Regular tragic cases of young people killing other young people, often with knives, means youth violence is rarely out of the media spotlight.
After a period of decline in the previous decade, incidents of youth violence have been rising again recently, as have the number of young homicide victims.
While the number of young victims of serious violence is thankfully small, research shows that nearly half of young people have witnessed violence and say the fear of it is a daily feature.
This worrying picture has prompted the new government to identify the issue as one of its early priorities – it has launched initiatives targeting the carrying of knives and announced plans to create a network of youth hubs in crime hotspot areas.
But children’s sector leaders say more will need to be done to truly grasp the issue – they point to rising levels of child poverty, mental ill health and school exclusions as key contributory factors, as are the rise of county lines drug gangs and use of social media to inflame situations and group rivalries..
Research has highlighted the protective effect that youth work can provide to reduce the risk to vulnerable young people of being a victim and perpetrator of youth violence and how deep cuts to youth provision since 2012 has left a support void in many areas.
CYP Now’s special report on youth violence summarises key policy developments in this quickly evolving area, hears from experts on the factors behind the rise in serious incidents and how youth work should play a greater role in helping to tackle it, and highlights examples of interventions improving outcomes for young people at greatest risk of being a victim and perpetrator of serious violence.
Read more in CYP Now's Reducing Youth Violence special report:
- Policy overview
- The Big Debate: Is investing in youth work the key to tackling youth violence?
- Key data: Trends in serious youth violence
Practice examples:
