The girl reported that there had been a confrontation earlier, and that she felt that she was in danger prior to the beating. The victim stated that she had approached police officers and transit officers prior to the attack, but that her reports of feeling threatened were not taken seriously. What might have happened to the 15 year old, if she had been able to alert her family that she was in trouble? How might the outcome have changed? We can't say with any certainty that the violence would have stopped, but she would have been able to immediately alert her family and summon support. In her case, this might have made quite a difference. This is the kind of information that parents want to have - they want to know when their kids are in trouble...
Preventable?
Unfortunately, the situation described above is not an isolated incident. A few recent stats:
- In 2005, 7.4% of youths ages 12-17 reported that, in at least one instance, they had attacked others with intent to seriously hurt them. (2005 SAMHSA National Survey on Drug Use and Health)
- Nationwide, 18.5% of high school students had carried a weapon (gun, knife, or club) one or more days in the last 30 days. The prevalence of having carried a weapon was higher among male (29.8%) than female (7.1%) students. (2005 CDC Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance)
So, youth violence is a real issue and, as we've seen above, not all youth are able to effectively advocate for themselves and they are not always taken seriously. Technology won't change social stigmas, nor will it prevent all violence. But it is clearly another tool to have in the toolbox - for both youth and their parents - to help keep kids safe.
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