22 ways to build resilience and Aspiration in people and communities
Too often media stories about drug taking, gangs or anti-social behaviour, depict adolescents as criminals. This ‘adultification’ bias fails to understand the environment in which many of our adolescents grow up: one fraught with risks – from online harms to County Lines exploitation, through to knife crime and harmful trends such as vaping.
Young victims of exploitation and those displaying risky behaviours are rarely the focus of policymakers. We want to change that. We believe that through well thought out policies, adolescents can be better protected from harm and supported to thrive.
We want to see the next Government commit to making the UK a safe place to grow up – and one where adolescents are able to build resilience and aspiration that will remain with them for life.
1. Implement a national strategy to tackle Child Criminal Exploitation, including County Lines.
2. Commit to tackling online harms as a priority, enacting with urgency the legislative changes that will come out of the Online Safety Bill.
3. Invest further in the presence of youth workers in communities, to ensure the impact of the National Youth Guarantee is sustained beyond 2025.
4. Mandate training for all professionals working within education settings on how to intervene, address and support young people impacted by ‘gang’ affiliation, ‘serious youth violence’ and knife crime.
5. Ensure School Exclusion Panels consult with local experts on child exploitation, ‘gangs’ and ‘serious youth violence’ before making an exclusion decision.
6. Introduce measures that prevent vaping products being marketed to young people, such as plain packaging and banning sports sponsorship.
