Because Things 

Happen Every Day:

www.ncvc.org

COPS COMMUNITY ORIENTED POLICING SERVICES

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

www.cops.usdoj.gov

Teenage Victims of Crime

Responding to Teenage Victims of Crime 

Discussion Guide
It took a while for me to learn-actually 

accept-that people have actually been 

through the same things I have. I just 

wish that they would've had a group 

like this sooner. Not just because 

something happened, but because 

things happen every day. 

	 	 	 	

-Yolanda
The National Center for Victims of Crime and

the Office of Community Oriented Policing

Services, U.S. Department of Justice, produced

this 20-minute educational video, Because 

Things Happen Every Day: Responding to 

Teenage Victims of Crime, to illustrate the

importance of a collaborative community

response to teenage victims of crime.

The statistics are alarming: adolescents

represent approximately 14 percent of the

general population, yet they comprise about 31

percent of individuals who become victims of

violence.1 In fact, teenagers are approximately

twice as likely as other age groups to become

victims of violence.2 Victimization during

adolescence comes at a particularly difficult

time in life. Normal adolescent development is

characterized by rapid change, culminating in a

desire for independence, a search for identity,

the development of abstract thinking skills, and

a need to separate from adults by establishing

close relationships with peers. A teen's peer

group becomes increasingly important and, in

some respects, more influential than parents or

other adults.

Because Things Happen Every Day features

two innovative programs that have been

effective in reaching and responding to teen

victims through the use of peer leadership, inschool support groups, one-on-one counseling,

and hotlines. The voices of teens themselves

are prominent throughout the video, describing

their experiences with crime, as well as what

helped them recover their confidence and

hope.

About This Video

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How to Use This Video

Because Things Happen Every Day is geared

toward anyone who works with teenagers and/

or might be in a position to identify and support

teen victims. Some examples include:

• Youth development professionals

• Victim service providers

• School resource officers and other law

enforcement

• Teen leaders

• School counselors and teachers (or other

educators)

• Community groups

• Clergy (or other faith leaders)

• Principals and administrators

The goal of this video is to foster a greater

understanding of the impact of crime and

violence on teens and the obstacles teens

face in coming forward and seeking help.

We suggest you review the video several

times before presenting it so that you will be

familiar with the content and able to guide the

training and discussion. Suggested discussion

questions begin on page six. 

When your training is complete, we hope your

participants will come away with these main

ideas:

• Teen victimization is a serious problem. A

pervasive lack of awareness about the scope

and prevalence of teen victimization is a

serious hurdle in adequately responding to

this problem. Any attempt to address teen

victimization must involve an education

component.
• Involve teens. Teens are greatly influenced

by their peers. Peer-led programs promote

action, and adult-run programs can be

maximized when teens are put in a position

to reach out and help their peers.

• Partnerships are crucial. Programs

for teens are greatly enhanced through

collaborative efforts among victim service

agencies, schools, law enforcement

agencies, businesses, faith communities, and

youth-serving organizations. Decision-makers

should look for opportunities to develop new

services or tailor existing programs to directly

support teen victims of crime.

• There are consequences if we don't help 

teen victims. Not reaching and providing

support to teen victims leads to tremendous

personal and societal costs. Many teen

victims struggle with poor performance in

school, depression, and other problems. Not

responding to teen victimization can have

life-long consequences.

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Using This Video with Teens 

Although this video is aimed at raising adults'

awareness of the problem of teen victimization

and the range of possible responses, you may

also wish to show this video to teens. If you

do, be sure to warn the teens that they will

see several young people talking about their

own experiences of victimization, and this may

trigger uncomfortable feelings for them if they

or someone they know has been victimized. 

Be sure to give teens a resource number to

call if they would like to talk to someone about

a personal experience. If possible, have a

trained counselor available to youth who need

immediate support after or while viewing the

video.

Some of the discussion questions below may

be used with youth, and some additional ones

may be added, depending on the purpose of

the viewing. If showing the video to a group

of teen leaders who want to start a victim

outreach or support effort, the discussion

leader should solicit the teens' ideas of how

they want to get involved, encourage the

teens to make a list of adults in the community

who can support their efforts, and end the

discussion with a concrete action plan.
Program Profiles

SafePlace, in Austin, Texas, is a large victim

service agency that addresses various types of

violence against adults and teens. SafePlace,

which operates a hotline and provides free,

confidential counseling to teens, works closely

with school counselors and staff to form

support groups for teens. SafePlace casts a

wide net to attract teens in middle schools

and high schools who are victims of various

types of violence, including domestic violence,

sexual assault, sexual harassment, and dating

violence. SafePlace educates teens about the

effects of violence and helps them deal with

problems experienced at home or at school.

SafePlace organizes support groups of 6-12

teens each that meet for a total of 24 sessions.

Girls and boys attend separate support groups

which are held at schools. SafePlace's "Expect

Respect" initiative has been featured on

national television.

The Students Terminating Abusive 

Relationships (STAR) Program is an

peer leadership and education program in

Westchester County, New York. STAR's

mission is to speak out against interpersonal

and societal violence and to promote healthy

relationships based on equality, respect, and

trust. STAR members include high school and

college students who attend monthly meetings

to learn more about dating violence and how

to plan and implement awareness activities

in their schools and communities. The White

Plains High School STAR chapter offers a

model approach for establishing partnerships

between schools, victim service providers, and

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the local police department. STAR's community

partners include: local middle schools and

high schools, police departments, United Way,

Junior League, Westchester Mental Health

Association, YWCA, religious institutions,

Boys & Girls Clubs, Students Against Drunk

Driving (SADD), and local businesses.

STAR collaborates with the White Plains

Police Department, and officers frequently

give awareness-raising talks to high-school

students. STAR was started by the Northern

Westchester Shelter in Pleasantville, New York.

The Northern Westchester Shelter was founded

in 1980 as a safe haven for domestic violence

victims. The Shelter provides free confidential

counseling, legal aid, support groups, and a

24-hour hotline.

Questions for Discussion

After showing Because Things Happen Every 

Day, allow for at least 15 minutes to discuss

audience reactions and explore how your

program or community could improve its

response to teenage victims of crime. Offered

below are suggested questions, grouped by

topic area, to help guide your discussion. Also

highlighted are direct quotations from the video

that help illustrate particular discussion points.

Teen victimization: The facts

• What crimes do teen victims experience?

Teen victims experience the whole range

of crimes that adults experience, including

domestic violence/dating violence, burglary,

assault, identity theft, stalking, harassment, and

homicide.
• How is responding to teen victims similar 

and dissimilar to responding to adult 

victims of crime?

Susan Herman: "Teenagers need many of

same things, many of the same resources and

services that adult victims of crime need. They

need support; they need safety; they need

safety planning; they need individual and group

counseling. They need advocacy for those

who go through the criminal justice process.

They need compensation; they need orders

of protection. The full range of services and

resources that we've made available to adults

need[s] to be adapted and need[s] to be made

accessible to teenage victims of crime."

However, because teens are making the

transition from childhood to adulthood, support

for teen victims must take their developmental

stage into consideration. For example, teens

are strongly influenced by their peers, so

peer-led education and support are especially

beneficial for this population.

• What are some reasons why a teen might 

not come forward if he/she is being 

victimized?

Society often blames the victim. In addition,

teens often think that they will be punished or

arrested if, at the time of the victimization, they

were in a situation where drugs or alcohol were

involved. Additionally, many teens are aware

of mandatory reporting requirements and do

not want their victimization brought to the

attention of law enforcement or child protection

authorities.

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Reaching Teens

• What are some effective strategies for 

reaching teens?

Going to where teens are (e.g., setting up

tables in the mall or hanging flyers on school

bulletin boards and around the community);

using "teen-friendly" language; forming trusting

relationships; facilitating youth-led outreach

efforts; ensuring confidentiality; and making

educational information and support groups

easily accessible to teens.

Susan Herman: "We have to go where teens

are, we have to speak their language, and we

have to help them in ways that they want to be

served."

Ally: "It's important for communities to get the

information out there, because if they don't

know then nobody's going to reach out for

help. Teens aren't going to just volunteer their

information if they don't know where to go, and

they don't feel safe talking to just anyone."

• What outreach techniques can be used to 

reach teens? 

Within the school setting, hanging flyers and

posters in the hallways or on bulletin boards,

coordinating youth-led presentations in

classrooms, and holding school assemblies are

all effective ways to reach teens. In addition,

teachers and counselors can speak directly

with teens who might be at risk. They are in a

unique position to notice if an individual has

been behaving differently or has drastically
changed his or her appearance. School officials

should be knowledgeable and able to make

referrals to support groups or other appropriate

resources.

Garreth Horwood: "Oftentimes a group

member, before he's met me, has talked to

the counselor or the teacher about a personal

experience or two. Sometimes it's based purely

on what the counselor or teacher has seen

in terms of behavior: has that student acted

violently? Have they suggested that maybe

they've been hurt or abused? Maybe they've

even seen physical signs like a bruise or

something like that." 

Nolan Correa: "One of the recommendations I

would like to make for other administrators is

to go out into your community and look to see

if there is a group, such as SafePlace, that can

come in and assist your staff, community, and

students... These groups are there to educate

and help, but we must go out and find them." 

In Westchester, New York, the STAR program

holds school assemblies to educate students

about dating violence and set up tables at a

local mall on a Saturday afternoon to provide

literature to teens. 

• In what ways did the programs in the 

video enlist teens in their outreach 

efforts? In what ways can you involve 

teens in your own outreach initiatives in 

your community?

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The Northern Westchester Shelter recognized

the need for an effective way to reach a

population of victims that was underserved

and developed Students Terminating Abusive

Relationships (STAR) to meet that need. 

Because STAR is a student-led group, teens

are able to reach out to other teens in ways

that they know first-hand are effective. They

give presentations about warning signs, types

of abuse, and ways to help a friend in need.

STAR teens actively encourage both their male

and female peers to sign up for the STAR

program.

Ally: "As part of the STAR group, we reach out

to teens in the community by putting up posters

and flyers at the YMCA, the library."

Detective Tribble: "It's better perceived from

one teen to another than as myself, as an adult

and as an authority figure, talking to young

people."

• What are the consequences of not 

responding to teen victimization?

Teens are twice as likely as any other age

group to be victims of violent crime. Teen crime

victims are at a greater risk of doing poorly

in school, abusing drugs or alcohol, having

problems eating or sleeping, being revictimized,

and becoming an offender of violent crime

themselves.

Brandon: "Whenever I'd get mad at my house

and I can't really hit my mom or anything... I

went and take it out at school."
Barri: "We cast the net kind of wide to attract

as many kids who have had any form of

victimization at all to participate. Because we

know that those kids are at greater risk for being

victimized again and for using those abusive

behaviors in their own relationships."

Responding to Teens

• What are some of the indicators, as told by 

the teens in the video, that a teen might be 

being victimized?

— Physical injuries

	 Yolanda: "I'd come to school with a black

eye and I'd have bruise marks on my neck,

shoulders, and arms."

	 Karis: "I had been cutting because I don't

know how else to deal with it... I used to have

these huge gashes all over my arms."

— Isolation, withdrawal, or over-dependence 

on a dating partner

	 Alexa: "He put me down and threatened

me. He wouldn't let me go anywhere without

him... I lost all my friends. I completely lost

who I was. I had no personality. I had nothing

because he cut me down and destroyed my

self-esteem."

	 — Feelings of shame, decreased self-esteem, 

and decreased interest in activities

	 Karis: "I started to blame myself."

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	 Brandon: "It just made me angry all the time,

and I never really had a smile, and I was

never happy."

	 Yolanda: "It just takes a toll on everything.

You're worried about this or you're not

concentrating on your work or you're not

doing something right or you don't perform

well athletically because of it."

• Think of some examples from the video in 

which teens (a) needed help but felt that 

they could not seek it, or (b) attempted to 

open up to an adult, but did not receive 

the help that they needed.

	 Karis: "It went on for about a year and I

didn't, I just couldn't tell anyone."

	 Amber: "I didn't know how to tell them, you

know. I don't talk to my parents. I'm not

open with my parents. We don't have a good

communication thing going on."

	 Yolanda: "Sometimes during class I would

just go outside and cry and wonder why

nobody didn't want to help me."	 	

	 Brandon: "I would tell someone in between

times but no one really listened."

• How can you make your outreach and 

support activities more effective and 

positive?

	 Yolanda: "You want to be able to have that

one person reach out to you and help you

and say, 'This is what I want to do. This is

what I want to help you with.'"
	 Barri: "If a child makes a disclosure to you,

he or she trusts you, so you need to know

how to respond in an effective manner. You

should listen. Believe that child. Ask that child

what they need to feel safe, and ask them

how you can help them."

	 Yolanda: "I was talking to one of my English

teachers, and she really just realized how

much that I go through."

• What was the motivation for starting 

the Threat-Share Committee at Reagan 

High School? Who participates in the 

committee meetings, and what purpose 

does it serve?

Principal Correa put together the "ThreatShare Committee" after the murder that took

place at his school. The Committee consists

of counselors, administrators, teachers, and

department chairs. They meet once a week

before school starts to share ideas about

any possible student that may be at risk or

currently experiencing violence of some sort.

They converse about students whose behavior,

dress, or attitude has changed, so they can

then meet with those students to tell them

about the SafePlace groups.

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Collaboration & Partnerships

• How did Reagan High School in Austin, 

Texas, make use of their community 

resources in responding to a severe 

incident of teen victimization?

Following a fatal stabbing of a young woman by

the victim's boyfriend, the principal of Reagan

High School held meetings and reached out to

the school's staff, the school district, and the

community-at-large for support and ideas for

how to start a program to address the issue.

They collaborated with SafePlace, which was

already established in Austin, and arranged

for confidential teen support groups to be held

inside the schools for any teen who wanted to

talk about victimization.

• Why is law enforcement an important 

component of a comprehensive response 

to teen victims?

Involving law enforcement lets teens know

that the police are not the bad guys and

that they are there to help. School Resource

Officers (SROs) can be a very effective

resource because they are in the schools

where teens are and are well-informed about

teen victimization issues. They also often have

informed interactions with students and come

to be seen as trusted figures in the school

community.
• What role does Detective Tribble play 

in the response to teen victims in 

Westchester?

Detective Tribble gives presentations and

conducts workshops with the students about

victimization issues. He encourages teens to

use the resources available to them, such as a

confidential victim services hotline.

• How does the Austin Police Department 

interact with SafePlace?

The Victim Services Coordinator at the Austin

Police Department makes many visits to the

local high schools. SafePlace also partners

with groups like Communities in Schools,

which invites school resource offices to

give classroom presentations on various

victimization issues.

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• Describe the partnerships that you saw in 

the video. How did they come about? Who 

are your partners currently? Who else in 

your community should be involved in 

this effort?

Both programs shown in the video

demonstrate effective partnerships with local

law enforcement, including school resource

officers. The partnership that Reagan High

School formed with SafePlace came about

when the principal went into the community

to look for a group that could assist his staff

and students with the issues of violence that

occur in school. In Westchester, schools call

the Northern Westchester Shelter, home to

the STAR program, and invite experts to come

in and give presentations to the students.

In addition, SafePlace provides training and

consultation about victim issues to agencies in

the community that serve youth (e.g., 

Extenda-Care, which provides after-school

services and summer programs for teens;

OutYouth, a gay, lesbian, and transgendered

youth organization; the Boys & Girls Clubs; the

Austin PTA; and Communities in Schools, a

nonprofit social work agency). 

Endnotes

1

National Crime Victimization Survey, Bureau

of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of

Justice, 2004 (data from 2003). 2

Ibid.
Additional Resources

National Center for Victims of Crime

www.ncvc.org

The National Center for Victims of Crime is

dedicated to forging a national commitment to

help victims of crime rebuild their lives. The

National Center's toll-free Helpline,

1-800-FYI-CALL, offers supportive counseling,

practical information about crime and

victimization, and referrals to local community

resources, as well as skilled advocacy in the

criminal justice and social service systems.

The National Center's Teen Victim Project

web site (www.ncvc.org/tvp) offers teen-friendly

fact sheets on various crimes, descriptions

of current youth-led programs, and additional

teen-related resources.

This document was prepared by the National

Center for Victims of Crime and supported by

grant 2003-CK-WX-K002, awarded by the U.S.

Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and

conclusions or recommendations are those of the

authors and do not necessarily represent the

official position or policies of the U.S. Department

of Justice.

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Office of Community Oriented Policing 

Services (COPS Office)

U.S. Justice Department

(www.cops.usdoj.gov)

The mission of the COPS Office is to advance

community policing in jurisdictions of all

sizes across the country. Community policing

represents a shift from more traditional law

enforcement because it focuses on preventing

crime and the fear of crime at the local level.

Community policing puts law enforcement

professionals on the streets so they can build

mutually beneficial relationships with the people

they serve. By earning the trust of community

members and making those individuals

stakeholders in their own safety, community

policing makes law enforcement safer and more

efficient. The COPS Office provides grants

to tribal, state, and local law enforcement

agencies to hire and train community policing

professionals, acquire and deploy cutting-edge

crime-fighting technologies, and develop and

test innovative policing strategies.

U.S. Department of Justice

Office of Community Oriented Policing Services

1100 Vermont Avenue, N.W.

Washington, DC 20530

To obtain details on COPS programs, call the

COPS Office Response Center at 800.421.6770