JCCV plan to combat underage drinking
THE Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV) is continuing its campaign against underage drinking and has recently conducted focus groups with Melbourne's Jewish schools to look at ways of tackling the issue.
AJN STAFF
THE Jewish Community Council of Victoria (JCCV) is continuing its campaign against underage drinking and has recently conducted focus groups with Melbourne’s Jewish schools.
The meeting was organised after the JCCV’s social justice committee formed a working group earlier this year to tackle the issues of teen alcohol abuse.
As a result of the focus group discussions, which included principals and other senior school representatives, the JCCV and Jewish school leaders recommended a zero-tolerance approach to underage drinking across the community. This includes at synagogues, religious functions, such as bar mitzvahs, school events and private ­parties.
“Melbourne’s Jewish community can no longer pretend that underage drinking is not a problem. We have reached the point where every one of its members has to take some responsibility to help solve it,” JCCV president John Searle said.
“The message from the focus group confirmed the fears many hold. All agreed that underage binge drinking and general alcohol abuse are increasing among young Jews.”
The JCCV, together with Jewish schools, have committed to further research on the issues of underage binge drinking, as well as implementing educational strategies. While they recognised they were part of the solution, the schools also noted that a “unified and strategic community approach” was the key.
The JCCV-school meeting recommended a change in community attitude that having fun had to involve drinking alcohol.
“The JCCV already has the commitment of most Jewish day schools and will request the endorsement of the Rabbinical Council of Victoria and the Progressive and Conservative rabbinate,” Searle said.
“Without the whole-hearted engagement of parents, in particular, and of other communal members and organisations, we cannot make further progress.”
In coming weeks, the JCCV will hold focus groups with parents and with Jewish teenagers to gather more information about underage drinking. It is expected that any strategies formulated in the Jewish community will be shared with Victoria’s other ethnic and religious ¬≠communities.
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