Teenagers let down

John O'Dea's letter, Teenage Behaviour (January 30), gets away from the previous notion that weird hairstyles and unconventional clothing lead to casual sex, and raises two important points which I regard as separate issues.

The first is of single mothers and I will not argue against the fact that there are many who do not receive the support of their family. However, the life stories of many of these girls do not paint a picture of drunken abandon and one-night stands (I admit that a few do). A great many have, at some point, been let down by their own families. They have been betrayed and abandoned by "boyfriends" after failed attempts to form a stable relationship. Already of low self-esteem, their pregnancy makes them ashamed as they are stigmatised by our society. Having no one to turn to at this traumatic time, it is at this point that they may (but not all do) be tempted to abuse alcohol or drugs as a substitute for human love. And so drink or drugs can play a part in their downfall, but not from the girls freely offering themselves, as Mr O'Dea suggests.

The second point is the sale of alcohol, distribution of drugs and entrance to clubs in Paceville to minors. The long-term answer must be through education, but in the short term the law should be enforced by the police making irregular, unannounced, raids on these clubs and bars on weekends. The owners and staff have shown that they cannot be trusted to comply with the regulations and must be prosecuted each and every time. The raids should continue until the owners and staff realise that they can no longer get away with flouting the law with impunity. Perhaps "naming and shaming" would have an effect.

The unhelpful remark made by the Assistant Police Commissioner, Michael Cassar, recently at a national conference was that the punishment for those who breach the law regarding the sale of alcohol and entrance to places of entertainment to minors left much to be desired. That may well be the case, but this should not be used as an excuse for non-enforcement of the law. Prosecutions should continue, no matter how inadequate the penalties are, while the politicians and lawmakers must work to increase the punishments.

Finally, does Mr O'Dea think that possibly, just possibly, those underage girls were in fact winding him up by inviting him, a 61-year-old man, to have sex with them? Is it outside the realm of probability that they were, in fact, just showing off in front of their peers to cause him and his companions acute embarrassment and that, had he tried accepting their offer, they would have screamed and brought the place down?