Violence is experienced differently by boys and girls.

Boys are more likely to be involved in any violence, but rates are high for girls as well.

The majority of boys (68%) and girls (66%) are concerned about violence. 24% of boys and 16% of girls have been a victim of violence in the past year. 21% of boys and 11% of girls have perpetrated violence in the past year.

Boys and girls experience different types of violence.

Boys are more likely than girls to have been victims of physical assault (12% vs 7%), robbery (8% vs 4%) and weapons violence (7% vs 3%) but not sexual assault (6% vs 7%). While boys are more likely to experience violence in public spaces, boys (13%) and girls (16%) are equally as likely to experience violence in their homes.

Violence against women and girls is frequently seen on social media.

33% of teenage children have seen content on social media encouraging violence against women and girls. Girls are slightly more likely to say they’ve seen this content (34%) than boys (32%). 27% of all 13-17-year-olds say they’ve seen images or threats of sexual assault.

Relationship violence is common for both boys and girls.

Half of children in relationships say they’ve experienced violent or controlling behaviours…

27% of 13-17-year-olds say they’ve been in a relationship in the pst 12 months. Half (49%) report experiencing violent or controlling behaviours from their partners. This translates to 13% of all children.

…ranging from constant messages to physical and sexual violence.

45% of children in relationships say their partner constantly sends messages, checking up on them. 27% are afraid to disagree with their partners in case they get angry. 20% have been pressured into sexual acts they didn’t want. 19% have been hit, kicked or shoved. 17% have had intimate images of themselves shared online.

Younger teenagers report higher rates of violent and controlling relationship experiences.

Among those in relationships, 28% of 13-15-year-olds say they’ve been hit, kicked or shoved, compared to 12% of 16-17-year-olds. 35% of 13-year-olds in relationships say they’ve been pressured into sex, compared to 12% of 17-year-olds in relationships.

Schools teach lessons on healthy relationships, but topics such as consent may not be reaching those who most need it.

Half of children have had lessons about sexual consent.

76% of students have received some form of relationship education in the past year. The most common topics are sexual consent (55%), harassment (43%) and how to be in a healthy and respectful romantic relationship (40%).

But children who’ve perpetrated sexual violence are significantly less likely to say they’ve received lessons on consent.

Most children who’ve perpetrated sexual violence say they’ve had some form of lessons on dating and relationships in the past year (94%). But they’re less likely to say they’ve received lessons on sexual consent (39%) and harassment (31%) than the average (55% and 43%, respectively).

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