Study shows shocking extent teens in England and Wales face violence

A new report, entitled Children, violence, and vulnerability, conducted by the charity, The Youth Endowment Fund (YEF), has made devastating findings about Britain’s teenagers and violence, with some children telling researchers that their fear of violence meant they had missed on their education. The survey, released on November 14, also sought to help teenagers, asking them what would make them feel safe.The YEF, a charity funded by the Home Office, conducted a survey to establish how violence is affecting English and Welsh young people. It found black children were disproportionately affected with 33 percent affected in the last year, compared to 13 percent for white children and 11 percent for Asian. Violence was defined as force or threat of force such as punching, being pushed to the floor and punched at school, threatened with a weapon or being mugged. ‘Violence’ also included sexual assault and being stabbed. According to the poll of more than 2,000 teenagers aged between 13 and 17, 14 percent had been victims of violence in the past year alone. Nearly two in five children said they had been directly affected by violence, either as the victim or a witness. Some children were more likely to be affected than others by violence, while 60 percent of those affected were supported by a social worker, 55 percent regularly missed school lessons, and 46 percent were receiving free school meals.  A survey of 2,000 teenagers revealed two out of five were directly affected by violence (Image: GETTY) Some teenagers admitting to skipping school out of fear of serious violence (Image: Getty)In order to tackle the issue of serious violence, 26 percent of those asked said they wanted more visible police patrols, 15 percent said they wanted better activities to keep young people occupied and 10 percent said better drug and support services. The crimes feared by boys and girls differed as while 25 percent of boys answered ‘assault’, only 19 percent of girls said this was their biggest fear. Meanwhile, 34 percent of girls said what scared them most was being followed home by a stranger, while a lesser 19 percent of boys said they worried about the same. Ben Donagh, the national children and young people lead at independent charity Victim Support, which supports people affected by crime and traumatic incidents in England and Wales, told Express.co.uk: ‘These shocking figures should be a wakeup call. Witnessing violence, whether in real life or online, is seriously damaging and can impact all areas of a child’s life. Whether that’s disrupting their education or their ability to form healthy relationships. ‘With so much violent content online, young people can stumble across it without any warning and without looking for it. It becomes impossible to avoid. Social media companies need to get a grip on these harmful videos – protecting our children is everyone’s responsibility and they must play their part.’DON’T MISS: Sunak forced to defend Dominic Raab as ex-top official intervenes [INSIGHT]’No golden coach!’ Meghan may have been wrong about ‘grand’ marriage [ANALYSIS]World’s largest warship looks like a floating city as it arrives in UK [REPORT] The teenagers surveyed said having more officers on the street would make them feel safer (Image: Getty)