Date published: 2007/05/21
The BBC says:
Violence is seen as a "major problem for young people" by more than 80% of 11 to 16-year-olds, according to a survey for a children's charity.
The NSPCC survey found that 42% of children had been hit, punched or kicked at secondary school.
Three-quarters had been bullied at school, while one in four had seen adults in the family being violent.
The charity wants Gordon Brown to use his first 100 days as prime minister to tackle violence against children.
According to the survey, large number of UK youngsters were witnesses to violence, with 59% saying they had seen violence or bullying between young people on the street.
Of the 1,172 boys and girls asked by GfK NOP about violence in their lives, 81% said violence was "a major problem for young people nowadays".
And it left them fearful, with 22% frightened of violence towards them at school and 38% "really scared" of attacks against them by young people they did not know.
Less than half of those questioned thought there was enough support for them to deal with violence (44%), and 28% said they would like specialist anti-bullying counsellors and school lessons on how to stay safe.
Gordon Brown has not yet taken over as prime minister and already the special interest pressure groups are crawling out of their holes to push their special interest as somehow worthy of his immediate special attention. The NSPCC survey is a typically meaningless survey where you put the questions you want so that you get the answers you want. Are 38% of children "really scared" of attacks against them and is there any basis in reality for this fear or is it just because various organisations, such as the media and the NSPCC, want to push this fear onto children. And it's amazing the NSPCC only managed to sign up 28% of children to its agenda for "specialist anti-bullying counsellors and school lessons on how to stay safe". After all it's something for nothing, but it looks like the majority of children can see what a waste of money this all would be. Perhaps they should have asked the children how many of them instead wanted free game players and whether that should be taught in school. Unfortunately the NSPCC has to justify its existence by constantly portraying the world as being at an end for children. The way they spin it, it's amazing that anyone manages to survive to become an adult.
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