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Myths & Realities Myth Youth violence only affects some (i.e. low-income) communities. Reality Youth violence affects all communities. Young people from all communities engage in violence, regardless of race and class. Many young people will experience some form of violence over the course of their lives and most of these incidents will never be reported and therefore remain absent from official statistics. More importantly, violence in any community affects the broader society because it contributes to public fear, and contributes to social and economic costs that affect us all. Youth violence is rampant. Public fear is a reflection of the reality of violence and crime. Youth are naturally violent. Parents of young people engaging in violence know about their children’s violent behaviour but fail to intervene. Only accomplices of violence keep a ‘code of silence’ that protects perpetrators of violence. The level of violence involving youth has remained largely stable over the past 30 years; however, the level of gun violence involving youth has increased. Public fears of youth violence have grown considerably over time while levels of youth violence have remained fairly stable. Although the likelihood of a person engaging in violence peaks during the teenage years and declines with age, it should be emphasized that only a few young people (across all groups) ever engage in serious forms of violence. Most youth never engage in serious forms of violence. According to the International Youth Survey of Toronto students in grades 7-9, less than half (42%) of violent incidents involving youth are ever discovered by adults. Less than half of all youth 15-19 years of age report being victims of violence offenses. 6 There is a clear difference between a perpetrator of violence and victims of violence. Most youth who commit acts of violence have also been victims of violence. Victims of bullying at school are more likely to engage in acts of violence. Children who witness violence in the home are more likely to be involved in aggressive behaviour including violence.
(prepared by Alexander Lovell for the Citywide Youth Antiviolence Task Force and the Toronto Youth Equity Strategy) (prepared by Alex Lovell for the Citywide Youth Antiviolence Task Force and the Toronto Youth Equity Strategy) Myth Family well-being is not a cause of violence. Reality Children and youth of parents who suffer from depression are more likely to engage in violence. Children and youth in families that are forced to move frequently, and/or have substantial problems securing housing, are more likely to be involved in violence. Youth violence is not a social issue; it’s an issue of morality and individual faults. The only solution to youth violence is more policing, surveillance and severe punishment. Poverty and social exclusion from opportunities are key causes of youth violence. More than 1 in 3 youth charged with a violent offence (34.7%) are unemployed and not in school. Among youth charged with violent offences enrolled in school, more than two-thirds are unemployed (67.6%). This is several times higher than the average youth unemployment rate. Clearly, youth unemployment is a serious pre-condition for youth violence. It is fiscally responsible to police and incarcerate violent offenders instead of applying socio-economic opportunities for youth who are vulnerable to violence. There are several effective and more affordable alternatives to reducing violence. These include making ultimately cost-effective investments in early childhood development; improving school attachment and educational attainment; providing opportunities for social engagement, employment and career success among low-income youth. Investing in early childhood well-being, socio-economic opportunities for youth engaged in violence, and social programs that are proven to prevent violence are considerably more cost-effective than policing and incarceration. The average daily cost of incarcerating a Federal inmate is $357; the average cost of incarceration for provincial inmates is $171 per day – either option equates to a substantially high fiscal burden and this does not account for legal fees and the cost of policing. It is considerably cheaper to apply community-supervision to individuals prosecuted for offences than incarceration. Also, community supervision may be favourable because of the risk that incarceration ‘hardens’ inmates and further ostracizes them from successfully reintegrating into society once they are released. 7
Page 2 and 3: Table Of Contents toronto youth equ
Page 4 and 5: Youth Arts Contributors The Toronto
Page 8 and 9: Process The motivation for the Toro
Page 10 and 11: The Unseen by Zakisha Brown 10 Frus
Page 13 and 14: Service Planning Principles A servi
Page 15 and 16: complexity of vulnerability This
Page 17 and 18: Service Planning Principles 5. Coll
Page 19 and 20: Run Come Now by Joel Taylor Run com
Page 21 and 22: inner perspective - a short video
Page 23 and 24: 21. Services for youth most vulnera
Page 25 and 26: “Hood Life” BY FUNMILOLA LAWSON
Page 27 and 28: Actions 1a 1b The City of Toronto w
Page 29 and 30: attempted suicide twice and we were
Page 31 and 32: Actions 3a The City of Toronto will
Page 33 and 34: learn new cultures and ways of perc
Page 35 and 36: Actions 6a 6b 6c 6d Toronto Communi
Page 37 and 38: Actions 8a Toronto Community Housin
Page 39 and 40: Actions 9a 9b 9c 9d 9e 9f The City
Page 41 and 42: Actions 10a In the case of pre-empl
Page 43 and 44: Actions 12a 12b Shelter, Support an
Page 45 and 46: Actions 14a Parks, Forestry, and Re
Page 47 and 48: Just hear me out by heavy steve Sto
Page 49 and 50: Actions 17a The City of Toronto wil
Page 51 and 52: Actions 20a The City of Toronto wil
Page 53 and 54: A young man by the name Tay was on
Page 55 and 56: Actions 22a Social Development, Fin
Page 57 and 58:
didn’t want to see him in jail or
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Actions 24a 24b 24c Toronto Communi
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Actions 26a RECOMMENDATION Social D
Page 63 and 64:
63 page
Page 65 and 66:
Actions 27a Shelter, Support and Ho
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Without a positive male figure to i
Page 69 and 70:
Contributing Photographers: Idil Je
Page 71 and 72:
References Amadeusz, The Look at my
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