Pupils who sexually abuse their peers in Upper Austria, young people who are on trial in Innsbruck for rape and serious bodily harm. Young people seem to be becoming more violent. The “Krone” started a broadcast and asked experts for their assessment of the current situation.
“I can’t say more cases are occurring. But what is striking is the increasing brutality,” says Phillip Scheiring, head of the youth center in Imst. Striking in the case of serious physical injuries in Imst in recent years: “Somebody always filmed it.” Scheiring, who saw such a video himself, suspects that the young people learn combat tactics from online videos. There is also a lack of education and mental disorders Scheiring for triggers of violence. “The pandemic has certainly played its part.” “Teenagers have problems growing up” Colleague Helmut Schumacher, head of the mk youth center in Innsbruck, has not observed that crime among young people has increased. Sometimes it gets louder or there are broken glass in front of the center. Violence is never involved and the police don’t have to move in either. However, Schumacher notes that the young people “have problems growing up due to almost two years of isolation and often cannot cope with themselves”. He thinks that crime shouldn’t be the problem in the next few years, but mental illnesses as a result of the pandemic.Social matters shifted to the Internet during the pandemicPetra Sansone, Managing Director of Tiroler Kinder und Jugend GmbH, is also worried about Corona. As a result, opportunities for social learning were severely restricted: “A lot of exchange and orientation has shifted to the media. Of course, young people there are also exposed to influences and trends that are not beneficial.” Sansone refers to the police. These report an increase in the intensity of violence. And: “Even in the school system, there is a higher number of suspensions and physical assaults.” Recognizing and acting on abnormalities at an early stage Brigitte Thöny from the Tyrolean Education Directorate speaks up. She says violence is fueled by social media. “Unreflected opinions are often expressed on social platforms. Adolescents let their emotions run free and often only question their behavior afterwards.” Thöny also believes that the corona pandemic is a major factor that has increased youth violence: “One of the tasks of the school is to train the children within a group to educate,” emphasizes Thöny. Due to the lack of class structure, many young people would have lost their affiliation. If a child exhibits violent or aggressive behavior, parents must respond in a supportive manner. It is important to get to the root of the cause. Parents should not react with accusations, but clearly show that they want to help the child. You can also contact the school psychologists or the advice centers listed on the website of the education department at bildung-tirol.gv.at. The most important thing is to recognize conspicuous behavior in adolescents at an early stage and to react accordingly, says Thöny: ” If a child suddenly reacts impulsively or shows aggressive behavior over small things, it is primarily up to the parents to act quickly.”
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