No Space of their Own: Young People and Social Control in Australia

This book was first published in 1990. In Australia, as in other Western societies, young people are facing a crisis. Structural changes in the economy have fundamentally altered the transition from child to adult. Many young people must choose between exploited labour and crime. Rob White cuts through the political rhetoric and media images of young people, and exposes the underlying trends of society's response to the 'youth problem'. He shows how well-meaning programmes intended to 'help' young people in fact serve as agents of social control, reducing and regulating the space they can occupy. All around Australia, governments are treating the symptoms but ignoring the causes. The school system, training programmes, youth workers, campaigns against drug abuse and crime - all exert pressure on young people to conform to the demands of a society in which they have no say.