Violence Among Children & Teens | DISABLED ENTREPRENEUR

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Disclaimer: This article is for general information, education, and awareness only. It is not legal advice and should not be relied upon as a substitute for advice from a qualified solicitor, safeguarding professional, police officer, youth offending team, social worker, or other appropriate authority. Laws can vary between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and individual cases depend on the facts. If a child or young person is in immediate danger, call 999.

Why Children Must Be Taught the Consequences of Violence Before It Is Too Late: Guidance To Bullying, Knife Crime, Sextortion, Drugs & the Urgent Need for Legal Education in Schools

Violence among children and teenagers is not just a “school problem”, a “parenting problem”, or a “policing problem”. It is a community problem. It affects victims, families, schools, neighbourhoods, emergency services, courts, hospitals, prisons and future generations.

Knife crime, bullying, cyberbullying, sextortion, drug use, nitrous oxide “balloons”, gang grooming, domestic abuse exposure, and reckless driving all have one thing in common: many young people do not fully understand the consequences until the damage has already been done.

A single decision can change several lives forever. One punch, one knife, one humiliating video, one blackmail threat, one drug deal, one dangerous drive, or one act of bullying can lead to trauma, criminal records, prison, lifelong guilt, bereavement, disability, mental health decline, and shattered families.

Knife Crime: It Is Not Protection, It Is a Pathway to Tragedy

Some teenagers carry knives because they believe it makes them safer. Others may carry them because of fear, peer pressure, gang grooming, intimidation, status, revenge, or because violence has become normalised around them.

However, carrying a knife does not make a young person safe. It increases the chance of serious injury, death, arrest, prosecution and imprisonment. It also escalates fear in the community. A child who carries a knife “for protection” may end up using it in panic, having it used against them, or being treated by the law as someone prepared for violence.

The latest ONS figures show that knife-enabled offences in England and Wales fell by 10% to 49,151 offences in the year ending December 2025, but that number is still extremely serious. Most knife-enabled crimes were assault with injury, assault with intent to cause serious harm, or robbery.

Under section 139 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988, it is an offence to have an article with a blade or sharp point in a public place without good reason or lawful authority. Under section 139A, it is also an offence to have such an article, or an offensive weapon, on school premises.

Under section 1 of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953, possession of an offensive weapon in a public place is also a criminal offence. CPS guidance states that possession of an offensive weapon in public can carry a maximum sentence of four years’ imprisonment, and threatening someone with a blade or offensive weapon in a public place, school or further education premises can also carry serious penalties.

The law does not accept “I was only carrying it to scare someone” as harmless. Once a knife is brought into a situation, the risk of death rises dramatically.

Why Schools Should Teach the Reality of Knife Crime

Children should be taught, in plain language, what knife crime does to:

the victim, who may die, become disabled, traumatised or fearful;
the victim’s family, who may live with grief forever;
friends and witnesses, who may suffer psychological trauma;
the community, which becomes frightened and divided;
the perpetrator, who may lose their freedom, education, career and future;
the perpetrator’s family, who may also live with shame, grief and heartbreak.

Britain does not have the death penalty for murder. The Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965 abolished capital punishment for murder in Great Britain, later made permanent. That is something to be grateful for. However, prison is still a life-changing consequence. Families on both sides can be destroyed by one violent act.

Schools should not simply say “don’t carry knives”. They should show the human consequences. Carefully selected speakers with lived experience, including victims’ families, emergency workers, youth workers, reformed ex-offenders and, where safeguarding allows, people who have experienced prison, can help young people understand that violence is not glamorous. It is devastating.

However, one-off shock sessions are not enough. The Youth Endowment Fund found that evidence for standalone knife crime education programmes reducing violence is weak, and recommends more targeted support such as mentoring, social and emotional skills, behaviour support, sports programmes and trusted adult relationships.

The best prevention is not fear alone. It is education, belonging, opportunity, discipline, safeguarding and hope.

Why Do Young People Become Violent?

Understanding why crime happens is not the same as excusing it. A child can be both responsible for harm and also a child who has been failed, groomed, frightened or traumatised.

Some young people become involved in violence because of:

fear of being attacked;
bullying or humiliation;
poverty and lack of opportunity;
exclusion from school;
peer pressure;
social media influence;
gang grooming;
criminal exploitation;
domestic abuse at home;
absent role models;
untreated trauma;
drug use;
poor impulse control;
wanting status, respect or protection.

A government-backed inspection report warned that serious youth violence is more far-reaching than many adults realise, with children as young as 11 reportedly carrying knives “for protection” because they feel unsafe.

This is why children need trusted adults. Schools, colleges and alternative provision can play a protective role by giving children a safe place to be, safeguarding them from harm, providing trusted adults and delivering evidence-informed support.

Bullying Is Not “Banter” When It Causes Harm

Bullying can happen in school, outside school, online, on buses, in parks, in group chats, on gaming platforms and through social media. It can include name-calling, threats, intimidation, physical assault, exclusion, humiliation, hate speech, sharing images, spreading rumours, or encouraging others to target someone.

Some bullying may be dealt with by school behaviour policies. Other forms may become criminal.

GOV.UK states that some forms of bullying are illegal and should be reported to the police, including violence or assault, theft, repeated harassment or intimidation, abusive calls, emails or text messages, and hate crimes.

Under section 89 of the Education and Inspections Act 2006, maintained schools in England and Wales must have measures to encourage good behaviour and prevent bullying among pupils. Headteachers also have powers to regulate pupil conduct outside school in certain circumstances, including bullying that happens off school premises.

In Wales, the Welsh Government’s revised Rights, Respect, Equality guidance expects schools and local authorities to prevent, identify and respond to bullying in ways that are rights-based, trauma-informed and inclusive.

Bullying should never be dismissed with phrases such as “children will be children”. A bullied child can develop anxiety, depression, school refusal, self-harm thoughts, social isolation, anger, or a desire for revenge. If adults ignore bullying, they may unintentionally teach the victim that no one will protect them.

Sextortion, Not “Textortion”: The Blackmail of Young People

The word is usually sextortion. It means sexual extortion, often involving a young person being pressured into sending nude or sexual images and then being blackmailed with threats that the images will be shared.

The National Crime Agency describes financially motivated sexual extortion as a type of online blackmail where offenders threaten to release sexual or indecent images unless the victim pays money or meets another financial demand. Teenage boys aged 14–17 and young men aged 18–30 are identified as particularly at risk, although anyone can be targeted.

Sextortion is not the child’s fault. Offenders can be highly manipulative. They may pose as another teenager, use fake profiles, flatter the victim, rush intimacy, threaten exposure, demand money, or use shame to silence them.

Under section 66B of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, inserted by the Online Safety Act 2023, sharing or threatening to share an intimate photograph or film without consent can be a criminal offence.

Where children are involved, the law is even more serious. GOV.UK guidance says taking, making, sharing and possessing indecent images or pseudo-photographs of people under 18 is illegal. The CPS also explains that section 160 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 criminalises possession of an indecent photograph of a child, while the Protection of Children Act 1978 deals with making, distributing, showing and advertising indecent photographs of children.

Schools must educate pupils about consent, coercion, online safety, privacy, image-based abuse and where to get help. Young people should know:

Do not send nudes.
Do not forward nudes.
Do not blackmail anyone.
Do not blame the victim.
Do not pay the blackmailer.
Tell a trusted adult immediately.
Report it to the platform, police, Childline or Report Remove.

Childline’s Report Remove service helps young people under 18 in the UK confidentially report sexual images and videos of themselves and seek removal from the internet.

Vehicles Can Become Weapons

Older teenagers who can drive must understand that a car is not just transport. Used recklessly or deliberately, it can become a weapon.

Dangerous driving under section 2 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 occurs when driving falls far below the standard expected of a competent and careful driver and it would be obvious that the driving is dangerous.

If a vehicle is deliberately used to injure someone, CPS guidance states that assault charges under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, including sections 18, 20 or 47, should be charged where there is a realistic prospect of conviction.

This means a teenager who drives at someone, mounts a pavement, uses a car to intimidate, or drives dangerously to “show off” may face far more than a driving ban. They could face serious criminal charges, imprisonment, lifelong guilt, and the knowledge that they injured or killed another human being.

Drugs, Balloons and False Confidence

Drug use can lower inhibitions, increase aggression, impair judgement and make children vulnerable to exploitation. Some young people may be groomed into carrying drugs, storing money, transporting packages, or holding weapons before they understand the seriousness of what they are involved in.

The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 is the main law controlling dangerous and harmful drugs in the UK. CPS guidance explains that the Act classifies drugs according to their relative harm and creates principal offences relating to possession, supply and production.

Nitrous oxide, often known as “laughing gas” and commonly associated with balloons, became a Class C drug on 8 November 2023. The Home Office stated that possession became illegal, with repeat serious users facing up to two years in prison and dealers facing up to 14 years.

Young people may think balloons are harmless because they are sold or used in party environments, but repeated use can cause serious neurological harm. A government harms assessment warned that repeated nitrous oxide use is linked to serious neurological consequences.

Schools should teach drug law, health risks, exploitation risks and the reality of criminal records. Young people must understand that “holding it for a friend” can still place them in serious legal danger.

Domestic Abuse: Children Are Victims Too

Children who witness domestic abuse may not understand that what they are seeing is violence. They may think shouting, threats, coercion, control, intimidation, humiliation or physical assault are normal.

The Domestic Abuse Act 2021 recognises children as victims of domestic abuse in their own right where they see, hear or experience the effects of domestic abuse and are related to the victim or perpetrator.

This matters. A child who sees domestic abuse may later become fearful, aggressive, withdrawn, hypervigilant, controlling, depressed or vulnerable to exploitation. Some children copy what they see. Others internalise it and blame themselves.

If police remove a child from a domestic abuse incident and then return that child to an unsafe environment without proper risk assessment, safety planning or safeguarding intervention, there is a risk of further psychological harm. Every case depends on the facts, but authorities should not treat a child as luggage to be moved back and forth. The child’s welfare must be central.

Under section 17 of the Children Act 1989, local authorities have duties toward children in need. Under section 47, they must make enquiries where there is reasonable cause to suspect a child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm.

Under section 31 of the Children Act 1989, a court may make a care order or supervision order if the child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant harm and the legal threshold is met.

Safeguarding is not about punishing families unnecessarily. It is about protecting children from harm and ensuring that victims, including child victims, are not forced back into unsafe situations without proper support.

Teachers, Schools and Legal Education

Teachers cannot be expected to replace police, parents, youth workers, social workers or the courts. However, schools are one of the few places where most children can be reached before something goes badly wrong.

The Department for Education’s Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance sets out safeguarding duties for schools and colleges in England and applies to children under 18. Revised statutory guidance on Relationships, Sex and Health Education also sets out legal duties for schools when teaching relationships education, RSE and health education.

Schools should teach children:

what is legal and illegal;
what consent means;
what assault means;
what harassment means;
what coercion means;
what knife possession means;
what happens after arrest;
what a criminal record can do to future employment;
how prison affects families;
how victims and witnesses are traumatised;
how to ask for help safely;
how to leave a gang or harmful friendship group;
how to report bullying, abuse, sextortion or exploitation.

This should not be taught in a dry, tick-box way. It should be real, age-appropriate, trauma-informed and repeated throughout school years.

Serious Violence Is a Public Health and Safeguarding Issue

The Serious Violence Duty, introduced under the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act 2022, requires relevant authorities to work together to prevent and reduce serious violence. The statutory guidance applies to specified authorities such as police, fire and rescue authorities, health bodies, local authorities, youth offending teams and probation services, and also involves educational, prison and youth custody authorities as relevant partners.

This means serious youth violence should not be left to schools alone. Police, local authorities, health services, youth offending teams, social care, prisons, charities, parents and communities must work together.

A child carrying a knife may be a perpetrator, but they may also be a victim of fear, exploitation, abuse or neglect. A child bullying others may also be copying violence from home. A child sending nudes may be groomed. A child using drugs may be self-medicating trauma. A child driving dangerously may be showing off to hide insecurity.

We must hold young people accountable, but we must also ask: what happened to this child, who influenced them, who failed to notice, and what intervention could have stopped this?

Every Child Should Be Taught They Can Achieve Without Crime

Children need more than warnings. They need aspiration.

They need to be told:

You do not need a knife to be respected.
You do not need a gang to belong.
You do not need to bully others to feel powerful.
You do not need drugs to cope.
You do not need to send images to be loved.
You do not need violence to be heard.
You do not need crime to become successful.

Every child should be shown examples of people who rose above poverty, trauma, bullying, disability, racism, abuse, exclusion or adversity and built meaningful lives. Schools should invite entrepreneurs, lawyers, tradespeople, creatives, athletes, carers, disabled professionals, ex-offenders who turned their lives around, and community leaders to show children that success has many routes.

Crime may offer quick money, quick status or quick attention, but it can take away freedom, family, future and peace of mind.

What Parents, Schools and Communities Can Do

Parents and carers should talk openly with children about violence, consent, bullying, online safety, drugs and peer pressure before there is a crisis.

Schools should have clear anti-bullying policies, safeguarding procedures, anonymous reporting routes, strong pastoral support, and proper escalation where behaviour becomes criminal.

Police and youth offending teams should support prevention, not only punishment.

Social services should properly assess children exposed to domestic abuse, criminal exploitation or serious harm.

Communities should stop glamorising violence and start celebrating education, work, kindness, discipline and resilience.

Online platforms should be held accountable when children are exploited, humiliated, groomed or blackmailed.

Young people should be encouraged to speak up early, before fear becomes violence.

Conclusion: Prevention Is Better Than Prison

By the time a child is standing in court, lying in hospital, grieving a friend, or entering prison, many warning signs may already have been missed.

Violence among children and teenagers must be tackled with honesty. Knife crime kills. Bullying destroys confidence. Sextortion ruins mental health. Drugs exploit vulnerability. Cars can become weapons. Domestic abuse damages children even when they are not directly hit.

The answer is not simply harsher punishment. The answer is earlier education, stronger safeguarding, better role models, trauma-informed support, parental awareness, community responsibility and real consequences.

Children must be taught that every action has a ripple effect. A violent act does not end when the police arrive. It follows the victim, the perpetrator, both families and the wider community for years.

No child is born wanting to ruin their life. But children need guidance, boundaries, protection and hope before they make decisions they can never undo.