A fresh summit held over an epidemic of youth violence in Scotland has been hailed as a “step in the right direction” by victims and their families.
First Minister John Swinney hosted the emergency event at St Andrew’s House in Edinburgh on Monday. Ministers, experts and politicians heard the harrowing accounts of young victims, who demanded urgent action to tackle a worrying level of attacks on teens and children.
The summit took place amid the Record’s Our Kids … Our Future campaign, which was launched nearly two years ago after we reported on a series of sickening assaults on youths across Scotland. As part of the campaign, we have repeatedly called on the Scottish Government to invest in spaces for youths to be safeguarded and mentored in every community.
We have also demanded social media giants to remove violent clips of youths from their platform before they go viral. Swinney announced the emergency event last year after meeting with 14-year-old Kaylynn Donald and her mum, Vicky, at Bute House in August.
The sit-down was secured by the courageous youngster after Vicky, 38, penned an open letter to Swinney in June, calling for urgent action following the ‘senseless’ death of 16-year-old Kory McCrimmon in Glasgow.
The teenager died after a disturbance at the city’s Greenfield Park and a 13-year-old boy has since been charged with his murder. Vicky, from Fife, has campaigned tirelessly against youth violence since the teen was savagely assaulted on a school bus in 2022.
Then aged just 12, Kaylynn set upon by two other girls as she made her way home from class. The incident, which was filmed by onlookers and uploaded to social media, left the schoolgirl humiliated, suicidal and requiring mental health support.
Speaking after the meeting on Monday, Vicky told the Record: “We believe that the summit today was a step in the right direction. We feel that after campaigning for so long, our voices are finally being heard.
“We addressed the situation in schools, the community and on transport and we called for immediate action. We told them that it can no longer go on the way it has been left to unfold for so long.
“It has been two-and-half years of hard work for us since Kaylynn’s assault. I am proud of her for how far she has come and the fact she has not given up.”
A similar summit on youth violence was held in 2023, however, the event was slammed by campaigners as “nothing more than a talking shop” as it excluded victims and their families.
Vicky added: “I am confident that they were ready to hear our accounts and that they are now taking the issue seriously. Only time will tell.”
Abbie Jarvis, 14, who was brutally attacked in a skatepark in Glasgow just weeks before Kaylynn’s assault, also attended the event alongside her mum, Angela. The teenager, then 12, was lured to a skatepark in the city’s Drumchapel and beaten unconscious by another girl.
She has since been diagnosed with PTSD and has been unable to return to school. Mum Angela said the summit gave them both an opportunity to explain how the teen had been let down by support services.
She said: “They listened to us, our views and gave us the opportunity to say how we really felt. They heard how Abbie was let down by services and truly took on board everything we were saying.
“It was progressive. I believe they are committed to tackling this issue and helping victims. We spoke specifically about how bad the situation is in schools, how social media is prolonging torment for victims and how there is an apparent lack of consequences for violent behaviour.
“I’m looking forward to hearing from them regarding the next steps.”
Experts described the meeting as “powerful” and insisted action to prevent violence must be prioritised and funded by the Scottish Government.
Jimmy Paul, head of the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit said: “The meeting today was powerful. I have been struck by the generosity of the young people involved to improve the lives of others. There was a real commitment to reducing violence in Scotland and the issue was not politicised.
“It’s important that we take steps when violence happens to ensure that act is the last time it occurs. We are concerned about making sure there are adequate spaces for youths to go in communities, that travel is safe for them, that they have models and mentors and that we fund these elements.
“It was an extremely powerful conference and I believe it was a step in the right direction to tackling violence in Scotland – it is the start of the conversation and it will look at the root causes and drivers of violence, not just the act itself. Everybody in the room from experts, young people and politicians, were on the same page. Nobody wants this to happen – we don’t want to be meeting in summits in 10 years time because violence is still an issue.
“But we do need to see continued and renewed efforts looking at the root causes and the unique challenges that we face today.”
He added: “Any campaign that raises the awareness of violence reduction and the need to keep children safe is a powerful mechanism for change. The Our Kids campaign has done so by honouring stories and keeping youths safe at the same time.”
Christine Goodall, head of Medics Against Violence said: “It was completely harrowing to hear the accounts of young people and what had happened to them. They and their parents spoke very eloquently about what had happened and the impact that it had on them.
“It was distressing to hear that some of these assaults had happened in or around schools because you would like to think these settings are safe for young people. Young people that perpetuate violence don’t always think about the consequences either from a physical point of view of the people that they are assaulting or a psychological point of view.
“After listening to these young people today, it is very clear that there have been long term psychological consequences for them. It is incumbent on us all to try to do more to keep these young people safe.
“Investing in safe spaces is something that is brought up frequently from kids who are involved in violence either as perpetrators or victims. There needs to be more of these spaces in communities to keep children safe and away from harm.
“The best way to stop violence is to prevent it – no young person wants to end up at the mercy of the justice system, in hospital, or even worse, in a mortuary. Prevention, at all levels, is the best way to tackle this issue.”
The Record understands another meeting will be held in the coming weeks. The Scottish Government has been approached for comment.
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