Any attempts to understand the increase in serious violence against young people should involve young people’s insights. UK Youth and their partners spoke to 123 young people with lived experience of serious violence. Find out more.
In an attempt to understand why there is an increase in serious violence against young people UK Youth have partnered with My Life My Say, Mobilise Public Ltd, Dartington Service Design Lab and Councillor Hamza Taouzzale to get insights from young people. They are seeking to understand not just what young people think causes serious violence but also what they identify as the solutions and how their suggestions align to existing research. You can read the full write up here.
Working with local youth organisations in 6 locations across England, UK Youth spoke to 123 young people who had personally experienced serious violence against young people. The research has resulted in two reports Harnessing lived experience. A youth-led consultation on the causes and solutions to serious violence against young people and Serious Youth Violence. What causes it? How can we reduce it? What lessons can we learn from research?
This work highlighted the importance of understanding both the national and local environment with young people identifying a range of contributing factors and potential solutions.
Social divisions, financial troubles, and substance misuse were factors which played a part across numerous locations suggesting that some common interventions could fulfil a valuable role. Young people identified high-quality support, provision of youth-focused activities and positive role models as the interventions that could make a real difference.
