14 DAY TRIAL // A new study carried out by researchers at Cardiff University, UK, concluded that teenage girls living in the most deprived areas are five times more likely to be assaulted, compared to their male and female peers.
Young men have twice as many risks of being assaulted than young women, but in deprived environments, the risk rises for young women.
For their study, the researchers relied on emergency care records between October 2005 and September 2006, from the seven hospitals serving the cities of Cardiff, Swansea, and Newport, and the towns of Merthyr Tidfil, Caerphilly, Bridgend and Neath Port Talbot.
During this time interval, nearly 1,500 children and adolescents up to 17 years old, were treated for assault injuries, and the rates of assault for boys and young men were much alike in cities and towns – 14.2/1000 of the population in cities and 13.1/1000 in towns.
After checking for postcodes, the researchers saw that those living in most deprived areas, were between 2 (towns) and 2.6 (cities) times more likely to be victims of violence than those living in the most affluent areas.
During the study period, boys and young men were twice as often attacked as girls and young women, the rates for girls being of 6/1000 of the population in cities and 5.6/1000 in towns.
But the biggest difference was between girls living in the most deprived areas and those living in the most affluent areas, since the first ones were five times more likely to be be assaulted in cities and three times more likely – in towns.
The authors said that “a principal means of preventing violence is targeted policing, informed by knowledge about where, precisely, violence occurs.
“In the past, police resources have been redeployed from feeder towns and suburbs into city centers as part of efforts to target resources more effectively.
“However on the basis of these findings, this redeployment may not be justified.”
Violence is the third leading cause of death among people aged between 15 and 19 years and the 14th leading cause of death among those aged 10 to 14 years, worldwide.
66,000 children and teens in England and Wales were treated in 2007, for assault-related injuries.
This new research was published online in Emergency Medicine Journal.