Gareth Edwards: Should young pull rank in cab queue?

Published on Thursday 9 April 2009 10:05

ANYONE who has waited in one of the city's taxi ranks on a Friday or Saturday night would surely agree they are no place for children.

Full of mainly drunk, always loud and occasionally abusive or violent people, all jostling for a cab, it could be an intimidating, even frightening experience for a younger teenager.

But the rise of the teenage disco means it is something more and more young girls are doing in Edinburgh.

The concern of Edinburgh's Girl Guides commissioner Margaret Winter, though, is as much for those who choose to avoid the potential mayhem.

A major survey by the Guides has found many find city centre taxi ranks at night intimidating but are still determined at the age of 16 and 17 to have their independence. Instead of queuing, a significant number are choosing to take greater risks such as accepting a lift home with a driver who has been drinking.

Ms Winter's suggestion of a taxi rank where under-18s would get priority has prompted a debate about the safety of the city centre and the freedom given to young girls.

The starting point for her was the Girls Shout Out! survey for which 1000 Guides were questioned across the UK, including more than 400 from Scotland, about the risks they faced and how they were able to deal with them.

Among the concerning findings were one in six over-16-year-olds saying they had accepted a lift in a car when they knew the driver had been drinking, while nearly a quarter had been unable to get home after a night out.

The girls' own anxieties about using taxi ranks, many said they felt unsafe, led Girlguiding UK to put the youths-only taxi rank idea forward.

The separate rank would be monitored by a marshal and set up away from regular taxi ranks, with girls asked to show ID in order to get a taxi. Ms Winter suggests the rise of alcohol-free under-18 discos had increased concerns about taxi ranks.

"This has come from the girls themselves and I think mainly it is the older guides, between 16 and 18, who are concerned about getting home after a night out," she says.

"For a lot of the girls, the option of calling their parents is either something they cannot do, or they are maybe at an age when they are looking for more independence, so it is something they would rather not do. A separate youth rank would give them a safe option."

Some people have responded to the idea by saying that girls should not be out, or at least their parents should be on hand to pick them up. Ms Winter says that the issue isn't as simple as that, highlighting concerns that over-anxious parents risk restricting their teenage daughters' development in their efforts to protect them.

The survey found that 43 per cent of girls between ten and 18 felt they were not given enough responsibility, and that friends with nervous or overprotective parents found it harder to assess threats or handle difficult situations.

"These are girls of 16 or 18, who need that bit of freedom and responsibility," she says. "They should not just be kept inside, they need to get out and experience the world."

The girls' fears about taxi ranks could be heightened by "sensational" media coverage of certain crime, particularly those involving children, which means that young girls now have a "heightened awareness" of danger, the Guides report suggests.

Despite this, most admitted to taking potentially risky actions such as shortcuts down darkened alleys or listening to iPods while walking home alone at night.

Dot Horne, a co-ordinator with the 6VT youth cafe on Victoria Terrace, recognises the issues involved but questions whether a separate taxi rank is the answer.

"The youngsters we speak to do generally feel Edinburgh is quite safe, but an adult rank could be quite frightening, especially for a young girl on her own," she says. "Now that the council has taxi marshals there is at least an adult figure to look out for them.

"My concern about a separate rank for girls under 18 is that it could become a target for trouble. Perhaps a better plan for personal safety would be to plan ahead and book a taxi to pick them up from the venue."

The city council points to its taxi marshals as a sensible step to make ranks in the city centre less intimidating.

"The role of our marshals is to keep the queues orderly, to provide a reassuring presence and to ensure all who use them get a taxi," a council spokesman says.

"We will be happy to discuss with the Girl Guides any concerns or suggestions they have around the safety of young people in Edinburgh."

Ann Elledge, director of personal safety at the Suzy Lamplugh Trust, the UK's national charity for personal safety, agrees that some risks are needed to help girls develop.

"As girls grow up and become independent they need to learn how to stay safe," she says. "It is necessary for them to take acceptable risks once they are equipped with the appropriate information and skills to assess and deal with such risks. They should then be able to develop their own personal safety strategies."