboredom,lackofmoneyand

wantingtolookcoolortotinwithfriends.

Thisviewwassharedbyyoungpeopleinrural

areaswhodescribedcrimeasthe onlyfun

thingtodo.

Personalexperienceofcrimeandviolencewas

particularlyprominentinthelivesofyoung

peopleandex-offenders.However,oneolder

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unemployedmandescribedhisexperienceof

beinginprisonforsevenyearsandpriortothat

beinginandoutofprisoneverytwoyears.He

talkedabouthowhelosthiscareerthrough

crimeandviolencebecausehethoughthewas

abigman,robbingandstabbingpeople.

Olderparticipantstendedtotalkaboutcrimeandviolenceinrelationtoyoungpeopleand

therewasanoverwhelmingsenseoffearthat

crimehadbecomeworse,drivenbyhighlevels

ofyouthunemploymentandyoungpeoples

lackofrespectfortheirparents.

Therewasalsoacommonviewthatcrimewas

stronglylinkedtopovertyaspeoplehadtosteal

tosurvive,buttherewasaclearsenseamongst

participantsthatitwasnottheirfault.Thisview

wasborneoutbytheexperiencesofsome

youngpeople,who,forexample,described

shopliftinginordertofeedyoungersiblings.

Oneolderwomanalsodescribedhowshehad

recentlybeguntoexperiencepovertyinherown

lifeandappearedtoempathisewiththosewho

hadbeeninpovertytheirentirelifeandhad

turnedtocrimeasaresult:

Well, I just eel that people will steal to

get money to help them. Its not their

ault, but this is a way they eel that they

can get something so then you have

your crime, and then you have violence

and people ghting each other over it,

so its all a big circle isnt it?

(Woman, carer)

Interconnected social evils

Itwasclearinthisresearch,aswithphaseone,

thatthetensocialevilswereclosely

interconnectedinparticipantsday-to-daylives.

Participantsthemselvesacknowledgedthelinks

betweenthesocialevils.Forexample,amongst

theyoungpeoplelivinginahostel,violencewas

citedasoneofthemaincausesoftheirfamily

breakdownandtheydescribedhowthe

violenceusuallystemmedfromtheirparents

drugandalcoholmisuse.

Ageplayedanimportantroleinshaping

participantsviewsandexperiences.Thiswas

particularlyevidentinrelationtoyoungpeople

andadeclineinvalues.Olderpeopletendedtoassociatecrimeandviolencewithyoungpeople

andtherewasaclearsenseoffearandanxiety

towardsthemintodayssociety.Older

participantsbelievedthiswasduetoadecline

invaluesandalackofrespectfromyoung

people,which,inturn,theysawasbeinglinked

withcommunitydeclineandalackofpositive

rolemodels.However,youngpeopledidnot

alwaysmakethesamelinkbetweenthemselves

andcrimeandviolence,insteaddescribinghow

theyfeltdiscriminatedagainstandstereotyped

byolderpeople.Botholderandyounger

participantsdid,however,agreethat

consumerismputalotofpressureonyoung

peopletohavethelatestdesignergoodsin

ordertotinwithothers.Thisinturnput

pressureonparentswhohadlimitedresources

tobuytheseexpensivegoods.

Anotherstrikingndingwastheextenttowhich

participantsspokeabouttheconstrainingforces

ofpovertyandtheviewthatpeopleresortedto

crimeasameansofgettingbyandmaking

theirwayintheworld.Thereappearedtobea

levelofacceptanceofcrimeamongst

participants,whichhighlightstheattractionof

analternativelifestyleasameansofescaping

thecurrentsituation.Thisreectsthenotionof

truncatedopportunitiesidentiedinphaseone,

wherebypeoplefeltlimitedandconstrainedby

theirsituations.

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Coping with social evils

Avarietyofcopingmechanismsemergedfrom

participantsaccountsoflivingwiththeeffects

ofsocialevils.Thisledtocontrastingand

competingdenitionsofwhatcopingmeantin

practice.

Internalcopingmechanismsincludedthestories

peopletoldthemselves,whichcouldbeboth

positive(e.g.lookingforwardtoadifferentplace

andtime)andnegative(e.g.blockingthereality

ofthepresent).Theyalsoincludedbothpositive

andnegativeversionsofescapismhobbies

andinterestsontheonehand,ordrugsand

alcoholontheother.Similarlyadesiretogetrid

ofbuilt-upfrustrationcouldresultinexercise

(bothmentalandphysical)orverbalabuseand

physicalviolence.Turningtocrimewassaidto

beanotherwayofcopingwithsocialevils,by

makingeasymoney.

Externalcopingstrategiesinvolvedlooking

eithertofamilyandfriendsortosupport

servicesforemotionalorpracticalhelpand

support.Suchmechanismswereseenasways

ofmanagingtheproblem.

What people tell themselves

Oneformofcopinginvolvedthinkingabout

thingsinaparticularway.Peopledealtwith

issuesinternallyeitherbytellingthemselvesto

staypositive,ornotthinkingaboutthesituation

andignoringsocialevils.

Positive rame o mind

Just stay positive no matter what. No

matter how much you get run down,

just stay happy, thats what I say.


Havingapositiveframeofmindgenerally

seemedtobebasedonputtingthingsinto

perspective.Threewaysofdoingthisemerged:

believingthesituationwouldchange,

concentratingonreligiousbeliefsor

rememberingthatthereareotherpeopleinthe

worldwhoareworseoff.

Abeliefthattheirsituationwouldchangewasa

recurrentperspectiveamongstyoungpeople

livinginhostels.Thisfeelingthattherewerebettertimestocomehelpedpeopletocope

withissuestheywerecurrentlyfacing,suchas

familybreakdownandpoverty.

Commonly,educationwasseenasthekeyto

changingtheirsituation.However,theyoung

peoplewhotookpartintheresearchargued

thattheyfacedbarrierstoahighereducation,

suchaslackofmoneyandnofamilysupport.

Consequently,somesawexperienceratherthan

educationasthewayforward.Youngpeople

alsotalkedaboutchangingtheirsituation

throughwork,movingaway,gettingmarried

andstartingafamilyoftheirown.

Me personally, Im not gonna be poor

my whole lie, you get me? The way I

see it, i you cant beat em, join em, soIm going to be rich. Im getting a career

and a job I you have it in your head

and aim high, youll get there.


Forsomeparticipantsreligiousbeliefsactedas

adriverforapositiveframeofmind.Believingin

God,forexample,gavepeopleasenseofbeing

partofsomethingbiggerthanthemselves.This

helpedpeopletoputthingsintoperspective

andavoidanarrowfocusontheirpersonal

problems.Thisviewpointwasparticularlystrong

amongthecarerswhotookpartinthe

research.

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16/34

There is obviously a great strength in

the personal aith I you are thinking

o the man up there or the God in

charge, you are relating in a way to

something bigger than yoursel, and

not necessarily your immediate

problem.

(Woman, carer)

Anotherwayofputtingthingsintoperspective

wastothinkaboutotherpeopleintheworld

whoareworseoff.Bothyoungandolder

participantsdiscussedconcentratingonwhat

theydohave,forexamplebasicnecessities

suchasfoodandwater,andcomparingthis

with,say,peopleinAfricawhoarestarvingand

donothaveaccesstosafedrinkingwater.Lone

parentsalsodiscussedofferingthisperspective

totheirchildrenwhentheycomplainedabout

theircircumstances.

Not thinking about social evils

Adifferentapproachtocopinginvolved

ignoringthesituationratherthandealingwithit.

Notthinkingaboutsocialevilswasarecurrent

themewhenparticipantswereaskedabout

coping.Peoplesaidtheywouldjustgetonwith

itorputproblemstothebackoftheirmind.

I just think youve gotta get on with it.

There isnt, like I said, theres no coping

method youve gotta get on with it

you just dont think about you justthink, uck it, and carry on.


Therewerethreewaysinwhichpeoplestopped

themselvesfromthinkingaboutsocialevils:

distractingthemselvesbykeepingbusyand

ndingpracticalhelp;blockingouttheir

emotionsandnotlettingthemselvesgetupset;

ornotthinkingtoofaraheadandconcentrating

ononedayatatime.

Participantsdiscussedusinghouseworkand

collegecoursesaswaysofdistracting

themselvesfromtheirproblems.Notdwelling

ontheissuebutturningtofamilyandfriendsor

publicandthird-sectororganisationsfor

practicalhelpandsupportwasanotherwayof

coping(discussedfurtheronunderWhere

peoplelookforsupport).Thiscouldbeaboutaccessingactivitiesthroughtheseorganisations

todistractthemselves,orndinghelptodeal

withanimmediateproblem,suchashaving

nowheretostayandneedingaccommodation,

whilstignoringbiggerissues.

Onekeythemeassociatedwithnotthinking

aboutsocialevilswasnotgettingupset.

Suppressingemotionswasastrategy

commonlydiscussedbyfemaleparticipants.

Displayingemotion,eventooneself,was

interpretedasnotcopingwithsituations.

Sometimes you dont [cope] though,

sometimes you do just break down

and have a cry and you think, Oh I cant

deal with everything, but youve gotta

carry on. But then you think, Whatscrying gonna change? Youre sat here

crying wasting a ew extra minutes o

your lie.


Onesinglemothertalkedabouthavingdifculty

payingherrentandfeelingunderconstant

pressurebutresolvedthattherewasnopointin

cryingbecauseitwasnotgoingtogether

anywhere.Thisresonatedwithresponsesfrom

otherfemaleparticipantswhotalkedabout

cryingbeingpointlessandhavingtopull

yourselftogether.

Perhapsnotsurprisingly,olderparticipants

seemedlessinclinedtolooktothefutureasa

wayofcoping.Infact,onewayofignoring

socialevilswastotakeonedayatatimeand

notplanahead.Olderparticipantsdiscussed

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17/34

blockingoutthefuturebecausetheycould

foreseefurtherproblemsdowntheline,andjust

triedtodealwiththeirpresentsituationinstead.

I can cope with breaking it down into

dealing with my lie in days, rather than

planning or the week or the month or

the year. I dont do that because I just

nd it creates ar too much stress or

me to have to cope with that.

(Woman, unemployed)

What people do

Anotherinternalcopingstrategywasdoing

somethinginresponsetosocialevils.Three

typesofdoingstrategiesemerged:escaping

reality,ventingfrustrationandresortingtocrime.

Escapism

Escapismwasonemeansofcoping.Escapism

couldbeachievedthroughpositiveornegative

mediums.Positiveformsofescapismincluded

listeningtomusic,watchinglmsorreading.

Thisgaveanopportunitytoescapefromsocial

evilsforashortspaceoftime,andsubmerge

oneselfinactionalplace.Thistendedtobea

techniqueemployedbythecarersandlone

parentswhotookpartintheresearch.Young

peoplealsotalkedaboutlisteningtomusicto

escapeproblemsandhelpthemtorelax.

I can get lost in a good book, in a good

song, in a really antastic piece o

theatre or a good lm. I suppose its just

nding your release. I mean people nd

their release in drugs and alcohol. I

nd it in theatre and dance so Im a bit

cheesy, but I really dont care.

(Woman, carer)

Oneparticipantsaidhereadcomicsasawayof

coping.Whenexplainingwhyithelped,hesaid:

It just does, you escape, escapism, its

a release.

(Man, carer)

Morenegativeformsofescapismfrequently

discussedweredrinkingalcoholandtaking

drugs.Theseallowedparticipantstoescape

realityandtemporarilyforgetabouttheir

problems.Theywerethecopingstrategies

peopleusedeithertodealwithpovertyand

inequality,orfamilybreakdown.Inordertocope

withonesocialevil,theyturnedtoanother.

Drugsandalcoholweremainlysaidtobe

copingmechanismsfordealingwithpoverty.

Thiswasespeciallytrueofyoungpeoplewho

talkedaboutgoingoutwithfriendstoget

wreckedorgetmashedtoforgetnancial

worries.Ex-offendersandunemployedpeople

alsodiscussedbecominginebriatedtoforget

theburdenofpoverty.Apreviouslyunemployed

malecarerdiscussedusingmarijuanaasaway

ofrelaxingwhenhewasoutofworkand

thoughtlifewasfallingapart.Whensmoking

marijuana,youaresomellowyoudidntgive

amonkeysaboutanything.However,these

olderparticipantsacceptedthatinthelongrun,

turningtodrugsandalcoholcouldmakethe

situationworse.

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18/34

I suppose, in a way the drugs and

alcohol is a way o coping perhaps with

your situation to begin with and then it

becomes a problem in itsel.

(Man, ex-oender)

Lackoffamilysupport,feelingunlovedand

beingincarewereallstatedbyyoungpeopleas

reasonsforturningtoalcoholanddrugs.

Escapismthroughdrugsandalcoholallowed

youngpeopletoforgetaboutproblemsathome

orthefacttheydidnotlivewiththeirfamily.

Althoughyoungpeoplediscussedthisasaway

ofcopingwiththeirsituation,ultimatelyitcould

beconsideredaresultofnotcoping.

Venting rustration

Ventingfrustrationwasanotherformofcoping.

Thiscouldbedoneinanemotionalorphysical

way.Emotionswereventedthroughcrying,

writingpoetryortalkingtootherpeopleabout

problems.Thisallowedpeopletoworknegative

emotionsoutoftheirsystem.

Physicalactivitywasanotherwayofventing

frustration.Exercisewasagoodwaytogetrid

ofbuilt-uptensionsaccordingtothecarers

whotookpart,suchasswimming,dancingor

goingtothegym.

When I get angry I get really angry and

I let the little things build up Ill save it

and Ill go to a nightclub and I will dance

my butt o and just, I mean even acase o go to a gym, go on the

treadmill, nd a punch bag, beat the

hell out o that, beat the eeling like you

want to do it to someone else.

(Woman, carer)

I go swimming sometimes just to try

and work o the adrenalin that you

build up because you are that reaked

out [about problems].

(Woman, carer)

Amorenegativewayofphysicallyventing

frustrationwasthroughviolence.Thiscouldbe

physicalviolenceorverbalabuseagainst

others,orself-abuse.Thosewhohadresorted

toviolenceagainstotherpeopletalkedabout

losingtheirtemperwhenitwasnotnecessarily

theotherpersonsfaultandjustlosingyour

head. Thiswasdiscussedbybothyoungmen

andyoungwomenasareactiontofamily

breakdown,feelingunlovedandhavingno

money.Incontrast,anolderunemployedman

saidthathisviolencetowardsotherswas

causedbyviolenceanddisrespectshown

towardshisfamilybyotherpeople.

Ventingfrustrationcouldalsoresultinself-

harming.Bycausingthemselvesphysicalpain,

participantswereabletodealwiththeemotional

painoffamilybreakdown.Thiswasdiscussed

bytwofemaleparticipants,oneofwhomwasa

youngpersonlivinginahostel,theotheran

ex-offender.Throughself-harmingthe

participantssaidtheywereabletoventthe

angerandfrustrationtheyhadexperiencedasa

resultoffeelingunlovedduetobeingplacedin

thelooked-aftersystem.Again,thiscouldbe

perceivedasnotcopingwiththesituation.

Turning to crime

Turningtocrimewasanotherwaypeople

copedwithsocialevils.Personalrobbery,

stealing,shoplifting,prostitutionanddrug

dealingwerealldiscussedaswaysofmaking

easymoney.Onereasonforthiscouldbe

povertyandaneedtohavebasicnecessities.

Forexample,obtainingfoodforoneselforfamily

memberswasstatedasareasonforturningto

crimebythosewhohadatsomepointbeen

homeless.Anotherreason,citedbyyoung

women,couldbecopingwithconsumerismand

acquiringconsumergoodsthatwereotherwise

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19/34

outofreach.Forexample,inonegroupthe

youngwomendiscussedshopliftingasawayof

gettingholdofthehairandbeautyproducts

theycouldnotafford.Finally,ex-offenders

discussedcrimeassomethingpeopleresorted

toinordertopayfortheirdrughabit.

Where people look or support

Aswellasinternalandpersonalwaysofdealing

withsocialevils,participantsdiscussedexternal

copingstrategies.Here,copingwasseenas

seekingoracceptinghelpandsupportprovided

byfamilyandfriendsorsupportservices.All

thoseattendingtheworkshopsanddiscussion

groupshadreceivedsomeformofhelpand

supportfrompublicorthird-sectorservices,

includingthoseprovidedbytheorganisations

whichrecruitedthemtotakepartinthe

research.Participantswerealsoreceivinghelp

fromotherorganisationsandservices,suchas

probation,counselling,drop-incentresand

hostels.

Externalcopingmechanismsincludedseeking

bothemotionalandpracticalsupport.This

involveddiscussingtheproblemwithother

people,managingtheproblemandnding

solutions.

Emotional support

Acommonthemewastheimportanceofhaving

someonetotalktoinordertocope.Intherst

instance,participantsgenerallylookedtofamily

andfriendstoofferthisemotionalsupport.

Otherslookedtoprofessionalsupportservices

orotherserviceusersinsimilarsituations.

Familyandfriendswerefrequentlydiscussedas

offeringemotionalsupport.Talkingtofamilyand

friendswassaidtohelpgetitoffyourchest,

releasepent-upfrustrationanddealwith

stress.Womeninparticularemphasisedthe

importancetheygavetohavingfamilyand

friendstotalktowhengoingthroughdifcult

times.

Oneunemployedwomandescribedthe

emotionalsupportgiventoherbyhermother

whenshehadtogiveupwork.Shestruggled

nanciallyandsaidduringthistimehermum

hadbeenherrockbyconstantlytalkingtoher

aboutherproblemsandreassuringherthatshe

wasloved.

Serviceproviderswereanothersourceof

emotionalsupport,especiallyforthosewithout

familyorfriendstotalkto.Staffworkingforthe

organisationsthathelpedrecruitparticipants

weresaidtoofferemotionalsupportwhen

needed,throughtalkingtoparticipantsabout

theirproblems.Therewerealsoparticipants

whohaddecidedtheyneededprofessionalhelp

inordertodealwithparticularissues.For

example,oneunemployedmandiscussed

seekingcounsellinginordertohelphimstop

drinkingashefelthisalcoholaddictionwas

gettingoutofcontrol.

Viewsaboutthevalueofcounsellingasa

meansofalleviatingandcopingwithsocialevils

varied.Therewerebothyoungandolder

participantswhowerepositiveabout

counsellingservicesandfeltthatcounselling

hadhelpedthemcometotermswithpersonal

issues,suchasfamilybreakdown.Otheryoung

peoplesaidtheywouldrathertalktofriendsor

otherpeopleinsimilarsituationsthana

counsellor,orthattheywouldrathernottalk

aboutpastproblemsbutlooktothefuture

instead.

Emotionalsupportwasalsoofferedthrough

contactwithotherserviceusers.Meeting

peopleinsimilarsituationsmeantthat

participantswereabletodiscusstheirproblems

withpeoplewhocouldempathise.Thiscould

alsoresultinalternativesolutionstoproblems

beingsuggestedandadvicebeinggivenby

thosewithsimilarexperiences.Suchsocial

networksofpeopleinsimilarsituationsprovided

animportantcopingmechanismfordealing

withadeclineinasenseofcommunity,asthis

exchangebetweenagroupofloneparents

illustrates:

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20/34

F1: Its just a bit o socialisation isnt it, a

couple o times o month?

[Others agree]

F2: Getting together and having a

brew and

F1: By being in the group, youre

getting, like, a sense o that

community

Youngpeoplelivinginahostelwithotheryoung

peopleinsimilarsituationssuggestedthatthis

gaveasenseofeveryonebeinginthesame

boat.However,althoughyoungpeoplesaid

theywouldsocialisewitheachother,therewas

areluctancetoopenuptoothersstayinginthe

hostel;theysaidtheywouldprefertokeeptheir

problemstothemselves.Onereasongivenfor

thiswasanawarenessthatothershadtheir

ownproblemstodealwithandsowouldnot

wanttohearaboutotherpeoplesdifculties.

Anotherreasonwasaninsistencethatthey

weretryingtomoveonanddidnotwantto

dwellonthepast.

Practical support

Aswellasemotionalsupport,participants

lookedtofamily,friendsandsupportservices

forpracticalsupportsuchasnancialhelp,

childcare,housingandleisurepursuits.

Familyandfriendsweresaidtoofferpractical

supportthroughhelpwithnancialdifculties

andchildcare.Bothyoungerandolder

participantsdiscussednancialhelptheyhad

beengivenbyfamilymembers.Youngpeople

discussedreceivingnancialhelpfromtheir

parents.Insomecasesthetableshadturned

andolder,unemployedparticipantshadbeen

offeredmoneybytheirchildren.Two

unemployedmen,oneofwhomwashomeless,

discussedtheembarrassmentofhavingtheir

teenagechildrenoffertobuythemnewshoes.

Althoughgratefulforthesupport,theyfeltit

shouldbethembuyingthingsfortheirchildren

andnottheotherwayaround.

Familyandfriendsalsoofferedassistancewith

childcare,somethingthatwascrucialtosingle

parentsasitmeanttimetoyourselftoescape.

Singleparentswithoutsuchsupportfromfamily

orfriendsdiscussedfeelingisolated.

A lot o people had this sort o [help

rom amily] every other weekend. Ive

never had that that sort o isolates

you urther in that you cannot, you

know, because i youve got a ree

weekend, it gives you a chance to start

a new lie and meet other people.

And so I remember thinking, Oh, I wish

Id had that, because I never had that help as sort o, babysitting or just a

bit o reedom or stepping in or

anything like that. Im very much kind

o a lone soldier.


Supportservicesweresaidtoofferpractical

help,forexample,withhousingandarranging

activities.Althoughnotdiscusseddirectly,

organisationsthathadrecruitedunemployed

peopletotakepartintheresearchhadalso

helpedthemtondworkandapplyforjobs.

Accommodationhadbeenprovidedtomostof

thoseparticipatingwhoneededitbyvarious

charitableandvoluntaryorganisations.There

wereyoungpeople,unemployedpeopleand

ex-offenderswhowereeithercurrentlylivingin

hostelsorsupported/shelteredhousingorhad

doneatsomepoint.Thiswasseenashelping

peoplecopebygivingthemaroofovertheir

heads,therebymeetingabasicandimmediate

need.

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21/34

Drop-incentresandhostelsforhomeless

peopleanddrugaddictswerementionedas

offeringaccommodation,food,showersand

helpwithalcoholproblemsorgivingupdrugs.

Theimportanceofhavingastableenvironment

wasdiscussedashelpingpeopletocopewith

socialevilssuchaspoverty,crimeandviolence

anddrugsandalcohol.Onehomelessunemployedmandiscussedproblemshehad

facedinndingsomewheretostayashedid

nothaveadrugoralcoholproblemandsowas

noteligibletostayinmanyofthehostels.

Organisationsalsoprovidedpeoplewith

somethingtodo.Activitieswerearrangedfor

themsuchastripstomuseumsandtheme

parksorpotteryclasses.Loneparents

discussedtheseactivitiesasanopportunityto

getoutofthehouseandmixwithotheradults.

Childrenmightjoininorchildcaremightbe

arranged.

Someactivitiescouldbeconsideredanindirect

attempttochangebehaviour.Forexample,

thosewithalcoholanddrugaddictionsviewed

organisedsocialactivitiesasawayof

preventingthemfromdrinkingorusingdrugsas

itkeptthembusy.

I I were at home now, Id be on my

second and third pint so it gets me

out, getting me doing things, meeting

other people, instead o just sat at

home.

(Man, ex-oender)

Otheractivitiesonofferwereadirectattemptto

changebehaviour.Forexample,oneyoungman

talkedaboutangermanagementandrelaxation

coursesthathadbeenarrangedbytheYouth

OffendingTeam.Thetechniqueshehadlearnt

hadhelpedhimtostopbecomingovertlyangry

andaggressive.

People cope in dierent ways at dierent

times

Thegeneralconsensuswasthatdifferent

peoplehavedifferentwaysofcopingat

particularpointsintheirlives.Coping

mechanismstookbothpositiveandnegative

forms,forexampleescapismandventing

frustration,andwereusedbydifferentpeopleat

differenttimes.Althoughpersonal

circumstancesmightaffectthecoping

strategiesused,participantsalsodiscussed

individualchoicesandasenseofprideatnot

resortingtonegativeformsofcoping.

Thiswasespeciallythecasewithturningto

music,lmsandbookstoescapereality,rather

thandrugsandalcohol.

You couldnt get more stressed out

than me, panic attacks and everything,

but I still havent reduced mysel to

drugs and alcohol yet.

(Woman, carer)

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22/34

Again,whendiscussingthereleaseofbuilt-up

tension,participantsreportedhowpeoplecope

withsituationsindifferentways,someusing

positiveactivities,othersresortingtoviolence

andcrime.

[Dancing is] a good way to let o

steam instead o going out and

committing a crime or being violent

against someone that you dont know

or no reason whatsoever.

(Woman, carer)

Whentryingtomanagethesituationandcome

upwithsolutions,therewereparticipantswho

hadlookedtofamilyandfriendsorsupport

servicestohelpthemgettheirlifebackon

track,evenwhencommittingacrimemight

havebeenconsideredaneasieroption.

Howpeoplecopewasthereforesaidtodepend

ontheperson,aswellastheirsituation,

summedupbythiscomment:

Everyones gone through dierent

things in their lie. Everyone has their

own way o coping. You have amily

around you; you write it down on a

notepad; you sit and talk to someone.

Like people have therapy. You drink,

you smoke. Everyone has their own

way. It depends, with the person, it

depends how strong you are, mentally

and physically. Some people can go

through the maddest things you could

ever think o and they still cope with it,

without having to talk to anyone,

without having to go to another

country, without having to want to killthemsel, you know what I mean?

Everyone is like dierent, I think.


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23/34

What should be done about socialevils?

Throughouttheworkshopsandgroup

discussionsparticipantswerealsoaskedwhat

couldorshouldbedonetoaddressthesocial

evilstheyfacedintheirday-to-daylives.When

discussingtheroleofothers,participantssawthetaskasprimarilybeingtheresponsibilityof

thegovernmentandpoliticians.Aneedfora

moresocietalapproachwasalsomentioned,

withthemediatakingmoreresponsibility,as

wellasbusiness/nancialandreligious

institutions.Theindividualwasalsoseentohave

anintegralparttoplayintacklingtodayssocial

evils.

Government and politicians

Bothgovernmentandpoliticianswereseenas

havingakeyandvariedroletoplayin

respondingtothedamageandmiserywhich

couldbecausedbysocialevils.Thiscould

involveactingasanenforcer,aneducatoranda

distributor.Theseroleswerenotseenas

mutuallyexclusive,buttherewasnoconsensus

aboutwhichwasthemostsignicant.They

tendedtoemergeoutofdiscussionaboutthe

perceivedfailuresofgovernment.

Theenforcementroleidentiedforgovernment

aroseinevitablyoutofpeoplesconcernsabout

lackofdiscipline,whichinturnrelatedtothe

declineofvaluesandcommunity.Forexample,

itwasarguedthatnotenoughwasdoneto

tackleantisocialbehaviour,particularlyamongst

youngpeople.However,itwasfeltthat

governmentsometimeswanteditbothways,

forexampleenforcingasmokingbanwhilst

raisingmoneyfromsmokingthroughtax

revenues.

I the government dont want us

smoking in certain areas why would

you sell us the product in the rst

place? Youre selling us a product that

says smoking kills. Youre still selling it.


Theeducativeroleidentiedforgovernment

relatedprimarilytotheperceiveddeclineof

valuesandfamily.Itwasargued,forexample,

thatgovernmentshoulddomoretopromote

traditionalfamilyvaluesandensurethat

childrenandyoungpeoplelearntaboutvalues

bothathomeandinschool,asthis

conversationwithinagroupofloneparents

illustrates:

F: educating amilies, parents,

children about values and you know,

where they can go, give them a

direction in lie

Interviewer: So its not just education

in schools, its, because you mentioned

parents there and

F: Yeah, parents, yeah, adults and so

and so.

Interviewer: Where does that

happen?

F: Maybe to make it compulsory

to have parenting classes children

and maybe amily classes.

Thedistributiveroleofgovernmentwasborn

outofconcernsaboutavarietyofsocialevils,

includingpovertyandimmigration.Theseinturn

couldgiverisetocallsforgreaterfairnessand

prioritisation.Forexample,participants

underlinedtheimportanceofgovernment

playingaroleinensuringamoreequal

distributionofwealth.

23


24/34

[Government have] obviously got

unding or housing, how much they

can allocate to each person per year,

whatever the budget is. And they must

have money or NHS and things like

that. Maybe they should equal it out

better.


Arelatedconcernherewasthatcutbacks

tendedtodisproportionatelyaffectthepoorest

insociety.Concernsabouttheperceived

unfairnessbroughtaboutbyimmigrationledto

callsforBritishpeoplesneedsandintereststo

beprioritised,asthisconversationbetween

youngpeoplelivinginahosteldemonstrates:

M: Theres a housing shortage

basically and all these houses are been

took up by immigrants

F: by people rom other countries,

why? Its our country, we should have

priority.

Thiswasaparticularissueforyoungpeople,

whowereconcernedaboutsecuringhousing

andfeltthisshouldbeagovernmentpriority:

Just think with that huge shopping

centre. They could have builtthousands o fats with that, but they

choose to build a shopping centre. Its

priorities, theyve got their priorities

completely wrong, and they dont care

enough.


Inadditiontothecollectiveroleidentiedfor

government,participantsfeltstronglythat

politicianshadanimportantindividualroleto

play.Thiscouldrelatetowhattheydid,how

theylivedandhowtheyrespondedtoothers.

Theunderlyingconcernwasoftenthat

politicianswereremotefromordinarypeoples

lives.Participantsarguedthatpoliticiansshouldlooktotheirownactionsandensurethatwhat

theydidsetanappropriateexample.Thiswas

relatedtoaviewthatpoliticiansshouldtake

responsibilityforpractisingwhatthey

preached.

Politicians [are] at the top o the ladder,

I mean, I know they do come under,

they do get some stick and I, I think

rightly so, because i youre setting

yoursel up that high and to take a job

with that amount o responsibility, they

deserve the fak that they get. I mean,

how can you have two sets o

standards?

(Man, lone parent)

Howpoliticianslivedwasfelttomatterinthe

sensethattheycouldlearnsomethingfrom

livingwithinordinarypeoplesmeans.Withinthe

differentgroups,respondentsdiscussedthe

ideathatonewayofmakingpoliticians

understandwastomakethemliveonbenets

forawhile,illustratedherebyaconversation

betweenagroupofcarers:

24


25/34

M: Who was the guy that went and

lived on state benet or a week?

Interviewer: Michael Portillo.

M: Michael Portillo, now he did it or a

week he wants to try it or a year, not

a week because at the end o that

week he is, like, Im going home to my

big mansion with my big driveway.

F: And hes got something to look

orward to and he knows that he is

not going to be hungry and cold at the

end o that week Whereas i he had

to do it or longer then he wouldnt

have that thing to look orward to.

Therewaswidespreadconcernthatpoliticians

didnotlistenenoughandthattheyshoulddo

moretoensurethatpeopleknewthatthey

caredabouttheproblemstheyexperiencedin

theirday-to-daylives.

The government need to stop, listen

and take action.

(Woman, unemployed)

The media

Alongsidegovernment,theperceivedpower

androleofthemediatendedtoprovokethe

liveliestdiscussionamongstparticipants.This

focusedbroadlyonthreeissues:whatthe

mediadidwrong,theeffectthishadonsociety

andindividuals,andwhatshouldbedone

aboutit.

Therewasacommonviewthatthemediawas

selectiveandtendedtofocusonbadnews

includingviolence,sleazeandscandal,asthese

carersdiscussed:

M: [I] there is something good being

done the media doesnt want to know,

do you know what I mean?

F: They only want to know the bad

things.

M: Yes the sleaze and the scandal

and all this.

Asecondareaofconcernaboutmediafocus

relatedtotheglamorisationofcelebritiesand

celebritystatus,evenwheretheywereinvolved

insocialevilsthemselvessuchasdrugtaking

andviolence.

I think when youre talking about the

celebrity thing nowadays, you know, I

mean, everybodys a celebrity. You go

in the big [brother] house and you

come out a celebrity. These people are

nothing ... theyre not a positive role

model The press ollow them and

glamorise them, and then you see

young people are looking at themthinking is this good?


Its the same with some o these

ootball stars ending up in trouble.

Okay, so theyve gone out and theyvegot in a ght. Okay, they shouldnt have

done it. Why is it spread across every

paper? So the kids are saying, hes a

great ootball player. Hes making all

this money He can get away with

that, you know? I its taken to court, it

doesnt matter, he can pay that.

(Man, lone parent)

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26/34

Thesethingswereseenashavinganegative

effectonsocietyinavarietyofways.For

examplethefocusonbadnewscouldleadto

lowmoraleandpromotefear.Similarlytoomuch

concentrationonthelivesofcelebritiescould

createunattainableaspirationsforordinary

people.Itcouldalsohaveanegativeeffecton

anindividualsidentity.Forexample,thecombinedeffectoftalkingupthelivesof

glamorouscelebritiesandtalkingdownpeople

sufferingfromobesityinthegeneralpopulation

couldbedamagingtopeoplesself-esteem.

Participantsfeltthatthesolutionlayinamore

responsiblemediawithmorebalanced

coverageofnewswhichwouldincludegood

newsstoriesaboutthesuccessesofordinary

people.

We want to hear nice things now and

again like the gentleman here was

saying, it would be nice to hear oh, Mrs

so and sos cat was helped and she is

really happy now There are so many

negatives in the press. I think its bad or

everybodys morale.

(Woman, carer)

Promote success stories every week

o some people, you know, not the

children that have necessarily gone othe rails but the ones that have done

some good in the community.


Arelatedperspectivewasthatlocalmediahad

aparticularlyimportantroletoplayinproviding

informationandnewsofrelevancetolocal

communities.

Business and nancial institutions

Discussionoftheroleandresponsibilityofbusinessandnancialinstitutionsinrelationto

socialevilstendedtofocuslargelyonbanks

andcreditcompanies.Atthemostbasiclevel,

thenecessityofbanksatallwasquestionedby

participants,andtheirrelationshipwithpoverty

andconsumerismwasinterpretedasa

particularlydamagingcombination.Concern

wasexpressedabouttheroleofbanksand

creditcompaniesinrelationtomotivating

consumerismandtheeffectonthepoorest

peopleinsociety.

Poor areas renowned or low

income, unemployment and all the rest

o it, and that is where all these credit

card people hit. They go there

because they know these are low-

income amilies, they are unemployed

amilies, single mums, single dads,

whatever, you know, well get them a

credit card.

(Man, carer)

Participantsviewedbanksasbothtaking

advantageoftheaspirationsofthemost

vulnerablepeopleinsocietyand

disproportionatelypenalisingpoorerpeoplewho

wereexperiencingproblemswithdebt.Thiswas

consideredespeciallyproblematicinthecontext

ofthelevelofprotsbankswereseentomake.

26


27/34

You havent got a job, you cant get a

bank account, you cant set up a direct

debit and that way you are penalised

youve not set up a direct debit, theyre

going to charge an extra 3 to pay that

bill and the government in my

opinion, you know, and all these big

credit companies are doing nothing,

nothing to get people out o it.

(Man, carer)

Wherebigbusinesswasdiscussedmore

widely,theotherissuethatemergedwasits

effectonsmallbusiness,forexamplethe

damagingeffectofsupermarkets(Tescowas

singledout)onsmalllocaltraders.Thiswas

implicitlyseenascontributingtoadeclineof

community.Participantsviewsabout

supermarketswerenotwhollynegative,

however,anditwasacceptedthattheydid

theirbitforthecommunityinsomeinstances.

Moregenerally,businesswasseenashavingan

importantroletoplayinrelationtolocal

communities,bothbyinvestinginlocal

infrastructureandinitiativesandincreating

sustainableemploymentopportunities,

particularlyforyoungpeople.

Big businesses should be investing in

the local community more because

they dont do much o that.


There should be [an] incentive

scheme or [big businesses] taking on

children, straight out o school, with the

promise o an apprenticeship or some

sort o trade in hand that they can

move the next step up.


Religious institutions

Althoughreligiousbeliefemergedasan

individualcopingmechanism,asdescribed

underCopingwithsocialevils,discussionofthe

roleofreligiousinstitutionsinsocietywasless

prominent.Althoughsomeparticipantsfeltthat

theyhadaroletoplay,particularlyinpromoting

values,othersquestionedtheirrelevancein

todayssociety.Therewasanimplicit

acceptancehoweverthattheymayhavegreater

relevanceinparticularminorityethnic

communities.

Notwithstandingthisgeneralambivalence,there

wasaviewthatreligionhadaroletoplay.For

example,itwassuggestedthattheChristian

churchcoulddomoretoputthemoralbre

backinsociety.Anexamplegivenwasits

potentialroleinrelationtoeducatingyoung

peopleaboutvalues.

The church should do a lot more

Put the moral bre back into Britain

because its gone. As ar as Imconcerned, Britains kaput. It hasnt

been great or about 40 years.

(Woman, unemployed)

Howeverthevalueofseculareducationandthe

roleofreligiousinstitutionsinthisrespectwere

notseenasmutuallyexclusive.

27


28/34

The role o the individual

Inadditiontodiscussionoftherolesand

responsibilitiesofbiginstitutions,theroleofthe

individualinrelationtosocialevilsstimulateda

lotofdiscussion.Thiswasseparatefrom,but

clearlyrelatedto,thewayinwhichindividuals

copedwithsocialevilsintheirday-to-daylives.Therewasastrongsensethatparticipants

acrossthegroupsfeltthatindividualactionhad

aroletoplayalongsidethatoftheinstitutions

discussedabove.

Implicitinpeoplesaccountswasasensethat

personalresiliencewasimportantinrelationto

theproblemsrepresentedbyandcreatedby

socialevils.Thisinvolvedpersonalresponsibility

andpersonalaspiration.

I think that every citizen should realise

that they have rights, but they also

have responsibilities and it should be

impressed on everybody that they

might have the right to do something,

but they also have a responsibility to

everybody else to do it in a civilised

way.

(Woman, carer)

Its up to us to change our lives. Thats

the way I see it, yeah? I dont care howhard your lie has been, whatever

youve been [through] everyone can

turn around their lie.


Therewasacommonlyheldbeliefthatrights

needtobeseeninthecontextofresponsibilities

and,indeed,needtobeshapedbythem,for

exampleintermsoftheboundariessetby

parentsfortheirchildren.Parentsandother

individualswereseenashavingaresponsibility

toactaspositiverolemodelstoyoungpeople

Personalaspirationinparticularsatalongside

theimportanceoftolerance(includinglearning

fromandrespectingdifferentcultures)and

altruism.Therewasanemergingsensethat

peopleneedtostrikeabalancebetweentheseforces,thatbeingmoresatisedcouldbe

combinedwithbeinglessmaterialistic.

Theresponsibilitiesandaspirationsof

individualswereseentoextendbeyondtheir

ownlives.Theimportanceofindividualsworking

collectivelytoinuencebiginstitutionssuchas

governmentwasnoted.However,therewere

alsoperceivedlimitstotheefcacyofindividual

action,evenwhenexpressedcollectively.This

waspartlydiscussedintermsofself-imposed

limitsbyindividuals,forexample,becauseofa

lackofwill,andpartlyintermsoflimitson

individuals,forexample,becauseclasscould

stillinuencewhoisactuallyheardinsociety.

None o us are posh. I you can hear

the way were speaking, weve got a bit

o a [regional] accent So i we went

to the Houses o Parliament, they

would not listen to us at all.


Anditalsorelatedtolimitstothepowerof

ordinarypeopletoinuencestructuraland

politicalchange,asthisconversationbetween

twocarershighlights:

F: Its very dicult because individual

people eel incapable o [making a

dierence], but I think nowadays

people power is becoming more

evident. You get marches. You dont

think it is?

M: I mean they highlight a cause, but I

dont think they solve it. I mean youve

28


29/34

got the stu going on here with Tibet at

the moment, I mean youd think China

would sit up and listen but they dont ..

Its like the war in Iraq, they do marches,

you highlight a cause but whats

done about it? At the end o the day

nothing, they are still ghting Iraq. Theyare still occupying Tibet.

29


30/34

Conclusion

The participants and the problems

Thosewhotookpartinthisphaseofthe

researchhadexperienceofarangeof

interconnectedsocialproblems,whichhad

resultedinlimited,lostorwastedopportunities.Thisconclusionconsidershowvaryinglevelsof

controlover,andresponsibilityfor,truncated

opportunitiesinterplayedwithpeoples

acceptanceandnon-acceptanceofsocialevils.

Distinctionscanalsobemadebetweenwhether

peoplehadsuccumbedto,orresisted,social

evils,whethertheylookedtotheindividualor

thecollectiveforsolutionsand,ultimately,how

andwhethertheycopedwithparticular

situations.However,itisimportanttoremember

thatthesedistinctionsarenotmutuallyexclusive

butareinterwovenandcomplex.

Asinphaseoneoftheresearch,itwasclearthat

thetensocialevilswereinterconnectedinboth

theperceptionsandexperiencesofparticipants

experiencesofonesocialevilcouldleadto

anotherandcontinueinaperpetuatingcycle.

Participantsweretypicallyvulnerableandsocially

excludedandgenerallycamefromlowersocio-

economicbackgroundsandhadexperienced

inequality,eitherthroughoutoratcertainstages

oftheirlives.Theydescribedafeelingoflivingin

aworldfullofrecurrentandchallengingsocial

problems.Asaresult,theywereabletodescribe

theteninterrelatedsocialevilsinrelationtoboth

theirownpersonalexperiencesandthoseof

familyandfriends,aswellasreectonsocietyas

awhole.

Experiences o and reactions to social evils

Ageandlifeexperiencewerefoundtohavethe

biggestimpactonexperiencesof,andreactions

to,socialevils.Youngpeoplegenerallytendedto

looktothefutureandhavehigheraspirations

andbetterexpectations.Youngpeople,ex-

offendersandunemployedpeopletendedtobe

moreinclinedtoturntonegativecoping

mechanisms,suchasdrugsandalcohol,than

carersandloneparents.However,therewere

alsodifferenceswithinthesesub-groups,as

reactionstosocialevilsvariedfromone

participanttoanother,andfromonesituationto

another.Akeyoverarchingfactorwhichemerged

wastheextenttowhichparticipantsfelttheyhad

anypowerorcontroloverparticularsituations.

Control, responsibility and acceptance/non-acceptance o social evils

Thenotionoftruncatedopportunitieswhich

emergedinphaseonere-emergedduring

phasetwo,withsocialevilsresultingin,and

arisingoutof,bothinternalandexternal

constraints.Opportunitieshadnotonlybeen

limitedatthebeginningoflife,forexamplebeing

bornintopoverty,butlostorwastedthroughout

lifebecauseofcircumstances(e.g.thedeathof

apartner)orpersonalactions(e.g.drugand

alcoholaddictions).Varyinglevelsofcontrol,

responsibilityandacceptance oftruncated

opportunitieshadimpactedonresponsesto

socialevils.Thislevelofcontroland

responsibilitycouldinuencewhetherornot

peopleacceptedthesocialevilsinsocietyand

theirpersonalsituations,ordidnotacceptthem

andtriedtochangetheirsituationorinuence

thedirectionofsocietyasawhole.However,

truncatedopportunitieswererecognisedas

impactingonapersonsabilitytochangetheir

individualsituationorinuencethosewhocould

makeadifference.

Feelingatalosstochangethesituation,

participantsmightignoretheirconcerns,

succumbtosocialevilsorresistsocialevilsand

looktomorepositiveformsofescapismand

ventingfrustration.Thosewhofeltunableto

controltheirsituationonoccasionignoredthe

situation,bydistractingthemselves,blocking

outtheiremotionsorrefusingtolooktoofarinto

thefuture.Unabletocontrolthesituation,

womeninparticulardiscussedhowtheywould

controltheiremotionsinstead.Acceptingthe

situation,theywouldsuppresstheiremotionsso

thatdailylifecouldcontinue.Whenolderpeople

feltalackofcontrol,lowerexpectationsand

aspirationsresultedinnotlookingtoofarahead

andjusttakingonedayatatime.Older

30


31/34

participantsweretypicallymoreinclinedto

acceptlimitedopportunities,bothinthepresent

andthefuture.

Anotherresponsetofeelingalackofcontrol

andresponsibilitywastosuccumbtosocial

evils.Livinginpoverty,withlimitedopportunities

forimprovementintheirnancialsituationandalackoffamilysupport,resultedinyoungpeople,

ex-offendersandunemployedpeopleturningto

drugsandalcoholorviolenceasawayof

coping.Ultimately,however,thesenegative

formsofescapismandventingfrustrationcould

beviewedasevidencethatpeoplearenot

coping,butsimplyacceptingthesituationand

ndingareleaseforthefrustrationandsenseof

lossofopportunityleftbehind.

Morepositiveformsofescapismandventing

frustrationcouldalsobeusedinresponseto

feelingpowerlesstochangeasituationor

society.Acceptingthesituationortheexistence

ofsocialevilscouldsimplymeanndingavent

forthefrustrationleftbehind,through,for

example,writingorexercising.Participants

discussedwithasenseofpridehowtheydid

notsuccumbbutresistedsocialevilsand

insteadlookedtomusic,dance,readingand

lmtoescapereality.Suchcopingstrategies

werecommonlyemployedbycarersin

particularandgenerallyemployedbythose

willingandabletolookatthebiggerpicture,

thosewhoturnedtoreligionorthosewho

rememberedtherewereothersintheworldina

worsesituation.

Changing personal situations

Afeelingofcontrolandresponsibilitycould

resultinpeoplenotacceptingtheirsituationand

makinganattempttochangeitindividually,or

lookingtootherstoworktochangeit

collectively.Thosewhofelttheyhadsome

controlandwereresponsibleforchangingtheir

personalsituationmighttryandndemotional

orpracticalsupportinordertodoso.This

couldmeanndinghelptocopeordealwith

socialevils,throughfamilyandfriendsor

supportservices.Notacceptingthesituation

couldalsomeanhavingaspirationsforabetter

qualityoflife.Theseaspirationswereoften

discussedbyyoungpeople,whotalkedabout

ndinglove,gettingmarriedandstartinga

familyoftheirownasasolutiontoacurrentlack

offamilysupport.Thiscontrastedwiththe

viewpointsofolderpeoplewithlower

aspirations,whoweremoreinclinednottothinkaboutthefuture.Therewerealsoyoungpeople

whodiscussededucationandacareeras

leadingtoabetternancialsituationand

thereforebetterqualityoflife.Educationwas

seenasakeyescaperoutefromundesirable

situations.

However,therewasanacceptancethat

truncatedopportunitiesmadetheseaspirations

hardertoreachandresultedinsomepeople

turningtocrimeinordertochangetheir

situations.Peopleweresaidtoturntoalternative

lifestylesinordertoachievetheiraspirationsif

theycouldnotbeachievedbylegalmeans.

Crimeallowedpeopletofeeltheycouldgain

controlofasituationthattheyotherwisefeltno

powerover.Therewasadegreeofacceptance

amongstthosewhotookpartintheresearch

thatlimitedopportunitiesoftenresultinpeople

turningtocrime,eithertomeetbasic

necessitiesduetopoverty,ortoachievewhat

wasotherwiseconsideredtobeoutofreach.

Materialaspirationsthatwereunobtainable

withoutturningtocrimewereseenasaresultof

aconsumersociety,individualismandgreed

demonstratingfurtherlinksbetweentheten

socialevils.

Infuencing society and the political agenda

Forthosewhofelttheycouldindividually

inuencesocietyasawhole,taking

responsibilitycouldinvolveattemptingto

inuenceotherpeopleinsocietyinapositive

way,forexampleencouragingyoungpeopleto

respectothers,ortryingtoinuenceresponsible

bodies,suchasgovernmentandbigbusiness.

Loneparentsinparticularfeltresponsiblefor

encouragingtheirchildrentounderstandright

andwrong,inasocietywherevalueswere

consideredtobedeclining.Therewasa


32/34

commonbeliefexpressedbyparticipantsthat

alongsiderightswereresponsibilities.Inorderto

bearesponsiblecitizen,aspirationsmustbe

balancedbyaltruismandtolerance,possibly

resultinginpeopleholdinglessmaterialistic

values.Beingresponsiblewasalsofeltto

extendbeyondthelifeoftheindividual,to

joiningthecollectivetoputpressureonbiginstitutions.Thisnon-acceptanceofsocialevils

was

readingevils unheard groups

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