Juvenile Justice Information Exchange (https://jjie.org/tag/teen-violence/)
Gun violence is killing an increasing number of American children, from toddlers caught in crossfires to teenagers gunned down in turf wars, drug squabbles or for posting the wrong thing on social media. Experts say idleness caused by the COVID-19 pandemic shares the blame with easy access to guns and disputes that too often end with gunfire.
A grant from the Department of Health and Human Services entitled Research on Teen Dating Violence seeks to understand the precursors for and reducing the risk of teen dating violence. The hope is to examine perceptions of appropriate responses between service providers, the criminal justice system, teens, victims, perpetrators and bystanders. Abusive behavior is any act carried out where one partner aims to hurt or control the other. The research encompasses at least one of three types of behaviors; physical aggression, sexual aggression and psychological aggression. This grant is also supported by The National Institutes of Health, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse, Office for Research on Women’s Health, and the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute for Child Health and Human Development.
The unprovoked murder of two teenagers at house parties in the Atlanta-area, is fueling a plan to study the causes of teen violence. Georgia State Representative Roger Bruce has pre-filed a resolution at the Capitol calling for a Joint Teen Violence Study Commission. The six-member commission will study teen violence and make recommendations to the legislature. Resolution HR9, calls for the Speaker of the House, the President of the Senate, and the Governor to each choose two members for the Commission, with a chair appointed by the Governor. Their mission will be to gather insight from experts in juvenile justice and child welfare as well as crime victims and teen perpetrators.