Resource Centers


THIS SITE BEST VIEWED IN INTERNET EXPLORER 6.0 (free download ) OR HIGHER.
You are here: Home Library Document Viewer
TEEN VICTIMS

  • In 2007, teens ages 12 to 19 experienced nearly 1.6 million violent crimes; this figure includes 179,056 robberies and 57,511 sexual assaults and rapes.[1]
  • In 2007, youth ages 12 to 24 had the highest rate of victimization.[2]
  • In 2008, teens ages 13 to 19 accounted for 13 percent of murder victims whose age was known.[3]
  • In 2007, thirty-three percent of personal crimes, including rape and sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated and simple assault, against teens ages 12 to 19 were reported to the police, compared to 61 percent for adults ages 65 and older.[4]
  • During a one-year period, 47 percent of youth ages 14 to 17 had experienced a physical assault, 16 percent had been sexually victimized, 17 percent had experienced abuse or neglect, and 28 percent had experienced a property victimization (including robbery).[5]
  • Over the course of their lifetime, 71 percent of 14- to 17-year olds in the United States had been assaulted, 28 percent had been sexually victimized, 32 percent had been abused or neglected, and 53 percent had experienced a property victimization (including robbery).[6]
  • In 2007, 36 percent of high school students had been in a physical fight one or more times during the previous 12 months, and about 4 percent had been in a fight in which they were injured and had to be treated by a nurse or doctor.[7]
  • From 1993 to 2003, black youth ages 17 or younger were 5 times as likely as white youth to be victims of homicide.[8]
  • In 2006, students ages 12 to 18 were victims of 173,600 serious violent crimes at school.[9]
  • In 2007, 32 percent of students ages 12 to 18 reported being bullied at school.[10]
  • In 2007, 23 percent of students ages 12 to 18 reported that gangs were present at their schools.[11]
  • In a 2005 study, approximately 1 in 7 youth (13 percent) received unwanted online sexual solicitations in the previous year.[12]
  • Four percent of youth received aggressive online solicitations: the solicitor asked to meet the youth in person, called the youth on the telephone, or sent the youth mail, money, or gifts.[13]
  • Nine percent of youth Internet users had been exposed to distressing sexual material while online in 2005.[14]
  • One in 11, or 9 percent, of youth Internet users said they had been harassed online in 2005, up from 6 percent in 2000.[15]
  • According to Teen Research Unlimited, fifteen percent of teens who have been in a relationship report having been hit, slapped, or pushed by their boyfriend or girlfriend.[16]
  • Thirty percent of teens who have been in a relationship have worried about their physical safety in a relationship.[17]
  • American Indian and Alaskan Native teens and young adults suffer the highest violent victimization of any age category in any racial group. Victims ages 18 to 24 make up almost one-third of all American Indian and Alaskan Native violent crime victims and have a violent victimization rate of 1 in 4.[18]
  • Three in 4 American adolescents who have been sexually assaulted were victimized by someone they knew well. Thirteen percent of sexual assaults were reported to police, 6 percent to child protective services, 5 percent to school authorities, and 1 percent to other authorities. Eighty-six percent of sexual assaults against adolescents went unreported.[19]
  • In 2008, 18 percent of hate and bias incidents against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning (LGBTQ) victims reported to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs were against victims ages 18 and younger.[20]
  • From 1995 to 2008, 23 teens were murdered because of their gender identity or expression.[21]

[1] Bureau of Justice Statistics, "Criminal Victimization in the United States, 2007: Statistical Tables," (soon to be published), calculated from Table 3.

[2] Michael Rand, "Criminal Victimization, 2008," (Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2009), 4, http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/cv08.pdf (accessed November 2, 2009).

[3] Calculated from Federal Bureau of Investigation, "Crime in the United States, 2008: Expanded Homicide Data Table 2," (Washington, DC: GPO, 2009), http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2008/offenses/expanded_information/data/shrtable_02.html  (accessed October 8, 2009).

[4] Bureau of Justice Statistics, "Criminal Victimization in the United States, 2007 Statistical Tables," (soon to be published), Table 96.

[5] David Finkelhor et al, "Violence, Abuse, and Crime Exposure in a National Sample of Children and Youth," Pediatrics 124, no. 5 (2009): 3-5.

[6] Ibid.

[7] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance-United States, 2007," (Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2008,), Table 9, http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss5704a1.htm (accessed October 8, 2009).

[8] Katrina Baum, "Juvenile Victimization and Offending, 1993-2003," (Washington, DC: Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2005), 1, http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/jvo03.pdf (accessed September 24, 2009).

[9]  Rachel Dinkes et al., "Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2008," (Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics and Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2009), 76, http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2009022 (accessed August 31, 2009).

[10] Ibid., 106.

[11] Ibid., 100.

[12] Janis Wolak, Kimberly Mitchel, and David Finkelhor, "Online Victimization of Youth: Five Years Later," (Alexandria, VA: National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, 2006), 7, http://www.missingkids.com/en_US/publications/NC167.pdf (accessed October 6, 2009).

[13] Ibid., 8.

[14] Ibid., 9.

[15] Ibid., 10.

[16] Teen Research Unlimited, "Liz Claiborne Inc. Topline Findings: Teen Relationship Abuse Survey (Conducted March 2006)," (Northbrook, IL: Teen Research Unlimited, 2006), 11, http://www.loveisnotabuse.com/pdf/Liz%20Claiborne%20Mar%2006%20Relationship%20Abuse%20Hotsheet.pdf (accessed September 24, 2009).

[17] Ibid.

[18] Bureau of Justice Statistics, "American Indians and Crime," (Washington, DC: BJS, 1999), v, http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/aic.pdf (accessed October 8, 2009).

[19] Dean G. Kilpatrick et al., "Youth Victimization: Prevalence and Implications," (Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice, 2003), 5, 6, http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/nij/194972.pdf (accessed October 8, 2009).

[20] National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, "Anti-Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Violence in 2008," (New York: National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, 2009), 8, http://www.ncavp.org/common/document_files/Reports/2008%20HV%20Report%20smaller%20file.pdf (accessed August 27, 2009).

[21] Riki Wilchins and Taneika Taylor, "70 Under 30: Masculinity and the War on America's Youth," (Washington, DC: Gender Public Advocacy Coalition, 2009), 2.

2010 © National Center for Victims of Crime. All Rights Reserved. Privacy statement. Legal disclaimer. Terms of Service. Accessibility issues.
Contacts: 2000 M Street NW, Suite 480, Washington, D.C. 20036 phone: 202-467-8700 fax: 202-467-8701, email: webmaster@ncvc.org. 
Site operated by Alfa XP Web Software Company, LLC .

Login >>