Approximately 6 in 10 Children Witnessed or Experienced Violence, Crime or Abuse in 2011
Study confirms earlier findings on children's exposure to violence
WASHINGTON, Sept. 16, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Nearly 58 percent (57.7 percent) of children and adolescents were exposed to some type of violence at least once and more than 41 percent (41.2 percent) were victims of some type of assault in the past year—with approximately 1 in 10 physically injured as a result, according to a study released today by the Office of Justice Programs' Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP).
The National Survey of Children's Exposure to Violence (NatSCEV), funded by OJJDP with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, measures children's exposure to violence—as victims or as witnesses—in their homes, schools, and communities across all types of violence from birth to age 17, as well as the cumulative exposure to violence over the child's lifetime. In this bulletin, the authors analyzed data from 2011, the year covered by the survey, and found the prevalence of violence reported in 2011 remained consistent with the previous 2008 survey.
The reported rates of lifetime exposure to violence continued at similar levels in 2011, especially for the oldest youth (ages 14–17). Approximately 7 in 10 of these youth (69.7 percent) had been assaulted during their lifetimes, and a similar proportion (71.5 percent) witnessed violence during their lifetimes. In addition, more than half of these youth (56.6 percent) were victims of property crimes during their lifetimes.
TITLE: Children's Exposure to Violence, Crime, and Abuse: An Update
AUTHORS: David Finkelhor, Heather Turner, Anne Shattuck, Sherry Hamby and Kristen Kracke
WHERE: www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/248547.pdf
About the Office of Justice Programs (OJP)
OJP, headed by Assistant Attorney General Karol V. Mason, provides federal leadership in developing the nation's capacity to prevent and control crime, administer justice and assist victims. OJP has six components: the Bureau of Justice Assistance; the Bureau of Justice Statistics; the National Institute of Justice; the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; the Office for Victims of Crime and the Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking. More information about OJP can be found at www.ojp.gov.
SOURCE Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs
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