Young Violence
Violence by young people is one of the most visible forms of violence in society. Around the world, newspapers and the broadcast media report daily on violence by gangs, in schools or by young people on the streets. The main victims and perpetrators of such violence, almost everywhere, are themselves adolescents and young adults. Homicide and non-fatal assaults involving young people contribute greatly to the global burden of premature death, injury and disability. Youth violence deeply harms not only its victims, but also their families, friends and communities. Its effects are seen not only in death, illness and disability, but also in terms of the quality of life. Violence involving young people adds greatly to the costs of health and welfare services, reduces productivity, decreases the value of property, disrupts a range of essential services and generally undermines the fabric of society. The problem of youth violence cannot be viewed in isolation from other problem behaviors. Violent young people tend to commit a range of crimes. They also often display other problems, such as truancy and dropping out of school, substance abuse, compulsive lying, reckless driving and high rates of sexually transmitted diseases. However, not all violent youths have significant problems other than their violence and not all young people with problems are necessarily violent. There are close links between youth violence and other forms of violence. Witnessing violence in the home or being physically or sexually abused, for instance, may condition children or adolescents to regard violence as an acceptable means of resolving problems. Prolonged exposure to armed conflicts may also contribute to a general culture of terror that increases the incidence of youth violence. Understanding the factors that increase the risk of young people being the victims or perpetrators of violence is essential for developing effective policies and programmes to prevent violence. For the purposes of this report, youths are defined as people between the ages of 10 and 29 years. High rates of offending and victimization nevertheless often extend as far as the 30–35 years age bracket, and this group of older, young adults should also be taken into account in trying to understand and prevent youth violence.