Violence Against Children Falls

Despite recent well-publicized school shootings and stabbings, children and teens today are actually exposed to less violence than they were a decade earlier. In surveys conducted with more than 10,000 kids in 2003, 2008, and 2011, researchers found significant decreases in experiences with different types of violence, including assaults involving weapons and injuries; assaults by peers and siblings; physical and emotional bullying; and sexual victimization. The study’s author, David Finkelhor, said the actual numbers are probably an undercount. However, he noted “the important thing for studying trends is that we have no reason to think that the undercounting is responsible for any of the trend findings.”