Effects of crime on kids underestimated
Oct 30, 2009
from Thabiso Thakali's article on iol.co.za:
...."The significance of this study was to capture unreported cases of crime and victimisation against young people," she said.
Leoschut said the study found that different types of crimes led to distinct forms of post-traumatic stress disorder among youths.
"A lot of them suffer from psychological stress and become more aggressive after being victimised."
....She said 76 percent of those who had fallen victim to crime had not been provided with support or counselling because many believed it wasn't necessary.
"There is a great deal of these crimes against the youth which are committed by their fellow young people, either at school, in playgrounds or elsewhere," Leoschut said.
"None of the crimes are reported to anyone, and in fact, you find less than a quarter of them would have informed a family member about it."
...."Many crimes are often not reported, as children think adults will not listen to them or that the crime will be viewed as too small to bother with," she explained.
She called for more conflict resolution in schools, including restorative justice, with aggressors making amends to their victims.
"Discipline is also another problem, particularly at school. It is important to adopt positive measures of disciplining children other than punishment," she added.
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