Report: National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence

Posted by on October 19, 2009

6 in 10 children exposed to violence: study

In remarks addressing a recent news conference on youth and school violence, Attorney General Eric Holder drew attention to “a call to action to address a challenge that affects the entire nation.”

A significant part of that challenge is the exposure of children to violence, and the Attorney General announced the release of findings from the National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence in the first of a series of bulletins on the survey to be published by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

“The results are staggering,” Holder said. “More than 60 percent of the children surveyed were exposed to violence in the past year, either directly or indirectly. Nearly half of children and adolescents were assaulted at least once, and more than one in ten were injured as a result. Nearly one-quarter were the victim of a robbery, vandalism or theft, and one in sixteen were victimized sexually.”

“Those numbers are astonishing,” he concluded, “and they are unacceptable.”

To access the OJJDP bulletin reporting on the findings of the National Survey of Children’s Exposure to Violence, click here.

http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/publications/PubAbstract.asp?pubi=249751