Stop Gang Violence

OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS, GANG VIOLENCE, ESPECIALLY IN LARGE CITIES, HAS RISEN TO THE FOREFRONT OF THE MEDIA. GANGS ARE A WELL DEFINED GROUP OF YOUTHS BETWEEN THE AGES 10 AND 22. TO BE CONSIDERED A YOUTH GANG A GROUP MUST BE INVOLVED IN A PATTERN OF CRIMINAL ACTS.

Youth violence is a serious public health problem that can have a long-term impact on health and wellbeing. A report from the uk cross goverment, has been made to provide intensive support and to tackle gang youth violence. The report goes on further to highlight the importance of gang violence not being a task for polices alone but for the local areas, local agencies, teachers, doctors and youth workers having a vital role to play. The government has already set in motion a number of reforms to address the entrenched eductational and social failures that can drive problems like gang and youth violence. This report sets out detailed plans for making this happen and the first thing that will need to be set out is by providing support to local areas to tackle their gang or youth violence problem. Also by preventing young people becoming involved in violence in the first place with a new emphasis on early intervention and prevention pathways out of violence and the gang culture for young people wanting There’s many reasons as to why alot of youths decides to join gangs. Elaine Thomas is a youtuber who mentors youths in london. As a mentor, she’s around alot of youths who deals with these experiences and in one of her videos, she talks about the reason behind youths wanting to be part of a gang and how we should still treat them as human beings. She states“When we see many young people getting into gangs, it’s mainly for protection, enjoyment, respect, money, or because a friend is in a gang. Youth are at higher risk of joining a gang if they engage in delinquent behaviors, are aggressive or violent, experience multiple caretaker transitions or have many problems at school”. She later on goes on to further her reasoning by saying that “What we really need to do is look at a young person and see them as an individual and still see them as a child regardless of if the person has an angry face or attitude problems and to still show them respect and to be persistent in the way we should care for them”.

Figure 1

to make a break with the past and lastly, punishment and enforcement to suppress the violence of those refusing to exit violent lifestyles. Another statistics to do with gang violence shows us how youth violence disproportionately impacts Black or African youths and young adults as they are at higher risk for the most physically harmful forms of violence compared to White youth and young adults. Figure 1 illustrates youth homicides and nonfatal physical assault-related injuries result in nearly $21 billion annually in combined medical and lost productivity costs alone. Figure 2 also shows how long-standing systemic health and social inequities have put many people from racial and ethnic minority groups at increased risk of violence. Addressing the root causes of violence is critical to reducing high rates of violence in communities of color.

Words ands design by: Hema Dixons SOCIAL JUSTICE 13