Committee for Safety of Foreign Exchange Students

Committee for Safety of Foreign Exchange Students

Advocating for the health, safety and welfare of all exchange students

The Unique Barriers Facing Teen Victims

Reaching and Serving TEEN VICTIMS

A Practical Handbook

Copyright(c) 2005 by National Crime Prevention Council and the National Center for Victims of Crime

Mention "teens" and "crime," and many people think about vandalism, stolen cars, and gang violence. Crime committed by teens is without doubt an urgent problem. However, an obsession with young criminals obscures another troubling problem -- the alarming number of American adolescents who are victims of crime. At home, at school, and in public places, teenagers are victimized by assault, rape, robbery, and other crimes. Indeed, they are twice as likely as adults to become victims of violent crime. The rate of violent victimization in 2002 was higher for persons ages 16 to 19 (58.2 per 1,000) and 12 to 15 years (44.4 per 1,000) than for any other age group. 1 Furthermore, these victims are highly vulnerable to being revictimized; one study found that 80 percent of youths reporting violent victimization had been victimized two or more times. 2

Despite being victimized more often than other age groups, teens are the least likely to report their victimization. In 2002 just 37.8 percent of personal crimes (includes all violent crimes plus pickpocketing and purse snatching) with victims ages 12 to 19 were reported to police, while the reporting rates for other age groups ranged from 50.8 to 58.1 percent. 3

Why don't teens report their victimization? The shock, shame, and stigma attached to being a victim of crime often make it difficult even for adults to report their victimization. Teens face many additional obstacles:

Lack of understanding that what they experienced was a crime
Fear that no one will believe them
Fear of being blamed or punished
Feelings of guilt, shame, and self-blame
Fear of retaliation
Mistrust of adults
Belief that nothing will be done
Lack of knowledge about available services
Lack of access to services
Perceived and real limits of confidentiality

These obstacles represent a formidable barrier to vulnerable teens seeking help, even when outreach and referral programs are in place. Furthermore, legal issues involved in working with minors, such as parental consent and mandatory reporting, make some victim service providers reluctant to reach out to them. As a result of these factors, needed services are not reaching many teen victims.

This has serious consequences. Several studies have documented the correlation between victimization and negative outcomes during adolescence or later in life. Teens who have been victimized are more likely to be truant and have more negative contacts with teachers, and there is some evidence that this disruption to their education translates into lower earnings later in life. Adolescent victims also have higher rates of teen pregnancy, substance abuse, depression, eating disorders, and delinquency. 4,5 Some of these problems may be preventable if teen victims receive the help and support they need in the immediate aftermath of their victimization.

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