Child violence

One of the most conspicuous and visible forms of violence in society globally is the violence by young people. All over the world, print and the broadcast media are replete with, almost daily, the violence by gangs, in schools or by young people on the streets. While the perpetrators of such violence are the adolescents and young adults the main victims of such acts are also the same adolescents and young adults. These violence involving young people are responsible to a great extent to the higher numbers of premature death, injury and disability. It harms not only its victims, but also their family, relatives, friends and communities.

This problem of child violence should not be viewed in isolation from other problem behaviors. Violent young people tend to commit a range of crimes. The other problems displayed by them include dropping out of school, substance abuse, compulsive lying, reckless driving and high rates of sexually transmitted diseases. There are close links between child violence and other forms of violence. Violence in the home or being physically or sexually abused, for instance, may make children or adolescents believe that violence is an acceptable means of resolving problems. Excessive exposure to armed conflicts may also give rise to a culture of terror that increases the incidence of child violence.

Child violence can develop in different ways. Some children may exhibit problem behavior in early childhood that gradually escalates to more aggravated forms of aggression before and during adolescence. Violent behavior and aggression can continue from childhood through adulthood to create a pattern of persistent offending throughout a person's life.

The effects of child violence are seen not only in casualty and disability, but also in the quality of life. It adds greatly to the costs of health and welfare services and generally undermines the fabric of society. However, all violent youths do not have significant problems other than their violence. Generally, youth homicide rates are substantially lower among females than males.

This study is an effort to diagnose the factors that induce and inculcate the violent behavior among children and young adults. Understanding the factors that increase the risk of young people being the victims or perpetrators of violence is essential for developing effective policies and programmes to prevent violence.