In July 1999, The Research Centre, City College Norwich was approached by GFS (Girl’s Friendly Society) Platform to undertake an evaluation of GFS Platform Great Yarmouth because of it’s almost unique way of working with young women between the ages of 14 and 25 who are either pregnant or who have children.  All the Project’s activities are underpinned by an ethos of building self-esteem and the belief that by raising a young woman’s self-esteem she will learn to value herself, her role as a parent and her children, thus breaking the cycle of social exclusion for herself and her family.
This evaluation is underpinned by feminist epistemology; the belief that women’s lived experiences are a source of knowledge.  The methods used to obtain primary data was essentially qualitative and began with a series of semi-structured interviews.  These involved a purposive sample of young women who had been attending the Project for differing lengths of time.  Interviews were also conducted with the Project staff, GFS Head Office staff, representatives from outside agencies, both statutory and voluntary, young women who did not attend the Project and a small number of local fathers, some of whom were partners of women who used the Project.

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