Violence, Crime, and Drugs
Sexual HARASSMENT among Youth 60% 56% Students in Grades 7 12 Who Experienced Sexual Harassment During the 2010 2011 School Year, by Gender 52% 48% 44% 40% 40% 35% 36% All Students 30% 24% Girls 20% Boys 0% Experienced any kind of sexual harassment (in person or online) Experienced sexual harassment in person Experienced sexual harassment online Source: Crossing the Line, Sexual Harassment at School, AAUW, 2011 88
About half (48%) of the students in grades 7 12 experienced some form of sexual harassment at school during the 2010 2011 school year. More than four in 10 students (44%) encountered sexual harassment in person, and 30 percent encountered sexual harassment through texting, email, Facebook, or other electronic means. Many experienced sexual harassment both in person and electronically. Girls were more likely than boys to experience sexual harassment (56% vs. 40%). The gender gap holds true for both in-person harassment (52% vs. 35%) and electronic harassment (36% vs. 24%). A majority of harassed students (54%) identified one male student as their harasser, and 12 percent of harassed students said that they were harassed by a group of male students. In contrast, 14 percent of students said the harasser was one female student, and five percent said that they were harassed by a group of female students. Eleven percent of harassed students said that their harassers were a group of both female and male students. Crossing the Line, Sexual Harassment at School, AAUW, 2011 89
BULLYING and CYBER-BULLYING Among Youth Percentage of All Students Ages 12 to 18 Who Reported Being Bullied (2010 2011 school year) Selected Types Total Male Female 6th Grade 8th Grade 10th Grade 12th Grade Total bullied at school or cyber-bullied anywhere 29.7% 26.7% 32.9% 37.4% 32.0% 30.8% 23.8% Total bullied at school or going to and from school 27.8% 24.5% 31.4% 37.0% 30.7% 28.0% 22.0% Subject of rumors 18.3% 13.2% 23.8% 23.1% 19.0% 19.6% 16.7% Made fun of, called names, or insulted 17.6% 16.2% 19.1% 27.0% 20.7% 16.9% 10.6% Pushed, shoved, tripped, or spit on 7.9% 8.9% 6.8% 12.7% 10.8% 6.7% 2.7% Excluded from activities on purpose 5.6% 4.8% 6.4% 6.6% 6.4% 5.3% 4.3% Threatened with harm 5.0% 5.0% 5.1% 4.9% 5.3% 5.1% 3.5% Tried to make do things did not want to do 3.3% 3.6% 3.0% 3.9% 2.9% 3.9% 2.3% Property destroyed on purpose 2.8% 3.3% 2.3% 3.7% 4.0% 2.2% 1.9% Total cyber-bullying 9.0% 6.9% 11.2% 6.4% 8.6% 11.6% 7.8% Subject of harassing emails/text messages/ims 9.0% 5.0% 13.2% 4.7% 8.3% 12.9% 6.2% Hurtful/private information shared on Internet 4.7% 2.4% 7.2% 1.6% 4.2% 6.3% 4.2% Note: Percentages are based on all students in each category. Detail types sum to more than totals because students may have experienced more than one type of bullying or cyber-bullying. Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, School Crime Supplement (SCS) to the National Crime Victimization Survey, 2011 90
Overall, females are more likely than males to report being victims of cyberbullying and bullying at school or going to and from school. Males are more likely than females to report being victims of physical bullying: being pushed, shoved, tripped, or spit on (8.9%); being made to do things they did not want to do (3.6%); or having property destroyed on purpose (3.3%). All types of bullying reported at school or going to and from school tend to decrease from 6th grade to 12th grade. Reports of cyber-bullying increase 2.2 percentage points between 6th and 8th grade; they increase another 3.0 points between 8th and 10th grade and then decrease 3.8 points from 10th to 12th grade. Overall, Caucasians are most likely to report being victims of bullying or cyberbullying (33.5%), followed by African Americans (28.5%), Hispanics/Latinos (23.8%), and Asians (16.2%). Caucasians are most likely to report being victims of each type of bullying or cyber-bulling with the exception of physical bullying. African Americans are most likely to report being the victim of being pushed, shoved, tripped, or spit on (9.3%), being made to do things they did not want to do (4.3%), or having property destroyed on purpose (3.3%). U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, School Crime Supplement (SCS) to the National Crime Victimization Survey, 2011 91
Child Abuse and Neglect Child Maltreatment Victims by Race/Ethnicity Percent of Victims in Each Group 2007 2008 2009 2010 Alaska Native/American Indian 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% Asian 0.3% 0.4% 0.4% 0.4% Black 13.0% 13.6% 15.3% 16.4% Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% Hispanic (of any race) 8.0% 8.7% 8.4% 9.6% White 51.8% 51.5% 50.4% 51.9% Two or more races 2.3% 2.5% 3.2% 3.3% Total child victims 761,292 774,137 763,352 753,655 National child victim rate (child victims per 1,000 children in the population) 10.4 10.3 10.1 10.0 *All races exclude children of Hispanic origin. **Data represents duplicate counts of children as the same child may be reported as a victim more than once. Source: Child Welfare Outcomes 2007 2010, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services In 2010, the overall national child victim rate was 10 child victims per 1,000 children in the population. This is a slight decrease from the rate of 10.4 in 2007. The types of maltreatment most often reported in 2010 were neglect (70.3% of cases), physical abuse (15.5%), and sexual abuse (7.1%). Child Welfare Outcomes 2007-2010, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 92
High School Students ALCOHOL Use Percent of High School Students Who Ever Drank Alcohol All high school 70.8% 70.9% 70.6% 12th grade 11th grade 10th grade 9th grade 61.7% 61.9% 61.6% 69.2% 69.1% 69.2% 79.0% 80.0% 78.0% 75.3% 74.8% 75.7% 0.0% 20.0% 40.0% 60.0% 80.0% 100.0% All Students Female Source: Youth Risk Behavior Survey Surveillance United States, 2011, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Male Six of ten (61.7%) 9th graders have had at least one drink of alcohol. This percentage increased to 79 percent of 12th graders. About 15 percent of 12th graders in 2011 drank alcohol for the first time before age 13; however, more than one in four (26.6%) 9th graders in 2011 drank alcohol before age 13. Youth Risk Behavior Survey Surveillance United States, 2011, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Among young people ages 12 to 20, past month alcohol use fell from nearly 29 percent in 2002 to about 25 percent in 2011. HealthDay, U.S. News and World Report, September 24, 2012 93
High School Students DRUG Use Percent of High School Students Who Ever Used Marijuana All high school 12th grade 11th grade 10th grade 9th grade 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% All Students Female Source: Youth Risk Behavior Survey Surveillance United States, 2011, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Three in 10 (30.8%) 9th graders have used marijuana at least once. This percentage increased to 39.9 percent of 12th graders. About 8 percent of 12th graders in 2011 used marijuana for the first time before age 13; this percentage increases to 12.7 percent of 9th graders in 2011. Youth Risk Behavior Survey Surveillance United States, 2011, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Marijuana is the most commonly used illegal drug. The rate of use among 12- to 17-year-olds was about the same in 2011 (7.9%) as in 2009 (7.4%). 39.9% 37.2% 42.5% 36.4% 35.2% 37.5% 30.8% 26.4% 34.9% 48.9% 47.1% 50.8% 45.5% 42.1% 48.7% Male Past month use of tobacco by 12- to 17-year-olds continued to decline from more than 15 percent in 2002 to 10.7 percent in 2010 and 10 percent in 2011. HealthDay, U.S. News and World Report, September 24, 2012 Few parents believe their own teens are drinking alcohol (10%) or using marijuana (5%). By comparison, more than half of teens (52%) drink alcohol, and 28 percent say they smoke marijuana. C.S. Mott Children s Hospital, University of Michigan, Youth Market Alerts, December 15, 2011 94