New YEF Resource – Key Facts About Violence: Insights for Keeping Children Safe

Understanding violence is crucial if we want to protect children and create safer communities. That’s why today, we have published a new resource, ‘Key Facts About Violence’, designed to help us deepen our understanding of violence and its many facets.

In order to prevent violence, we need to answer key questions:

• When does violence happen?
• Where does violence happen?
• Who is involved in violence?
• Why does violence happen?

Fortunately, there is a substantial evidence base that can help us answer these questions. Violence prevention strategies that are informed by this evidence are likely to have a bigger impact.

We have identified eight key facts about violence:

1. Violence is preventable – With the right actions, we can reduce violence.
2. A small number of people commit a large proportion of violent crime – Supporting them to stop can have a big impact.
3. Violence is concentrated in a small number of places – Some locations are more at risk.
4. Violence is more likely at certain times – It can peak at certain times of the day, days of the week, and even seasons.
5. Social groups and relationships play an important role in violence– Friends, family, and community are important influences.
6. Violent offending rates tend to peak in late adolescence or early adulthood – People become less involved in violence as they age.
7. Children from some ethnic groups are disproportionately involved in the justice system and exposed to more violence than others – We must pursue a more equitable society.
8. Violent crimes cause the most harm – The impacts of violence are profound and far-reaching.

For each fact, this resource delves into practical applications for violence prevention and includes contributions from experts who have used these insights in their work.?

Understanding Violence in Your Context

While these facts provide a general guide, violence patterns may vary by area. We encourage readers to consider how these insights apply locally, and review alongside other evidence-based resources, such as the YEF Toolkit.

By using this evidence-based approach, we can collectively move towards creating safer environments for young people across the UK.

We'd like to thank the following people for their contributions to the report:

Ciaran Thapar Ajada Bridges-Matthew Mark Brennan Lily Moreton Junior Smart Keith Fraser Shabna Begum