EVIDENCE SUMMARY

Why young people?
The Home Office Crime and Justice Survey 2003 found that young people aged 10-25 were more than twice as likely as those over the age of 26 to have experienced at least one personal crime in the previous 12 months and the degree of repeat victimisation for violent offences of young people aged 10 to 15 was particularly high, with one in five experiencing five or more incidents in the previous 12 months.

Why victims?
Young people attending our programmes talk about feeling confused, scared, angry, upset and withdrawn as a result of being victimised. Research suggests experiences of crime and bullying can have long term consequences for young people’s mental health and that young victims are often under served in terms of emotional and practical support which could be beneficial (Bond et al, 2001, Young Voices, 2006; Young Minds, 2006).

There is also a strong relationship between victimisation and offending. The Home Office Crime and Justice Survey 2003 found that offending by young people was the factor most strongly associated with their being victims of personal crime, and previous research found that being a victim at age 12 was the strongest predictor for offending at age 15 (Smith et al, 2001) and offending at age 12 brings a strong possibility of later victimisation. Our work seeks to help young people avoid having further experiences of crime.

Why Strong Voices?
Young people on our programme want to feel more confident and safer after an experience of crime. National research has found that the three most helpful factors in preventing, or helping pupils to deal with bullying were friendships, avoidance strategies, and ‘learning to stand up for yourself’ (Oliver and Candappa, DfES, 2003). National research has found that external community support and opportunities and rewards for positive involvement in community activities can be key protective factors in helping young people to avoid becoming involved in crime (McCarthy et al, DfES, 2003). Our programme meets these needs. Young people discuss how to read situations and to take decisions in a workshop setting and then are encouraged to apply what they have learned in practical activity-based sessions. Many of the young people feel empowered to look for opportunities to action in their local community.

Why Newham?
Newham has the highest proportion of young people of any London borough, with over 18,000 young people of secondary school age. The borough also has a higher violent crime crime rate than the London average and we know that young people are at a particularly high risk of repeat victimisation for violent offences. The Newham Panel Survey found that half of the young people in the older age group worried about being victims of crime, while nearly a quarter of all young people in the sample had been bullied at school or elsewhere in the borough and nearly a quarter worried about being bullied (LBN, 2005).

Why run a textline?
Research carried out with young people found they can lack confidence in teachers' or parents' ability to listen to their problems, and lack trust in adults' capacity to protect confidentiality. Speaking to a counsellor from an independent and confidential service was described as a useful means of reducing emotional tension, and enhancing self-confidence and self esteem.These benefits might be expected to assist in empowering pupils to respond to bullying, whether they decided to 'stand up for themselves' or to 'tell an adult'. There were no disadvantages associated with this personal strategy for tackling bullying (Oliver and Candappa, DfES, 2003) which fits well with a whole school approach.

Why get young people involved in service delivery?
Research suggests that young people benefit even more from being enabled to deliver services themselves and that peer pressure is a strong tactic for anti-bullying work (Frost, 1991) Benefits to young people generally and those at risk have been reported in research, including increases in self-esteem, improved school performance and behaviour and positive changes in attitude and behaviour (Smith et al 1990, Sauer 1991,Schondel 1995, Borders and Drury 1992, Cowie and Sharp 1996). We would like to develop this area of our work further.

Supporting Newham's strategic priorities for children and young people

Our goals strongly support those of Newham’s Children and Young People’s Plan 2006-2012. Many of the issues which matter most to children and young people in the borough are core aspects of our work and include feeling safe travelling around the borough, stopping bullying, participating and being heard and changing things. The Plan highlights the need to tackle worry about crime and worry about bullying as an area for improvement and we are ideally placed to contribute to this priority.