Committing to common goals
The first step in addressing the problem of children’s
exposure to violence is commitment to a vision for the future—a
vision that includes clear goals and a path
for achieving them.
Critical to that process is a willingness to consider doing
things differently. For policymakers, this means increasing
resources for prevention programs and other services at the
front end of the system. For justice system professionals,
it means being sensitive to the serious impact of violence
and victimization on children.
For service providers, it means recognizing and building
on the strengths of battered women and helping them develop
safety strategies for themselves and their children, consistently
viewing children within the context of family, and developing
comprehensive services that work together.
Finally, there must be a commitment from professionals to
keep children and their voices at the
core of the work that is done on their behalf.
Understanding the challenges There are many reasons why
successfully responding to the issue of children’s exposure
to violence has been so difficult and why a clearer understanding
of the issue and some basic operating principles around which
to organize the work are so critical. Among these reasons
are the following:
It is a complicated issue. Children’s exposure to violence—how
and why it happens, what its consequences are, and what to
do about it—is a complicated, multifaceted issue, made
even more complex by the steady stream of new data and information.
This complexity makes it difficult to agree upon joint strategies.
It is a problem people try to avoid. Denial, discomfort,
refusal to identify perpetrators, and “burnout”
contribute to the Nation’s reluctance to do something
about the large numbers of children harmed by violence.
It is an issue that divides professionals. Too often, professionals
working with children exposed to violence work in isolation
from each other or, worse, at cross-purposes.
Knowing the facts
Effective strategies for addressing children’s exposure
to violence must be based on a thorough understanding of the
facts surrounding the problem. For example:
Millions of children are exposed to violence each year.
National estimates based on a 1995 survey indicate that of
the Nation’s 22.3 million children between the ages
of 12 and 17, approximately 1.8 million have been victims
of a serious sexual assault, 3.9 million have been victims
of a serious physical assault, and almost 9 million have witnessed
serious violence. Every day in 1997, six young people (under
the age of 18) were murdered; 56 percent of the victims
were killed with a firearm.
Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP)
|
