Environment of Crimes and Violence at Community Level and Its Exclusionary Effects on Children

(ProQuest: . denotes formulae omitted.)IntroductionThe Term Poverty As A Strong Ingredient of shaping human life embodies economic nature of disadvantage, grounded in application of a static set of indicators such as lack of income. (Department of Social Security, 1999). Understanding the concept of social exclusion helps to analyze the dynamic process that causes the conditions of disadvantage in broader social and economic context (Commins, 2004). It emphasizes on the process of causing detachment of individuals or groups from the bulk and caters for a broader range of competences that people enjoy or fail to enjoy for a more productive life. Social exclusion is a condition, when a number of people suffer from a combination of linked problems like unemployment, low skills, low income, poor housing, high crime environment, poor health and family breakdown with other combined factors to trap individuals/areas in a spiral of disadvantage (SEU, 1997; and DSS, 1999). It is associated to the process of shutting out from one of social, economic, political and cultural system, necessary for integrating individuals in a society, usually shaped after denial to social relations, customs, where majority participates or sometime with physical incapability to participate as individual's un-controlling inabilities or lacking the decision power and integration to participate (Walker and Walker, 1997; and Gordon et al., 2000). The phenomena of social exclusion could easily be explained through two major facets i.e. denial to participate (as external) and inability to participate (as internal). The problem of exclusion could not be confined to old people; rather it further aggravates through disadvantage, especially in children. It is an outcome of dysfunctional institution whereby a person is forced to indecent situation, with the only solution left over is the abundance of resources along with provision of rights for properly addressing and functioning of human rights (Marsh et al., 1999). SEU (1998) report made it evident that people in deep exclusion are forced to leave home or released from prison and are faced with severe mental and physical illnesses. The report found such people associated with addicts and habitual criminals. These people were addicted to drugs; they were more likely to have remained unemployed, absentee, with convicted family member(s) of criminal offences, teenage father and HIV positive.Youth violence represents a significant troubling behavioral outcome of living in poverty in the United States. Youth ages 12-17 are more likely to be victims of violent crime than adults. For black youth in 1994 the victimization rate was 136 per 1000 as compared to 118 per 1000 for white youth (Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics, 1997). Stressful events, individual beliefs, and economic disadvantage have been noted to increase the risk for aggression among urban children. In a study of almost 2,000 elementary school children over a two-year period (Guerra et al., 1995), life stress and neighborhood violence stress as well as beliefs of approving of aggression were related to low economic status. These factors predicted aggression in the total population as did low socio-economic status, cultural differences were noted among whites, African-Americans, and Hispanics.Clear (2007) found that child socialization is function of supervision from parents, discipline and parent child relationship. Negligence in child care and inappropriate family environment are associated with crimes and social exclusion in children. Disadvantage of community in form of poverty and crimes, make the living area inappropriate to raise children. Such disadvantages amplify family's problems and support social exclusion.Bradshaw et al. (2006) explained importance of fear of crimes and victimization in social exclusion of children. The two pronged approach, introduced by authors, focuses on securing child's rights during his childhood and then concentrating for their future life chances and developmental outcomes. …