NCJ Number
159324
Journal
Fortune Volume: 126 Issue: 3 Dated: (August 10, 1992) Pages: 62-65,68-69
Date Published
1992
Length
6 pages
Annotation
An increasing number of young people are involved in violence, as victims, witnesses, or perpetrators; the number of children under 18 years of age arrested each year for murder has risen by 55 percent during the past decade and juvenile arrests for aggravated assault and forcible rape are rising dramatically.
Abstract
The National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse calculates that 2.7 million children suffered from abuse or neglect in 1991, an increase of 40 percent over 1985. An estimated 1,383 children died from maltreatment in 1991. More adolescents die from violence, especially gun violence, than from any illness. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, homicide by firearms represents the second leading cause of death, after motor vehicle accidents, for white young people between 15 and 19 years of age. For black Americans in this age bracket, homicide is the leading cause of death. Teenage violence primarily affects black Americans in urban settings. In preventing violence, the most pressing task is to get guns away from children. Many young people say they need to carry a gun to protect themselves, and guns are surprisingly easy to obtain. The issue of violence overlaps with many other social problems, including unemployment, welfare, racism, alcoholism, drug abuse, teenage pregnancy, single-parent households, deficient schools, and inadequate housing. Beyond eliminating poverty, several workable and affordable steps can be taken to reduce children's exposure to violence. These steps involve helping parents be parents, teaching children anger management, and keeping guns away from children. 5 figures and 4 photographs