The wellbeing and happiness of millions of children is being affected by concerns about crime in their local area, according to a study.
The Good Childhood report 2017, based on a survey of 3,000 10- to 17-year-olds and their parents, found that two in five teenagers in the UK worry about anti-social behaviour and other crimes. The Children’s Society, which published the report, used Office of National Statistics data to extrapolate how many people across the population as a whole were affected by the concerns listed.
The report found that young people’s happiness with their life was its lowest since 2010 and revealed that more than a million children experience at least seven serious problems in their lives – such as a fear of crime, domestic violence and bereavement. It was worse among girls, with a 52 per cent rise in those who reported being unhappy between 2009-10 and 2014-15. For boys, reports of low wellbeing rose by three per cent across that period.
The report said: “It cannot be acceptable that so many children and young people in this country are experiencing serious problems that are leaving them unhappy. It is only possible to improve the wellbeing of children and young people across the country by correctly resourcing and prioritising the services which help children before they hit crisis point.”