By Mai Fernandez

Comments: 3

Stop the Cycle of Violence Against Young People—and Support the Victims

Did you know that children are more likely to be exposed to violence and crime than adults? Our nation’s youth experience an alarming rate of crime victimization and exposure to violence, especially in low-income, urban communities of color.

Youth who are victimized—whether through abuse, neglect, or robbery—during the already complicated transition through adolescence can experience serious disruptions of their developmental processes.

At last month’s National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention Summit, hosted by the U.S. Department of Justice, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. set out the stakes. “Our  nation will be defined, and its progress will be determined, by the support that we provide —and the doors that we open—for our young people,” he declared. “The priorities that we set now are what will allow America’s next generation of leaders to rise above the current threats and obstacles and seize tomorrow’s opportunities.”

It’s true.

Without the proper support to cope with their experience, young people are more likely to face, and cause, additional crimes in their own community.

We’ve all heard about the cycle of violence. Youth who are exposed to violence are at a higher risk of engaging in criminal behavior later in life.

But it is also important to recognize that youth crime victims have many of the same needs as adults after experiencing a crime (support, safety and justice).  Yet  our criminal justice and victim-response systems often fail to meet their needs.

The situation is worse in urban areas and in communities of color.

African American youth are three times more likely than their white peers to be victims of crime. In a 2001 study of inner-city seven-year-olds published in the Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 75 percent heard gun shots, 60 percent saw drug deals, 18 percent saw a dead body outside, and 10 percent saw a shooting or stabbing at home. Those are alarming numbers at any age—but seven years old?

Urban police are in daily contact with youth who have been exposed to violence, but tension between young people and police has been a long-standing barrier to cooperation, especially in communities of color. Youth are still seen as targets of the police, rather than members of their own neighborhood. 

So what is the solution?

First, we have to start by changing how enforcement views youth, particularly urban youth of color. Instead of seeing urban youth as the source of the problem, law enforcement agencies need to understand and acknowledge the normalization of violence in urban environments.

Developing leaders who understand the unique dynamics of urban communities can help improve relationships between youth and law enforcement. And while urban neighborhoods have a strong police presence, they often lack youth-oriented community policing programs that have culturally competent law enforcement with the tools, education, ties to community-based organizations, and the will to serve youth victims of crime in urban communities.  

Of course, the solution doesn’t lie solely with law enforcement (so many of whom are truly doing an amazing job). It lies within victim-service professionals, educators, and policy makers. Supporting youth exposed to violence and victimization requires strengthening the response by victim-service providers, educators, and local policy makers to foster civil and social justice for youth crime victims.

Today’s challenges demand that we educate both parents and kids,” Attorney General Holder told the Summit participants. “That we provide teachers, civic leaders, and public health officials with up-to-date information about youth violence trends and indicators; and that we train lawyers and law enforcement officers to respond more effectively when violence occurs.“

He summed it up well.

I look forward to the day when all victim assistance professionals have the skills to competently intervene in the lives of a diverse group of young people—when law enforcement professionals have effective youth-oriented policing strategies and our youth are safe, thriving, and able to fully enjoy their childhood.

This is our charge. Our children’s success depends on it.

ED NOTE:  The National Center for Victims of Crime will hold its 2011 National Conference on June 20–22 in Washington, D.C.  For more information about urban trauma and youth victimization, visit www.ncvc.org/conference.

Mai Fernandez is executive director of the National Center for Victims of Crime. She welcomes reader comments. 

Email this post »