A third of UK children suffer violent abuse by their peers

London, Thursday May 12th, 2011

Severity of child-on-child violence revealed by Beatbullying

MORE THAN a third (37%) of young people report having suffered a severe physical or sexual attack during childhood by a fellow young person – over a quarter of which involved the use of a weapon –  uncovers research from children’s charity Beatbullying.

The severity of bullying is significant, 52 per cent having sustained physical injuries from the attack, 28 per cent threatened with a weapon and almost a tenth (7%) knocked unconscious, reported the 16 – 25 years olds* questioned.

A further quarter of those respondents who had suffered child-on-child violence were subjected to a sexual attack by a peer; of these victims 19 per cent were young girls.

“I got sexually abused by a best friend’s brother, and I got very depressed, I came home to a destructive family and was continually threatened...my past still affects me till this day with medical conditions...and emotions”

The research details the emotional and social implications of bullying, revealing that of those who suffered child-on-child violence 15 per cent were also in trouble with the police, compared to just four per cent who were not under any physical attack.

A further 19 per cent of those who experienced violence went on to have an eating disorder, 17 per cent were prescribed anti-depressants and seven per cent became involved in drink or drugs. Of children sexually assaulted, eight per cent ran away from home.

“I was assaulted aged 13 because of my clothing style. I was robbed of my bike and phone, and threatened with a knife.”

Experiencing child-on-child violence also bears a distinct relationship to standard of living and health with 23 per cent of young people who were physically attacked by another child now classifying themselves as ‘poor’, versus 13 per cent of those who did not endure child-on-child violence.  Similarly, 13 per cent of those attacked cite themselves as being in ‘poor health’, compared to four per cent of people who faced no violence from their peers.

Emma-Jane Cross, chief executive of Beatbullying, said:

“Our research reveals the severity of modern-day bullying. We’re a long way from playground name calling, with child- on-child violence and sexual violence frighteningly frequent for many young people – this is unacceptable.
“Not only are we seeing the immediate impact of severe bullying but the correlation between child-on-child violence and quality of life in adulthood needs further investigation.

“Society needs to take action and tackle this epidemic head on as a community and no longer perceive severe bullying to be an issue confined only within the school gates.  An integrated approach is needed from children and families, teachers, police, local authorities and government – we need robust peer-focused, anti-bullying and anti-violence strategies rolled out across every school nationwide.”

The report also finds a special focus should be paid to vulnerable children who are more likely to be victims of child-on-child violence:  

• Young carers are almost three times more likely to experience sexual abuse at the hands of their peers (16% compared with 6%) 
• Those who were reported as Statement of Special Educational Needs (SEN) were twice as likely to have experienced physical abuse (8% compared with 4%)  

“I was taken to a park with a bunch of friends and beaten just because of who I am”

Emma-Jane Cross, added:
“We are rightly very concerned about the effects the adult world can have on our children; but within their own community violence is often commonplace, we hope the release of this report  will trigger a meaningful debate, government must acknowledge severe bullying as a child protection issue and honour their manifesto promise that tackling bullying would be a top priority. 

For more information, interview with a Beatbullying spokesperson, or further statistics please contact:
Frank PR – Carmel Mulhall and Lizzie Earl | carmelmulhall@frankpr.it | lizzieearl@frankpr.it |0207 693 6999
Beatbullying - Sherry Adhami | sherry.adhami@beatbullying.org | 0781 400 4963

-ENDS-

NOTES TO EDITORS:
Methodology

• Beatbullying commissioned YouGov to administer a retrospective survey exploring the prevalence and long-term implications of bullying and child-on-child violence in the UK
• The survey questions themselves were drawn up in consultation with young people and Beatbullying practitioners (including development officers, researchers and counsellors), who have extensive experience in visiting schools and talking to children about bullying and child-on-child violence.
• The respondents were based in the following regions: North East (4.09%), North West (11.69%), Yorkshire and Humber (8.69%), East Midlands (7.19%), West Midlands (8.59%), East of England (9.39%), London (12.38%), South East (13.58%), South West (8.99%), Wales (5.09%), Scotland (8.49%) and Northern Ireland (1.79%). Over half (51.04%) were Male and 48.95% were Female. Just under a third (31.76%) were aged between 16-18 years old, 33.26% were aged between 19-21 years old and the remaining 34.96% were aged between 22-25 years old. 6.09% reported a disability

Beatbullying

• Beatbullying is an award-winning children’s charity that was established in 1999 to work with young people and create a world where bullying, violence and harassment are unacceptable. One in three children has experienced bullying and one in thirteen is bullied constantly. Beatbullying services is underpinned by expert youth workers and accredited  counsellors all working together to provide intensive therapeutic intervention to  young people, families teachers communities, as well as working with those who bully to help change their behavior. Beatbullying also campaigns in the areas of bullying and child-on-child violence to enable young people to transform their lives and the lives of their peers for the better
• Beatbullying runs bullying prevention programmes, on and offline, in schools and communities and have been proven to reduce bullying by 70% and the reporting of bullying by 60% in schools. Their work empowers young people to understand, recognize and say no to bullying, violence and harassment as well as educates parents, teachers and adults about bullying, early intervention and prevention
• Beatbullying is the three times winner of ‘Charity of the Year’ as well as winning awards for Best Communications Campaign and the Nominet Internet Award’s ‘Making the Internet Safer’ award. www.beatbullying.org
• Beatbullying is a beneficiary of the Royal Wedding Charitable Gift Fund. If you would like to make a donation to the Charitable Gift Fund, please visit: royalweddingcharityfund.org
• Beatbullying is a registered charity no 1097631.