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Avoid the harm - stay calm: Report on the inquiry into the impact of violence on young Australians
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 Preliminary pages
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125.13 KB |
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Chapter 1 Referral and Conduct of the Inquiry
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78.93 KB |
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Chapter 2 Youth Violence – Terminology, Statistics and Perceptions
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263.96 KB |
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Chapter 3 Understanding Youth Violence
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226.97 KB |
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Chapter 4 Targeted Interventions to Reduce Youth Violence
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343.22 KB |
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Chapter 5 A Strategic Response to Youth Violence
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283.29 KB |
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Appendix A List of Submissions
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50.11 KB |
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Appendix B List of Exhibits
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52.56 KB |
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Appendix C List of Public Hearings
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71.73 KB |
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Appendix D Results from Online Survey on the Impact of Violence on Young Australians
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700.99 KB |
The current generation of young people is not a homogenous group, despite sharing the Gen Y ‘tag’. Young people aged 12-24 years are socially and culturally diverse, and make up approximately one fifth of Australia’s population. Individually, each has his or her own hopes, dreams and aspirations. Not only do young people make important contributions to our society now, but collectively they represent the future of our nation.
Nevertheless, it seems nearly every day we are confronted by yet another story in the papers or on the evening news. We are told about our out of control young people – fighting at school, getting drunk and fighting in the streets, carrying knives and joining gangs. Sometimes we hear how young people are using new technologies and social networking to bully their less fortunate peers. So, it is hardly surprising that many believe today’s young people are more violent than ever.
But what is the reality? With so many violent incidents going unreported, assessing actual levels of violence is challenging to say the least. Based on the best available data however, it seems that youth violence in Australia is escalating. Importantly though, while often perceived primarily as perpetrators of violence, young people are in fact at greatest risk of being victims. Young people themselves are concerned about their own personal safety, with about one quarter of young people aged 18–24 years feeling unsafe or very unsafe when walking alone in their local area after dark, and around 1 in 10 feeling unsafe in their homes at night.
This leads to the fundamental question – what needs to be done to curb youth violence and address the concerns of young people and of the wider community? The starting point for the Committee was to examine what is known about the reasons that young people in particular are at increased risk of violence.
Committee members
Chair: Ms Annette Ellis MP; Deputy Chair: The Hon Judi Moylan MP
The Hon Tony Abbott MP (until 3/02/10); The Hon Kevin Andrews MP (from 3/02/10); Ms Jodie Campbell MP; Mr Steven Ciobo MP (from 3/02/10); Ms Julie Collins MP; Ms Kirsten Livermore MP; Mrs Sophie Mirabella MP (until 30/11/09); Mr Scott Morrison MP (until 30/11/09); Mr Brett Raguse MP; Mr Patrick Secker MP (30/11/09 to 10/02/10); Mr Luke Simpkins MP (from 30/11/09); Mr Chris Trevor MP.
