YWCA England & Wales

YWCA is the leading charity working with the most disadvantaged young women in England and Wales.
YWCA ywr brif elusen syn gweithio gydar menywod ifanc mwyaf difreintiedig yng Nghymru a Lloegr.

Welsh

What we do

Your stories

I felt invisible

Michelle: I am writing in support of young mums, having faced a similar situation to a lot of these stories and I had my son at 24!! (but I look younger). I got a degree, got a job with a salary of 26k, we bought a house, then three years later got married and fell pregnant. I worked with 9 women aged 34 to... more


Young mums are not scum!

Bubblees: Young mums have always got a bad press. People assume we are all single, skint and useless. I had my daughter when I was 17. I am ... more

Image for: Don't get into debt Don't get into debt

Don't get into debt: "I'm on benefits and everything just seemed to get really, really tight. All these people were emailing me about loans and they was... more

  • I can't win Cassie: I'm 17 and I recently moved into a hostel. I applied for benefits about a week ago because I'm living on £30 a week. I find the hostel a bit... more
  • Any job would do Sammy: I don't really know what I want to do in the future. I've applied for a few shop jobs but haven't found any work. I just need a chance to get... more
  • Appalling careers advice Jo: The careers advice I got at school was appalling. I had one interview with a careers advisor and that was it. At the end of the interview he... more
  • Painting her future Hazel: I did a college course in painting and decorating. I thought about hair and beauty but there isn't really any money in it and so many women ... more
  • Unfair pay between men and women Anna: My boyfriend’s a plumber and he was on much more money than me when I was an apprentice. He’s still on double what I was on. He was on £... more
  • My step-dad abused me Jasmine: My step-dad mentally, physically and sexually abused me. He used to hit me, do stuff to me and mess with my head. I used to cry all the time... more
  • I'm just like any other mum Gemma: I have an 11-month-old son called Ellis. I fell pregnant with him when I was 14. When I went for my scan the lady scanning me told me I should... more
  • Generations of love and learning Karen: I had my son 26 years ago when I was just 14. My mother and father were both working class and extremely moralistic so they decided that the... more

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fact

56% of British black women prisoners had been imprisoned for a drug related offence, more than twice the proportion of white British women

their stories

their stories
A lot of things went wrong in my life. I dropped out of school and couldn't cope. I tried to be a rebel and everything was going wrong.

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fact

From April 2007 to March 2008 we helped 724 young women gain basic skills

fact

fact

Every week two women are killed by current or ex-partners

fact

After having a child, many women become trapped in part-time, low-paid and low-status work