Posted on April 11, 2017

National Youth Violence Prevention Week: An Overview

Every year, the Centers for Disease Control releases a Youth Violence Facts at a Glance data sheet, and the report disbursed in 2016 presents a myriad of troubling statistics. According to CDC data, “homicide is the 3rd leading cause of death for young people ages 10 to 24 years old.”^[1] Furthermore, in a 2015 nationally-representative sample of youth in grades 9-12, “22.6% reported being in a physical fight in the 12 months preceding the survey.”^[2] Moreover, in 2014, “501,581 young people ages 10 to 24 were treated in emergency departments for injuries sustained from physical assaults.”^[3]

While it’s clear that youth violence is a significant issue facing young people on a national scale, many organizations have taken a proactive approach to addressing this troubling trend. One of the most widespread of these initiatives is National Youth Violence Prevention Week.

Background on NYVPW

Founded in 2001 by the North Carolina-based nonprofit the National Association of Students Against Violence Everywhere (SAVE), the primary goal of National Youth Violence Prevention Week is “to raise awareness and to educate students, teachers, school administrators, counselors, school resource officers, school staff, parents, and the public on effective ways to prevent or reduce youth violence.”^[4]

The week-long awareness and prevention event is held annually in late March or early April and focuses on “activities that demonstrate the positive role young people can have in making their school and community safer.”^[5]

National Youth Violence Prevention Week 2017

In 2017, NYVPW is scheduled for April 3-7. Throughout the week, each day corresponds to a specific challenge presented by one of the event’s sponsors that focuses on a particular violence prevention strategy.

• • Monday, April 3rd: Promoting Respect and Tolerance, sponsored by Teaching Tolerance
• • Tuesday, April 4: Manage Your Anger, Don’t Let it Manage You, sponsored by the American Academy of Pediatrics
• • Wednesday, April 5: Resolve Conflicts Peacefully, sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Alliance
• • Thursday, April 6: Support Safety, sponsored by the STRYVE Action Council
• • Friday, April 7: Unite in Action, sponsored by Youth Service America^[6]

 

Organizations and schools interested in participating can find a wealth of activities, information, and resources on the campaign’s website here. Interested participants can also download the Action Kit that “serves as a step-by-step guide to planning for the event, as well as suggestions for how each sector of your community can support the campaign, message boards, sample social media posts and images to promote the event, and much more!”^[7]

Understanding and Preventing Youth Violence in Your Community

While it may be easy to look at national statistics and believe that youth violence is not a major issue in your community or to be uncertain if it is a problem or not, making this determination is nearly impossible without concrete data. That’s where student surveys can help.

Having accurate data about youth violence in your community can help determine the severity of the issue and give leaders a starting point for enacting strategies to combat it.

At Pride Surveys, we have been helping schools and communities collect data on local youth violence for over thirty years. In our most recent national data summary, we found that, among all the responses curated from our clients, 20.9% of 6th-8th-grade students reported threatening to harm another student, with 30.2% reporting receiving threats of violence from another student at least once. 9th-12th-grade students reported similar rates—21% and 22.2% respectively.^[8]

To find out more about how partnering with Pride can help your community tackle the problem of youth violence, call us at (800) 279-6361 or contact us online.

[1]Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Webbased Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) [online]. (2014). [cited 2016 Nov 8] Available from www.cdc.gov/injury.

[2]Kann L, McManus T, Harris WA, et al. Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance — United States, 2015. MMWR Morb Mortal Surveil Summ. 2016;65(SS-06):1- 174. Available from http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/ volumes/65/ss/pdfs/ss6506.pdf.

[3]Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Webbased Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) [online]. (2014). [cited 2016 Nov 8] Available from www.cdc.gov/injury.

[4]“National Youth Violence Prevention Week.” National SAVE. Retrieved from http://nationalsave.org/NYVPW/ on March 27, 2017.

[5]Ibid.

[6]“National Youth Violence Prevention Week (April 3-7, 2017).” March 28, 2017. National SAVE. Retrieved from http://nationalsave.org/national-youth-violence-prevention-week-april-3-7-2017/ on March 28, 2017.

[7]Ibid.

[8]“Pride Surveys Questionnaire for Grades 6 thru 12 Standard Report: 2015-2016 Pride National Summary.” November 04, 2015. Retrieved from http://www.pridesurveys.com/customercenter/us15ns.pdf on March 28, 2017.