Youth19 Safety and Violence Brief

Abstract

Secondary school students in New Zealand are concerned about violence and safety. In 2019: - 59% report feeling safe in their neighbourhood all the time, with 41% feeling safe sometimes or less often - 87% report feeling safe in their school all or most of the time, with 13% not reporting this - 18% report ever having had unwanted sexual experiences, sexual violence or abuse - 6% report witnessing adults at home hitting or hurting other adults in the last 12 months and 8% report witnessing adults at home hitting or hurting children in the last 12 months - 51% report being hit or harmed on purpose in the last 12 months, most often (41%) by a sibling, with 13% by a parent, 4% by another adult, 6% by a boyfriend or girlfriend, and 20% by another young person. Safety and violence concerns were magnified for students in poorer communities and low decile schools. Overall, violence has decreased since 2001. Students feel safer in their neighbourhoods and as safe or safer in schools than they did in previous Youth2000 surveys. Fewer students reported unwanted sexual experiences or sexual violence than in 2001, however this has increased since 2012. Adults in the home hitting or hurting other adults or children has markedly decreased over the survey years. Addressing violence requires strategies to support families, schools and communities to create safe environments and address the underlying determinants of violence, which include poverty and discrimination. In particular, violence is disproportionately felt by those students in poorer communities and schools. Everyone has the right to live a life without violence irrespective of where they live.